This year, we have chosen a word that has already been named Word of the Year by other linguistic sources. In fact, it was FundeuRAE's Word of the Year last year. However, we believe that this word has gained new traction in the last twelve months, and, for this reason, have selected it as our Spanish Word of the Year 2023. Let's reveal it!
Is there anything more trendy than AI today? From ChatGPT to MidJourney and everything in between, the concept of AI is totally transforming the world around us. This is why we have chosen the term inteligencia artificial (artificial intelligence) as the Spanish Word of the Year 2023. Let's see how to pronounce this word in the definition that Carlos shares with us in his video about this topic:
la inteligencia artificial es la disciplina científica que se ocupa de crear programas informáticos que ejecutan operaciones comparables a las que realiza la mente humana, como el aprendizaje o el razonamiento lógico.
artificial intelligence is the scientific discipline that deals with creating computer programs that execute comparable operations to the ones that the human mind carries out, like learning or logical reasoning.
Captions 25-29, Aprendiendo con Carlos Inteligencia artificial - Part 1
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Now that the winner has been revealed, here are a couple of things to keep in mind about the term inteligencia artificial:
1. In Spanish as in English, the term inteligencia artificial should be written in lowercase.
2. If you wish to use the acronym for inteligencia artificial, remember to use the Spanish initials "IA" rather than the English version, "AI," which some people mistakenly use in Spanish.
There are several AI-related Spanish words that have been quite popular this year, and dato (data) has definitely been one of them.
La percepción del comerciante coincide con el dato que manejan algunos expertos.
The perception of the merchant coincides with the data that some experts work with.
Caption 6, Los Reporteros Crecen los robos en tiendas - Part 4
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Unfortunately, this word is still trending, especially after what has occurred this year in Israel.
La palabra más fea es guerra.
The ugliest word is war.
Caption 61, Karla e Isabel Palabras
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This year was full of deadly earthquakes. From Turkey and Morocco to Afghanistan and Nepal, the world was shaking far too much this year.
Este mes han muerto muchas personas en el terremoto.
This month many people have died in the earthquake.
Caption 26, Lecciones con Carolina Participios - Ejemplos de uso
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So, there you have it. What do you think of our Spanish Word of the Year 2023, and how do you feel towards AI in general? Can you think of any other word that is worthy of this title? Don't forget to send us your feedback!
Most of the time, we use the word nada in Spanish as an indefinite pronoun that can be translated as either "nothing" or "anything." In this lesson, we will examine how to use this word to mean one vs. the other. Let's take a look.
Before we jump into the "nothing" vs. "anything" uses of nada, it's important to state the following: When an adjective appears next to nada, the adjective must be masculine. Let's look at a few examples:
No es nada malo, es algo natural.
It's nothing bad, it's something natural.
Caption 12, La Cocaleros - Personas y políticas
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Tenemos que devolver a la madre y esperamos
We have to return it to the mother and hope
que la madre no encuentre nada raro en su cachorro.
that the mother doesn't find anything strange with her cub.
Captions 90-91, Animales en familia - Un día en Bioparc: Cachorro de leopardo
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Que haya jóvenes que realicen pequeños hurtos no es nada nuevo.
That there are young people who commit petty thefts is nothing new.
Caption 16, Los Reporteros - Crecen los robos en tiendas
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If nada comes after a verb, it must be expressed in a negative form with either no or some other negative element such as jamás/nunca (never) or nadie (nobody). Although such "double negatives" are incorrect in English (for example, you can't say "I don't have nothing"), in such cases in Spanish, nada becomes the positive "anything" in the English translation. Let's look at a couple of examples:
Juan no ha comido nada desde que llegó al aeropuerto.
Juan hasn't eaten anything since he arrived at the airport.
Caption 41, Carlos explica - El pretérito Cap 3: Perfecto compuesto II
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No, no como nada frito.
No, I don't eat anything fried.
Caption 40, Cata y Cleer - En el restaurante
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In the example above, you can see how the adjective frito is masculine (just to check whether you remember our aforementioned rule!).
Me encanta también cocinar.
I also love to cook.
Nunca me has hecho nada, ni un plato.
