Benny Lewis's Blog, page 13

March 20, 2023

The 101 Most Common Spanish Words For Everyday Use

What if I told you that you could understand about 50% of Spanish by learning only 100 Spanish words?

Would you think I’m crazy, or would you give it a shot?

It’s true! By learning the 111 most common Spanish words, you can begin to understand half of the language.

I know that sounds far fetched, but hear me out. We use a lot of the same words… all the time.

In English, words like “the”, “a”, “and”, “I”, “you”, “is”, and more are used in almost every sentence. The same is true in Spanish. This is good news, since many people struggle to learn thousands of words. But you don’t need to!

That’s why one of the best ways to go from 0-50% as a beginner Spanish speaker is to start off learning these 111 core Spanish words. It’ll not only help you make the most out of your study time, but it’ll give you a major leg up right away.

After all, it doesn’t take much to memorize your first 111 words when you use the right techniques!

If you’re only going to learn 10 words from this post, these are the ones you need:

Hola – “hello”Adiós – “goodbye”Por favor – “please”Gracias – “thank you”De nada – “you’re welcome”Sí – “yes”No – “no”Ayuda – “help”Hoy – “today”Mañana – “tomorrow”

To prepare for learning the other words in this article, you can use the resources from this video:

36 Core Spanish Nouns

These will be your most helpful nouns starting out. Of course, you may have different nouns you use in everyday life… And you can change this list according to that! But since we’re going by word frequency here, these words will be useful to know.

Spanish Nouns for TimeVez – “One time”Hoy – “Today”Mañana – “Tomorrow”Ayer – “Yesterday”Hora – “Hour”Año – “Year”Día – “Day”Semana – “Week”Antes – “Before”Después – “After”Tiempo – “Time” or “Weather”Spanish Nouns for PlacesAquí – “Here”Allí – “There”Ahora – “Now”Sitio – “Place”Escuela – “School”Tienda – “Shop”Baño – “Bathroom”Ciudad – “City”País – “Country”Spanish Nouns for ThingsCosa – “Thing”Nada – “Nothing”Algo – “Something”Este/Esto/Esta – “This” or “This one”Ese/ Eso/Esa – “That” or “That one”Casa – “House”Coche – “Car”Idioma – “Language”Agua – “Water”Película – “Movie”Spanish Nouns for PeopleHombre – “Man”Mujer – “Woman”Chico/Chica – “Boy”/”Girl”Amigo – “Friend”Persona – “Person”Familia – “Family”25 Core Spanish Verbs

These are the most common Spanish verbs, and you can say quite a lot with only these 25 Spanish words! The first six verbs listed, especially. These verbs are often used with other verbs to create more complex sentences.

A couple of notes here. The first two verbs, ser and estar both mean “to be.” But ser is used for permanent situations. For example, “soy Caitlin” means “I am Caitlin.” (Soy is ser conjugated for the first person.)

We use soy because my name is Caitlin, and unless I decide to change it, it will always be Caitlin.

Estar is used for situations that could change. For example, “estoy bien” means “I’m fine.” (Estoy is estar conjugated for the first person as well.) We use estar for this because I’m fine right now… But tomorrow, who knows? Maybe it’ll be a rough day, and I actually “no estoy bien.” (Or “not well.”)

The other note I have for you is that these verbs are unconjugated, so they’re in their infinitive, or dictionary, form. Many are irregular Spanish verbs because they’re so common. The more common words are, the more they change over time causing them to become irregular. But, these verbs are so common, it’ll be easy to master once you get to it!

Ser – “To be” (permanent)Estar – “To be” (non-permanent)Haber – “To have”, “To exist”Tener – “To have”, “To own”Hacer – “To do”, “To make”Poder – “Can do”Ver – “To see”Ir – “To go”Dar – “To give”Saber – “To know”Querer – “To want”, “To love”Creer – “To believe”Hablar – “To talk”Llevar – “To carry”Encontrar – “To find”Gustar – “To like”Decir – “To tell”Venir – “To come”Pensar – “To think”Entender – “To understand”Leer – “To read”Comer – “To eat”Beber – “To drink”Trabajar – “To work”Usar – “To use”31 Basic Spanish Adjectives and Adverbs

These adjectives will come in handy all the time in Spanish! It’s a good idea to memorize them in sets whenever possible. Like mucho for “a lot” and poco for “a few.” This way you can associate the two words together, making them easier to remember.

