Spanish

Spanish Words Starting With W

October 6, 2021 by Ana Martín Leave a Comment

Spanish words starting with W aren’t that common, to the point that the majority of Spanish W starting words you’ll come across are words that have been adopted from other languages such as English or German. However, as they have now been adopted into the Spanish language and are used in every day language we have included. Also don’t let this put you off learning the words. As many Spanish words that start with W come from a different origin, they’re most likely to be words you’ve already come across and will therefore be easy to learn more quickly.

Spanish Words Starting With W

Waffle iron – La Waflera

Wasabi – El Wasabi

Water polo player – Waterpolista

Whiskey – El Whiskey

Wifi – El Wifi

Wictionary – Wikcionario

Wikinews – Wikinoticias

Wok – El Wok

As you can see, Spanish words that start with a W aren’t all that common but hopefully we’ve managed to cover some interesting ones for you to add to your vocabulary.

Learning vocabulary by letter isn’t something we would recommend as you’re less likely to find ways to fit them into your daily practise. Obviously this may not be why you’re here, but many people work their way through vocabulary lists and memorise as much as possible. If this is the kind of technique you like to use then we would recommend learning words by frequency of use rather than by what letter they begin with. You may not have too much issue memorising Spanish words that start with a W, but you probably won’t get too much of a chance to use them which can cause them to fall out of your memory. Instead, it would be a better use of your time to interact with the vocabulary relative to your current level and use.

If you’re here just out of interest to see what Spanish words start with W then we hope we’ve managed to entertain you and to provide you with some new, interesting words (even if most of them are adopted from other languages).

If you think they’re more Spanish words that begin with a W that we’ve forgotten then please let us know in the comments below so we can add them to our list. Similarly, if there are Spanish colloquial words that start with W please let us know all about them.

Article: Spanish words starting with W

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Learning French After Spanish

June 24, 2021 by Ana Martín Leave a Comment

Learning French After Spanish

Learning French after Spanish has both its benefits and its drawbacks. If your Spanish isn’t strong enough then you could get the two languages mixed up or even lose your Spanish. If your Spanish is quite well established then you can use the things you’ve learned to help you with French. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of this, some of the downsides and how you can best approach learning French after Spanish.

Potential Issues Of Learning French After Spanish

One of the major issues that people run into when learning French after Spanish is mixing the two up or finding that their Spanish starts to fade and get replaced with the French. A way to get around this is to get your Spanish up to an intermediate level before moving onto French. This means you have a solid understanding of the language and can use it in most situations even if your Spanish isn’t perfect. A B2 level or above would help prevent you from forgetting Spanish.

It’s also important to make sure you keep using your Spanish as you learn French. If you swap between the two and make an effort to keep up to date with Spanish by watching films or speaking it regularly then there’s less of a chance you’ll forget it. Once you’ve reached an intermediate level there’s plenty of Spanish media you can consume. With Netflix, Amazon and Youtube you now have access to plenty of Spanish material. You can also find language partners on websites like italki where you can continue to practise speaking in Spanish. If all else fails a diary is a good way to make sure you’re thinking in Spanish as you formulate your thoughts to write them down.

You might find French more difficult than Spanish. Spanish is fairly consistent in its spelling and pronunciation and has fairly few irregularities when it comes to grammar. Where as French is a bit more like English in that the pronunciation doesn’t always make sense, the spelling can be confusing and they have a load of irregular verbs. Don’t let this put you off though, Spanish might be a bit easier but look at French as levelling up. Now you’re ready for something similar but a bit more challenging.

Advantages Of Learning French After Spanish

One of the major advantages of learning French after Spanish is that they share a lot of common words. They both come from the romantic language family so have a lot of similarities meaning it’ll be easier for you to pick up French vocab as you’ll have come across a lot of it in Spanish already even if the pronunciation is a bit different.

Also once you learn one romantic language it becomes a lot easier to learn a second. Romantic languages tend to have fairly similar grammar structures that you may not have come across in English especially if you just know English from being a native speaker and haven’t looked into the grammar in depth. Once you’ve learned verb conjugation in Spanish it’ll be a lot easier for you to get your head around it in French.