You have never made anything for me, not even one dish.
Captions 74-75, Cleer - Hobbies
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On the other hand, if nada goes before a verb, the verb does not need to be accompanied by a negative element. In this case, nada functions like the word "nothing" in English. Let's take a look:
Mi primo vive en una casucha en donde nada funciona bien.
My cousin lives in a "casucha" [awful house] where nothing works well.
Caption 54, Carlos explica - Diminutivos y Aumentativos Cap 2: Definiciones generales
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Nada me detendrá
Nothing will stop me
Caption 32, Ednita Nazario - Después De Ti
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Finally, keep in mind that when nada is used as a noun meaning "the void" or "nothingness," it is a feminine noun:
Era el frío de la nada
It was the cold of nothingness
Caption 41, Acercándonos a la Literatura - José Asunción Silva - "Nocturno III"
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Notice how in this case, the word nada is preceded by the definite female article "la."
That's all for this lesson. We invite you to keep these rules in mind, and don't forget to send us your suggestions and comments.
Let's see a few examples to learn the proper use of the Spanish word falta, a false friend of the English word fault.
First of all, falta does mean "fault" in the context of sports:
El árbitro no vio la falta
The umpire didn't see the fault
The word falta in Spanish is also used in legal contexts. Una falta means "an offense" (the word ofensa also exists):
Que una misma persona cometiera distintas faltas de hurto.
That one person committed different robbery offenses.
Caption 49, Los Reporteros - Crecen los robos en tiendas
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Also, in academic or laboral contexts, una falta means "an absence." If you don't go to school tu maestro te pone falta (your teacher marks you absent). Generally speaking una falta means "a lack" or "a shortage" and the verb faltar means "to lack," "to need" or "to be absent." Study the following examples:
Me hace falta un aguacate que voy a hacer una ensalada, eh.
I need one avocado and I'll make a salad, uh.
Caption 43, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa
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Hoy estamos protestando por la falta de agua.
Today we are protesting because of the water shortage.
Caption 49, Kikirikí - Agua - Part 2
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It's interesting the way Spanish uses the word falta in expressions of time:
¿Qué será? Que falta un mes para la boda, ¿eh?
What would it be? That there is a month until the wedding, huh?
Caption 27, Yago - 8 Descubrimiento
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You can also use the word falta with a pinch of sarcasm:
Lo único que me falta es que a los diez meses empiece a caminar...
The only thing I need now is that at ten months old she starts walking...
Caption 44, Biografía - Natalia Oreiro
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In fact, the expression lo único que me falta (or lo único que me faltaba) alone, also exists, and it's commonly used sarcastically:
¡Lo único que me falta!
Just what I needed!
Caption 5, Muñeca Brava - 2 Venganza
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Check out the following use of falta combined with the verb hacer and negation. It's a very common way to express that something is not needed or necessary:
¡No hace falta un abogado!
A lawyer is not necessary!
Caption 81, Adícora - Venezuela - Darío y el Kitesurfing
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And, of course, you can use falta + hacer without negation:
Eres Lo que a mi vida le hace falta si no vienes
You are what my life lacks if you don't come
Captions 6-7, Café Tacuba - Eres
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Finally, a useful tip. How do you say in Spanish "It's your fault?" Unless you are playing soccer with your friends, you shouldn't say "es tu falta." For that, Spanish uses the word culpa (guilt, blame). It may sound really extreme and weird to say "it's your guilt" in English, but es tu culpa is common in Spanish:
Soy el hombre al que iban a enterrar vivo por tu culpa.
I am the man who they were going to bury alive because of you.
Caption 35, El Ausente - Acto 4
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You can use es tu culpa in the most trivial situations:
Por tu culpa perdimos el avión, querido.
It's your fault we missed the plane, dear.
Caption 16, Yago - 4 El secreto
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Finally, another use of the word falta is in the expression faltas de ortografía (orthographic mistakes). You can combine it with the verb tener (to have) as in el ensayo tiene muchas faltas de ortografía (the essay has many orthographic mistakes), or with the verb cometer (to commit, to make) as in tú cometes muchas faltas de ortografía (you make a lot of ortographic mistakes). Thank you for reading!
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