And words like bueno can also be used as connecting words. Because bueno is so common, in some dialects like Mexican Spanish, it’s used to say “well then”, “okay”, or “anyway…”

Todo – “All”, “every”Alguno – “Some”Más – “More”Menos – “Less”Muy – “Very”Mucho – “A lot”Otro – “Other”Casi – “Almost”Mismo – “Same”Así – “Like this”También – “Also”Hasta – “Until, Even”Grande – “Large”Pequeño – “Small”Bien – “Well”Poco – “A little bit”Siempre – “Always”Nunca – “Never”Cada – “Each”Nuevo – “New”Antigua – “Old”Bueno – “Good”Mal – “Bad”Alto – “High”Bajo – “Low”Lejos – “Far”Cerca – “Near”Hermosa – “Beautiful”Feo – “Ugly”Difícil – “Difficult”Fácil – “Easy”9 Common Spanish Words for Conjunctions and Connectors

Conjunctions and connectors help your speech flow in a natural way. They help you make more complex sentences, as well as pause for thought without adding awkward silence to your conversations. Conversation connectors are a valuable tool for your first conversations in Spanish. So here are the nine most common to help you get started:

Que – “That”, “Which”Como – “Like”, “As”Pero – “But”Porque – “Because”Entonces – “So”, “Then”Pues – “Well then”Aunque – “Although”Mientras – “While”Además – “Besides that”Why Learn Spanish Words by Word Frequency?

These 100 Spanish words are chosen based on analyses of books, websites, newspapers, and more, by word frequency.

The word frequency method helps you learn the most common words first, so you can start understanding more of Spanish speech immediately.

This is a lot more effective than textbooks that start by teaching you Spanish words for the classroom, random careers or college majors. Most of those words you’ll never use again after that. (Seriously, I learned how to say “economics” – ciencias económicas – but I’ve never once talked about that in Spanish.)

The words on this list you’ll use, hear, or read all the time. That not only helps you understand faster, it helps you remember them faster, too, because you see them often. That’s why this is my favorite method for learning new words when I first start learning a language.

And it’s interesting because learning your first 100 words can get you up to 50% fluent, and 1,000 words can help you understand about 88% of what’s spoken in Spanish.

Contrast that with 3,000 words, which would get you to about 94% fluency (only a 6% increase!). So those 100 common Spanish words give you a lot of mileage in the language.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t learn more words – you definitely should. But it just shows you the power of learning the most common words first. It’s one way to study more effectively and get the most out of your time right away.

Now, one thing about this article. I’ll be skipping common Spanish articles like “el,” “la,” “un,” “y,” “o,” “con,” and other words like them. Why? Because these words mean “the,” “an,” “and,” etc… They’re repetitive and quick to learn in a grammar lesson, rather than vocabulary. So, we’ll be skipping over those here and focusing on other important words to know.

I’m also not including personal pronouns or the various conjugations of common verbs. Again, that goes back to learning grammar and conjugation. It’s important to know, but most “word frequency lists” take up a lot of space with various conjugations of the same word. Instead, learn the dictionary form now and how to conjugate it later! You can learn your Spanish pronouns in this article, and basic verb conjugation here.

Once you know these 101 core Spanish words, it becomes much easier to build simple Spanish sentences and start speaking now!

Build Your Spanish Word Bank with The Most Common Words in Spanish

Now that you’ve looked over the 101 most common Spanish words, it’s time to memorize them. Add these words to your Anki flashcard deck, or another app you use for memorizing vocab. After that, your next steps would be to learn how to conjugate Spanish verbs, build your Spanish conversation script, and study essential Spanish sentences and phrases.

Then it’s time to find a Spanish language exchange partner and start speaking! Because if you don’t use it, you lose it.

