CHAPTER 6
School and Work
Escuela y trabajo

¿Cómo?—
Say What?

Even though the word mapa ends in a, it’s masculine, not feminine. There are a few other words like this as well, including un día (day), un problema (problem), and un programa (program). You have to make an extra effort to remember these words that don’t follow the rule!

Diversión—Fun Stuff

Chances are, one of your favorite times of the day is probably recess, which is called el recreo in Spanish, and a playground is un patio de recreo. Some things you might find in a playground are un columpio (swing), un tobogán (slide), un cajón de arena (sandbox), and una trepadora (jungle gym),

At School—En la escuela

Right now, your job is to go to school. You probably learn about all different subjects at school and use lots of different tools to do your work. Here are some Spanish words to help you talk about your job as a student.

English	Spanish
school	una escuela
high school	una escuela secundaria
college	una universidad
backpack	una mochila
calculator	una calculadora
chalk	una tiza
chalkboard	una pizarra
class	una clase
classroom	un aula
crayons	lápices de color
desk	un pupitre
glue	una cola
homework	una tarea
map	un mapa
notebook	un cuaderno
ruler	una regla
scissors	unas tijeras
tape	una cinta adhesiva
test	un examen
quiz	una prueba

Classes—Clases

Your job as a student can include all kinds of interesting classes. Here are some of the subjects you might be studying.

English	Spanish
art	el arte
biology	la biología
chemistry	la química
civics	la educación cívica
English	el inglés
French	el francés
geography	la geografía
German	el alemán
gym, physical education	la educación física
history	la historia
home economics	la ciencia del hogar
Latin	el latín
math	las matemáticas
music	la música
science	la ciencia
social studies	los estudios sociales
Spanish	el español

You probably like some classes in school more than others, right? What is your favorite class? To answer this question in Spanish, you would say Mi clase favorita es… Give it a try:

Mi clase favorita es _________________________________________ .

Gramática —
Additional Grammar

All of the words for different languages are masculine, so that’s easy. The hard part is that there are two Spanish words that mean language in general, and one is masculine and one is feminine: el idioma and la lengua.

¿Cómo?—
Say What?

There are two different words for “letter” in Spanish, because there are two different kinds of letters. A letter of the alphabet is called una letra, while a letter that you write to a friend is called una carta.

Reading and Writing—Lectura y escritura

Reading and writing are two things that you have to do in almost all of your classes. Here are some of the things you’ll need.

English	Spanish
book	un libro
dictionary	un diccionario
eraser	un borrador
paper	el papel
pen	una pluma
pencil	un lápiz
reading	la lectura
to read	leer
spelling	la ortografía
How do you spell_____?	¿Cómo se escribe_____?
writing	la escritura
to write	escribir
to write in cursive	escribir en cursiva
accent	un acento

Consejo
IMPORTANT TIP

Papel refers to paper in general, like if you want to say “I don’t have any paper” (No tengo papel). When you want to talk about a piece of paper, you would say una hoja de papel or un trozo de papel. For example, “I need a piece of paper” would be Necesito una hoja de papel. Another interesting fact is that the word hoja means leaf, so when you say una hoja de papel, you’re literally saying a leaf of paper. This is what the term “loose-leaf” paper refers to!

Reading List

Use the clues to fill a letter into each empty box. When you are done, you’ll have a Spanish word that answers this silly riddle:

On the Computer—En la computadora

You probably do a lot of work (and play) on the computer. Here is the Spanish vocabulary you need to talk about the computer:

English	Spanish
CD-ROM	un CD-ROM
computer	una computadora
database	una base de datos
disk drive	una unidad de disco
file	un fichero
hard drive	un disco duro
hardware	un hardware
keyboard	un teclado
laptop (computer)	una computadora portátil
monitor	un monitor
mouse	un ratón
to print	imprimir

¡CUIDADO!

Mistake to Avoid

Even though CD-ROM looks the same in Spanish and English, it’s pronounced differently. “See dee rom” in English, but “se de rom” in Spanish.

Diversión—Fun Stuff

If you don’t have an e-mail address and would like to create one, or if you have one and would like to change it, why not try making one in Spanish? For example, if you like cats, you might create an address like gatos123@yahoo.com. If you like the color blue, you might choose azul_is_cool@hotmail.com. Ask your parent for help when you do this.

English	Spanish
printer	una impresora
to save	archivar
software	el software
spell checker	el corrector ortográfico
to type	escribir a máquina
word processor	un procesador de textos
video game	un videojuego

And of course what would a computer be without the Internet and e-mail?

English	Spanish
e-mail	el correo electrónico
e-mail address	la dirección electrónica
Internet	el Internet
Internet browser	un navegador
Internet café	un cibercafé
search engine	un motor de búsqueda
Web page	una página Web
Web site	un sitio Web

Jobs—Trabajos

Right now your job is to go to school, but when you grow up, you’ll have a different job. Perhaps you’ve thought about becoming a firefighter or a pilot. Here are the Spanish words for some cool careers:

English	Spanish
actor/actress	un actor/una actriz
artist	un/una artista
baker	un panadero/una panadera
butcher	un carnicero, una carnicera
carpenter	un carpintero, una carpintera
cashier	un cajero, una cajera
cook	un cocinero, una cocinera
doctor	un doctor, una doctora
electrician	un/una electricista
employee	un empleado, una empleada
engineer	un ingeniero, una ingeniera
fireman	un bombero, una bombera
flight attendant	un/una auxiliar de vuelo
lawyer	un abogado, una abogada
maid	una criada
mail carrier	un cartero, una cartera
manager	un/una gerente
mechanic	un mecánico, una mecánica
nurse	un enfermero, una enfermera
pilot	un/una piloto
plumber	un plomero, una plomera
police officer	un/una policía
receptionist	un/una recepcionista
secretary	un secretario, una secretaria
student	un/una estudiante
teacher	un profesor, una profesora
waiter/waitress	un camarero, una camerera
writer	un escritor, una escritora

Consejo
IMPORTANT TIP

When talking about most jobs, you have to explain whether the person is a man or a woman. Sometimes the word itself is the same; for example, piloto is the same for men and women. But the article always shows the difference: un piloto (man) and una piloto (woman).