As you’ve already learned one language you’ll know what works for you. Not all techniques work for everyone and when you first start learning a foreign language a lot of time can be wasted on learning how to learn. Once you’ve learned Spanish you’ll know what methods were useful for you and can make your French learning much more efficient.

Learning French after Spanish puts you at an advantage for learning French as you’ve already dealt with new grammar, similar vocab and finding out how you best learn a foreign language. However, its downside is that it could harm your Spanish in the process. If you have a strong level of Spanish and you make an effort to keep practising this should be enough to help prevent your Spanish from slipping. If you notice you are getting mixed up then make sure you speak each language every day and practise switching between the two so you become more used to using your Spanish brain and your French brain.

Article: Learning French After Spanish

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Learning French And Spanish At The Same Time

June 22, 2021 by Ana Martín Leave a Comment

Learning French and Spanish at the same time

Learning French and Spanish at the same time can be a bit of a daunting task. Learning any two languages at the same time can be difficult let alone two that are so similar. When you learn languages that are in the same family it becomes easier to confuse them, to mix up the grammar and to use the odd French word when speaking Spanish and vice versa.

Ideally you would learn one language until you were at a strong intermediate level like B2 or above before moving onto the second language. This would help prevent you from mixing the languages up as much or ‘losing’ the first language.

However, whether or not you decide to learn both languages at the same time is completely up to you. It’s no easy goal but if you’re determined to do so then there are some things you can do to make this a little easier for yourself.

Learning French And Spanish At The Same Time

So how can you learn French and Spanish at the same time? Let’s look at some tips that could help you out.

Study Both Language Every Day

Study both languages every day. Set a time for your French and a time for your Spanish, ideally spaced apart and make sure you do each language for a bit every day. This will help you get used to getting into your Spanish brain and getting into your French brain.

If you study one week and then switch the next week you’re more likely to make mistakes and take a while getting into the language you’re currently working on. By studying every day you’ll be more used to the switch which will allow you move between them more easily.

Get One Up To Intermediate First

As we mentioned earlier, if possible try to get one of the languages up to an intermediate level before you start learning the second language. If you have a strong basis in French then you shouldn’t start forgetting words or getting mixed up when you introduce Spanish.

It’s a lot trickier to learn two similar languages if you’re learning them both from scratch. Having a solid basis in one will make it much easier to learn the second one.

Make A Note Of Mix Ups

If there are things you get mixed up with or words that you keep using in Spanish that are French words then make a note of them, don’t just ignore them. You can then use deliberate practice to try and keep them in the correct language. Try to actively use them and if you’re using grammar where you normally get mixed up then slow down and make a conscious effort to get it in the right language. The more you do this the easier it should get.

Speak every day

Try to speak each language every day. Language output is a great way to help you start formulating ideas in that language and get used to expressing yourself. If you make the effort to speak both languages every day and not just one then it’ll become easier switching between speaking each of them.

You can either practice speaking to yourself or look for real partners. Websites such as italki are great ways to get started as you can find people who want to learn your language and spend half the time speaking your language then half the time speaking theirs.

Immersion Is Important

We would say this regardless of which language you were learning or how many you were learning at the same time. Immersion will help you improve much more quickly in each language. Now if you’re luckily enough to spend time in one of those countries this should be relatively easy for you but if not music, youtube videos, language partners on italki can all help you immerse yourself in the two languages. Just make sure your immersion is at your current level or just above. If you’re a beginner and you’re listening to advanced material then you probably won’t take much of it in at all.

Learning French and Spanish at the same time can be difficult but there’s no reason you shouldn’t do so if you really want to, some helpful tips are:

Try getting one to intermediate before you introduce the second
Study both languages every single day
Make a note of mix ups and work on them
Speak every day
Immerse yourself in both languages as much as possible

Article: Learning French and Spanish at the same time

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Spanish Words That Start With An A

October 28, 2020 by Ana Martín Leave a Comment

Spanish Words That Start With An A

If you are looking at Spanish words that start with an A because you want to try and learn them all then you’re probably better offer learning common words that you’ll actually use first. If you learn the word for wasp now but you’re only learning how to introduce yourself then it’ll be harder to keep these words in your brain. It will benefit you more if you learn words as you’re able to use and practise them rather than cramming all the Spanish words that start with an A in one go. If you already have a good grasp of Spanish but you want to expand your vocabulary then go ahead and take a look.