And don’t forget to start building on this list with words you use every day. That will be unique to you, and help you really start learning Spanish you’ll actually use. Learn words to talk about your career, your hobbies, your daily routine, or where you live. Build on that, so you can have a more expressive conversation!

¡Lo Siento! and 25 More Ways to Say “Sorry” in Spanish Dabble Spanish The 10 Best Ways to Learn Spanish (Be Fluent Faster!)Spanish Uncovered Review — An Honest, Detailed Review on Learning Spanish with Story 60+ Really Useful Spanish Phrases for Conversation and Travel

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Published on March 20, 2023 05:00

March 13, 2023

14 Ways To Say “Thank You” in Dutch (+ 2 Ways to Reply)

Would you like to learn how to say “thank you” in Dutch?

Even though the Dutch can be quite direct and quick-to-the-point in their conversations, saying thank you is just as appreciated by them.

In this article, I’ll teach you 14 ways to say “thank you” in the Netherlands. So the next time someone gives you a beautiful bouquet of Dutch roses or invites you to a birthday party, you’ll have plenty of options to thank them for it.

Plus, I’ve divided them into formal and informal responses, so you’ll be expressing gratitude in the proper Dutch way.

It’s probably one of the first things most tourists/beginner learners want to know: “How do you say thank you in Dutch?” It’s one of the main building blocks of conversation. So let’s get started!

Table of contentsHow to Say an Informal “Thank You” in Dutch 1. “Thank you” in Dutch – Dankjewel 2. “Thank u” in Dutch – Dankje 3. “Thank you very much” in Dutch – Echt heel erg bedankt 4. “Super thanks” in Dutch – Superbedankt 5. “Thanks” in Dutch – T(h)anks How to Say a Formal “Thank You” in Dutch 6. Formal “Thank you” in Dutch – Dankuwel 7. “Hearty thanks” in Dutch – Hartelijk dank 8. “Thank you a lot” in Dutch – Dank u zeer 9. “Thanks in advance” in Dutch – Bij voorbaat dank/alvast bedankt Both Formal and Informal Ways to Say “Thank You” in Dutch 10. “Thanks” in Dutch – Bedankt 11. “Many thanks” in Dutch – Heel erg bedankt 12. “Thank you so much” in Dutch – Ontzettend bedankt 13. “Thank you all” in Dutch – Dank jullie wel 14. How to say “Thank you for…” in Dutch Two Ways to Say “You Are Welcome” in Dutch One Final Thing to Watch Out For When Saying “Thank You” in Dutch

How to Say an Informal “Thank You” in Dutch

You wouldn’t write “thank u” to your boss in an email regarding an important meeting you had yesterday after lunch. It’s the same in the Netherlands: You’ve got to watch out a little when you say the Dutch word for “thank you”.

The Dutch language has both a formal and informal way to address other people: je and u.

Even though you’ll find many natives saying je to everyone, in the beginning, it’s a good practice to use u in the following situations:

With someone who’s obviously older than you.With someone who’s in a higher “authority” position (doctors, police officers or your boss)

So in these cases, you’d use the formal way of saying “thank you” (I’ll share those in a moment).

But since you most likely won’t find yourself in those highly formal situations often, let’s start with the most common informal way of saying “thank you” in Holland.

1. “Thank you” in Dutch – Dankjewel

You’ll hear this all the time in the Netherlands. And for good reason: It’s the simplest way of saying thank you in the Dutch language. It’s also the one that most beginners learn first.

It’s actually very easy to learn. It’s almost a straight translation from English, but with the adverb “well” added to the end. It emphasizes that you’re thanking someone with good intentions.

If you’re reading Dutch, then you might see several different spellings of this word/words.

DankjewelDank je wel

Both are correct. Also, there’s no difference in pronunciation, as most Dutch people speak these words quickly.

At first, you may not be able to distinguish that those are actually three words, melded together as one.

Fun experiment: If you want to confuse a Dutch person about their own language, ask them which of the two versions is the correct spelling. Most will likely not know the answer, and will be pleasantly surprised when you tell them they’re both correct!

