C HAPTER 19

Spanish in
Everyday Life

CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve made it through the rules, exceptions, and general guidelines that make up Spanish grammar. The last chapter in this book is your opportunity to apply what you’ve learned to specific situations and to review basic vocabulary.

Physical Characteristics

¿Cómo te ves? What do you look like? To answer, you can use the verb ser (to be) and tener (to have), plus a series of adjectives that describe your stature, hair and eye color, and so on. For example:

Yo soy alto y delgado. Tengo el pelo corto de color castaño y los ojos azules.

I am tall and thin. I have chestnut-colored hair and blue eyes.

Here’s some useful vocabulary for describing yourself and others.

Estatura y tamaño (Height and Size)

alto	tall
bajo	short
mediano	medium
gordo, corpulento	fat
delgado, flaco	thin

El cabello (Hair)

corto	short
largo	long
liso	straight
rizado	curly
rubio	blond
pelirrojo	red
castaño	chestnut-colored
moreno	brown, dark brown
negro	black
canoso	gray

Los ojos (Eyes)

azul	blue
pardo, marrón	brown
negro	black
verde	green
color de avellana	hazel
claro	light
oscuro	dark

Other Adjectives

joven	young
viejo	old
bonito	pretty
bello	beautiful
guapo	cute
feo	ugly
interesante	interesting
simpático	nice

Family Relations

La familia (the family) plays an important part in the lives of the people living around the Spanish world. To get all the relationships straight, here’s some relevant vocabulary:

Los parientes (Relatives)

madre	mother
padre	father
padres	parents
marido, esposo	husband
esposa, mujer	wife
hijo, hija	son, daughter
hermano, hermana	brother, sister
gemelo, mellizo	twin
abuelo, abuela	grandfather, grandmother
nieto, nieta	grandson, granddaughter
tío, tía	uncle, aunt
sobrino, sobrina	nephew, niece
primo	cousin
suegro, suegra	father-in-law, mother-in-law
yerno	son-in-law
nuera	daughter-in-law
padrino	godfather
madrina	godmother
de acogida	foster

ESSENTIAL

In parts of Latin America, particularly the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and Central America, you might hear a man address a woman as mami and a woman address a man as papi . This is limited to very informal situations—you may want to avoid using these words unless you’re sure they’re appropriate.

You can practice the vocabulary by reviewing your family tree. For example:

Me llamo Jorge. Soy ingeniero. Mis padres son Juan y Renata. Mi padre es médico; mi madre es enfermera. Yo estoy casado con María. Ella es una actriz de teatro. Mi esposa y yo tenemos dos hijos: Elena y Daniel. Elena es estudiante en la escuela secundaria. Daniel asiste a la universidad. También tengo una hermana, Marta. Ella vive en Colombia. Trabaja en un banco. Marta tiene un hijo, Cristóbal. A Elena y Daniel les gusta visitar a su tía y a sus primos en Colombia.

How much were you able to understand? To help you make sense of it, here’s the translation:

My name is Jorge. I’m an engineer. My parents are Juan and Renata. My father is a doctor; my mother is a nurse. I am married to María. She is a theater actress. My wife and I have two kids: Elena and Daniel. Elena is a high school student. Daniel goes to college. I also have a sister, Marta. She lives in Colombia. She works at a bank. Marta has a son, Cristóbal. Elena and Daniel like to visit their aunt and cousins in Colombia.

Now, how about trying to describe your own family? What are they like?

Back to School

Whether you’re in high school, college, or back in school to brush up on your Spanish, you can really impress your instructor if you are comfortable with some classroom vocabulary. You probably know a lot of these terms—review the ones you do know and commit to memory the vocabulary you haven’t encountered before.

En la clase (In the Classroom)

estudiante	student
profesor, profesora	high school teacher
maestro	elementary school teacher
catedrático	professor
pluma, bolígrafo	pen
lápiz	pencil
goma de borrar	pencil eraser
papel	paper
cuaderno	notebook
libro	book
carpeta	folder
mochila	backpack
pizarra	board
tiza	chalk
borrador	board eraser
reloj	clock, watch
silla	chair
escritorio	desk
cartel	poster
cesta	wastebasket

If your Spanish classes are conducted in Spanish, it’ll help to know some basic phrases as well. Here are a few to get you started:

¿Cómo se dice grades en castellano?

How do you say “grades” in Spanish?

Señor Blanco, ¿puede usted repetir su pregunta, por favor?

Mr. White, can you please repeat your question?

¿Cuándo tendremos el examen final?

When are we having the final exam?

No entiendo cómo conjugar el verbo “ser”. Explíquemelo, por favor.

I don’t know how to conjugate the verb ser. Please explain it to me.

¿Podemos usar el diccionario durante la prueba?