We’ve divided our list of Spanish words that start with an A into Prepositions, nouns, verbs, adjectives and interjections so you can skip ahead to whichever section you find most useful or that you’re most interested in.

Spanish Prepositions Starting With An A

Starting with prepostision, these are some Spanish words that start with the letter A:

Abajo – down
Abierto – open
Alrededor de – around
Arriba de – above
Arriba – up

Spanish Nouns That Start With An A

This is the largest category that we have, here are the Spanish nouns that start with an A:

La abeja – the bee
Abril – April
El abrelatas – the tin opener
El abrigo – the coat
La abuela – the grandma
El abuelo – the grandad
El acebo – holly
El aciete – oil
La aceituna – the olive
La acera – the pavement
El acuario – the aquarium
La adición – addition
El adulto – the adult
El aeronave cohete – the rocket
África – Africa
El agárico – the toadstool
Agosto – August
El agua
El aguacate – the avacado
El águila – the eagle
La aguja – the needle
El aire libre – the outdoors
El ala -the wing
El alacrán – the scorpion
La alcachofa – the artichoke
La alcancia – the piggy bank
El alce – the elk
La alacena – cupboard
La aldea – the village
La aleta – the fin
El alfabeto – alphabet
La alfombra – the rug
El algodón de azúcar – candy floss
El alicate – plier
El almacén – the shop
America – America
La almohada – the pillow
El almuerzo – lunch
El almanecer – sunrise
Amarillo – yellow
El ámbar – amber
La ambulancia – the ambulance
El amigo por correspondencia – pen pal
El amigo – the friend
Amor – love
La anatomía anatomy
El ancla – anchor
El ángel – the angel
La anguila – the eel
El ángulo – the angle
El anillo – the ring
El animal – animal
El año – year
El anochecer – evening
La Antártica – antarctic
El antifaz – mask
El antílope – antelope
El apio – celery
El apóstrofe – apostrophe
La araña – spider
La axila – the armpit
El árbol – tree
El arce – maple tree
El archipiélago – archipelago
La arcilla – clay
El arco – the arch
El arco – bow
El arco iris – rainbow
La ardilla – squirrel
La arena – sand
La arena movizado – quicksand
El arete – earring
El arquero – archer
El armario – wardrobe
El arpa – harp
El arrendajo – jay bird
El arte – art
El/la artista – artist
El ascensor – lift/elevator
Asia – Asia
La aspiradora – hoover
El asterisco – asterick
El asteroide – asteriod
El/la astronauta – astronaut
La astronomía – astronomy
El atardecer – sunset
El ataúd – coffin
El/la aleta – athlete
El átomo – atom
Australia – Australia
El autobús – bus
El automóvil – automobile
La avenida – avenue
La avispa – the wasp
El avestruz – ostrich
El avión – aeroplane
La azada – hoe
La azucena – lily
Azul – blue
Azulejo – blue bird

Spanish Verbs That Start With An A

These verbs aren’t too exciting and you’ve probably come across most of them before but here are a collection of Spanish verbs starting with A:

Agradecer – to thank
Amar – to love
Andar – to walk
Aplaudir – to applaud
Aprender – to learn
Arder – to burn
Arrodillarse – to kneel
Asustar – to frighten
Aventar – to throw

Spanish Adjectives That Start With An A

Here are some great Spanish adjectives that start with the letter A:

Alto – tall
Amarillo – yellow
Ancho – wide
Andar – to walk
Angosto – narrow
Asustado – scared

Interjections

Adiós – goodbye

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed our article on Spanish words that start with an A and you’ve either found it interesting or it’s helped add to your vocabulary list. If you’ve enjoyed this then take a look at one of our other articles: Spanish words starting with X. This isn’t a good way to learn Spanish if you’re just starting out but if you already have a good grasp of the language then working you way through the alphabet to find new words can be a fun and interesting way to learn. If you think there are any good words we’ve missed off then let us know in the comments below.

Spanish Words Starting With X

October 20, 2020 by Ana Martín Leave a Comment

Spanish Words Starting With X

Just like in English, there aren’t actually that many Spanish words starting with X. Many of these words have come from Catalan, Galician or Basque but are not used commonly throughout Spain. Other words that you’ll come across are incredibly similar to English words starting with X but may be scientific or only used by people within certain industries. Some of these words you won’t even have heard of in English. Regardless of what the word is, let’s get right into it and take a look at some Spanish words starting with X.

Spanish Nouns Starting With X

We’ve started with Spanish nouns, but to be honest we can’t see you using many of these in day to day life.

Xantofila – Xantophyll – The plant pigment that causes the reds, yellows and browns we see in leaves during the Autumn
Xenón – Xenon – The noble gas xenon
Xenófilo – Xenophile – Person who loves culture, customs and people from other countries
Xenofobia – Xenophobia – Irrational hatred or phobia towards stranger or people from other countries
Xenofilia – Xenophile- Love of foreign culture or people
Xerografiar – Xerograph
Xifoideo – Xiphoid
Xilofón – Xylophone
Xilografía – Wood cutting
Xylofagus – Xylophagous
Xenotransplante – Xenotransplantation
Xerófito – Xerophyte
Xifoidea – Xiphoid
Xilofonitsa – Xylophonist

Spanish Adjectives Starting With X

Just like with the Nouns beginning with X, the adjectives aren’t words that are commonly used and you probably won’t need them unless you’re using technical language.

Xerófila – Xerophilous
Xilófaga – Xolophagous

Spanish Verbs Starting With X

Finally, let’s take a look at the verbs. Again these aren’t common but you may have more of a chance to use them than you do with the adjectives and nouns.

Xapurcar – to churn
Xerocopiar – to xerocopy

So there you have our list of Spanish words starting with X. If you think we’ve missed off any important ones then please let us know in the comments below and we’ll add them to our collection. Spanish words starting with X may not be common, but if you can learn them and add them to your vocabulary list then your Spanish will definitely move up a notch in terms of your ability to use technical and specialised language.

If you’re trying to learn Spanish words beginning with the letter X in order to improve your Spanish for an exam then why not take a look at some of our best DELE textbooks to help you prepare. Using exam based textbooks can also help you to improve your Spanish more generally as they deal with specific themes that are appropriate for each level that you may not have come across naturally in your learning.

How Do I Introduce Reading In Spanish To My Child?

October 12, 2019 by Ana Martín Leave a Comment

How Do I Introduce Reading In Spanish To My Child?

If you’ve just decided you want to teach your child another language but you don’t want to just switch one day and start doing everything with them in Spanish then there are things you can do to introduce new habits slowly to your children. One of the best ways to learn a foreign language with your child is to read to them in that language.

More generally you can look at our article: ‘how do I get my child interested in Spanish?’ But if you’re looking specifically for reading habits then you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take a look together.

Find Age Appropriate Spanish Books

One of the most important thing is that the Spanish children’s books you choose are age appropriate. If the book if for a younger children they may find it boring and if it’s for an older child they might not be able to engage because it’s too difficult. You need to find a book that is appropriate for the age of your child.

Find Books That Are Interesting

Just as the appropriate age and level of the books is important, so is how interesting the book is. If you want to build a Spanish reading habit with your child then they need to find the books interesting. Don’t make the books too serious or feel like homework. Look for exciting stories and let your child help choose the books that they want to read so that they find it fun and engaging.

Teach Them Key Vocab Beforehand

To ensure that your child can understand enough of what is going on during the story, it could be a good idea to teach them some of the key vocab before you start. Look at what words are going to come up and teach them to you child. You could do this via flashcards or pictures. Then when the words come up, not only will the children know what they mean but they’ll be able to spot them and feel like they’re learning.

Encourage Your Child To Trace Along With you

Don’t let reading become too passive, get them to trace along as your speak so they can hear the natural rhythms of your speech and relate it to the appropriate words. This will help them to learn how to read for themselves much more quickly.

Check Their Comprehension After Each Page

Making the learning more interactive is a great way to get them to engage with the book and checking their comprehension is one of the ways you can do this. After you’ve finished each page ask your child to identify key words and ask them what they though the story was about. Get them to explain to you and help them to understand if they’re struggling.

Create A Cosy Environment

Probably the most important part of reading to your children in Spanish is to make the experience a special time for you and for them. Make the environment nice and cosy. Snuggle up with them before bed and read to them. They’ll be so happy to be spending the time with you that they’ll happily engage with the language.