Can we use the dictionary during the quiz?

¿Puedo ir al baño, por favor?

May I please go to the bathroom?

Eating Out

To practice your Spanish, try eating out at local restaurants that serve Spanish, Caribbean, or Mexican fare. Lots of students of Spanish enjoy going out to a Spanish tapas bar. And many others have forsworn the local Tex-Mex hangout in favor of authentic Mexican restaurants that serve dishes like mole, chiles rellenos, and sopa de frijoles negros (meat in chile sauce, stuffed peppers, and black bean soup).

QUESTION?

What are tapas?
Tapas are small appetizer-sized dishes like aceitunas (olives) or jamón serrano (Spanish cured ham) eaten instead of a main course. Tapas originated in southern Spain as bar snacks. Some say tapa comes from the word “to cover” because bartenders used to cover a glass with a little plate to keep flies away and eventually started adding a bit of food to the plate. Others say it comes from the phrase tapar el apetito (put a lid on the appetite).

When you’re out at a local burrito joint—or even if you’re at the only Peruvian restaurant in town—you can try ordering in Spanish and sticking to the Spanish side of the menu, but you can always fall back on English if necessary. But if you travel abroad, you may not have that luxury. Here are some common dishes you may encounter on the menu in Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, or anywhere else in the Spanish-speaking world.

On the Menu

carta, menú	menu
antojito	appetizer
ensalada	salad
sopa	soup
caldo	broth
pescado	fish
mariscos	seafood
ave	poultry
carne	meat
salsa	sauce
legumbres	vegetables or legume
vegetales	green vegetables
pan	bread
postre	dessert
bebida	drink

Common Menu Items

ceviche	fish or seafood cured in lemon juice
empanada	savory stuffed pastry, usually with meat
chuleta	(pork) chop
bistec	(beef) steak
hígado	liver
salchicha	pork sausage
salpicón	cold non-vegetable salad (usually with seafood)
chorizo	pork sausage
lomo de cerdo	pork loin
tocino	salted pork
pozole	hominy stew
tortilla española	Spanish potato omelette
croqueta	croquette
mofongo	mashed plantains, often with seafood
al ajillo	in garlic sauce
al horno	baked
arroz con frijoles	rice and beans
paella	a saffron rice dish, usually prepared with seafood
arepa	corn pancake
tamales	corn patties, usually with minced meat
yucca	a root vegetable similar to a potato
tostones	savory fried plantains
maduros	sweet (ripe) fried plantains
arroz con leche	rice pudding
batido	milk shake
helado	ice cream
flan	custard
buñuelo	fritter
sangría	a mix of wine and fruit juices
café	coffee
agua	water
jugo	juice

Even if you can’t figure out the name of the dish, you might get the general idea of the dish from the list of ingredients. Here is some vocabulary to help you along.

Meat, Poultry, and Fish

carne de cerdo	pork
carne de res	beef
jamón	ham
cordero	lamb
ternera	veal
chivo	goat
pollo	chicken
pato	duck
pavo	turkey
bacalao	cod
atún	tuna
langosta	lobster
gamba	large shrimp
camarón	shrimp
calamar	squid, calamari
mejillón	mussel

Fruits and Vegetables

cebolla	onion
ajo	garlic
tomate	tomato
lechuga	lettuce
aguacate	avocado
papas	potatoes
maíz	corn
champiñón	mushroom
espinaca	spinach
coliflor	cauliflower
berenjena	eggplant
aceituna	olive
piña	pineapple
naranja	orange
manzana	apple
pomelo	grapefruit
uva	grape
fresa	strawberry
frambuesa	raspberry

Other Ingredients

arroz	rice
lenteja	lentil
huevo	egg
aceite	oil
vinagre	vinegar
mantequilla	butter
queso	cheese
leche	milk
crema	cream
azúcar	sugar
sal	salt
pimienta	pepper

Looking for a Job

Traveling is good for your language skills, but an even better way to start speaking like the locals is to get a job in a Spanish-speaking country. If you’re in school and have the opportunity to spend a semester abroad, you can find an internship that will help you improve your professional skills and your foreign language. And if you’re out in the real world, there are many programs available to those interested in spending some time abroad. You can do volunteer work, teach English, or maybe even get a job in your career field.

Buscando empleo (Looking for a Job)

empleo	job
curriculum profesional	resume
carta de acompañamiento	cover letter
habilidad	ability, skill
anuncio de trabajo	help-wanted ad
entrevista	interview
salario	salary, wages
jefe	boss

Putting Together a Resume

If you’re serious about your job search, it’ll help to have a good resume. If you’ve already got one in English, you’ll have to change a few things, but the idea is the same. In your resume, include your name and address, date of birth, education, work experience, and skills.