2. “Thank u” in Dutch – Dankje

If you want to quickly thank someone, and you’re speaking to someone you’re close to, shorten dankjewel by skipping the wel at the end. This makes it a little more affectionate and conversational.

3. “Thank you very much” in Dutch – Echt heel erg bedankt

If you want to know how to say “thank you very much” in Dutch, this is the correct way to say it.

I recommend only saying it when you’re indeed incredibly grateful for something someone did for you. It would be slightly weird to thank a friend for passing the salt for your patat met mayonaise (“chips with mayonnaise”), for example.

It’s a perfect way of saying thanks when you get a great gift for your birthday – or when a Dutch person takes the time to speak Dutch with you for 20 minutes, instead of switching to English right away!

It’s a tough phrase to translate directly into English, but the translation would be something like “really very much thanks”.

4. “Super thanks” in Dutch – Superbedankt

This one isn’t that common, but you might hear it between close friends or family.

When saying this, it’s obvious that you’re very grateful to the other person. It can also be funny to say this in a sarcastic way when someone feels as if they’re doing you a huge favour – whereas in reality, they aren’t helping you at all.

5. “Thanks” in Dutch – T(h)anks

The Dutch language is incorporating English more and more. And the language is already one of the closest to English in the first place! It’s also very close to German, so if you know German already, you have a huge advantage when learning Dutch.

With this in mind, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you can simply say thanks in Dutch.

The only difference to the English “thanks” is that many Dutchies skip the “h”. It creates a Dutch version that can sound funny to native English speakers. It sounds like “tanks”.

Yes, like the ones that drive around on battlefields shooting at the enemy. If you hear someone screaming “tanks” on the street – it’s just someone thanking another person!

How to Say a Formal “Thank You” in Dutch

Now you’ve learned some informal ways of saying “thank you” in Dutch, let’s look at the more formal phrases for showing gratitude.

As a reminder, it’s a good idea to use these formal ways of saying “thank you”:

With someone who’s obviously older than youWith someone who’s in a higher “authority” position (doctors, police officers or your boss)6. Formal “Thank you” in Dutch – Dankuwel

Dankuwel is very similar to dankjewel, only the informal je has been replaced by the formal u. You can say this in virtually any formal situation, such as when you get your passport back from customs.

Or when a police officer helps you find directions to the Dam Square, after you got lost wandering around the Amsterdam canals. (In my defense, they all look incredibly similar. Even natives who don’t live in Amsterdam tend to get lost there over and over again).

7. “Hearty thanks” in Dutch – Hartelijk dank

If you want to add some emotion to your formal thanks, then this is the way to go. It’s commonly used by public speakers after a long presentation.

8. “Thank you a lot” in Dutch – Dank u zeer

There’s a high chance you’ll never hear this direct translation of “thanks a lot” in Dutch.

The word zeer has two meanings, both “very” and “hurt”. So it’s good to know that when someone says this, it means he or she is very grateful.

I asked my Dutch friends, and they said this phrase is mainly used by older people. Young people don’t use this phrase anymore, and you can safely skip it unless you want to be a really advanced speaker.

9. “Thanks in advance” in Dutch – Bij voorbaat dank/alvast bedankt

If you’re writing emails in Dutch, then you might want to finish your message by thanking the recipient in advance. Since this will most likely already be a (slightly) formal email exchange, there are two ways to say this.

Very formal: bij voorbaat dankA little less formal: alvast bedankt

As far as its use is concerned, you can ask yourself the question: “If I were writing this email in English, would I add thanks in advance?” If yes, you can also safely use it in Dutch.

Pro tip: To avoid any struggles like this when learning a new language (I mean not knowing if the occasion is right to use a word or not) I try to get exposed as much as possible to the language in real use. I either watch a movie or series in the original language, read a book written in the language, or use podcasts.

For Dutch, I have found DutchPod101 particularly useful.

Both Formal and Informal Ways to Say “Thank You” in Dutch

Since the Netherlands has a low ‘power distance’, everyone feels equal. For instance, the boss isn’t considered better than an employee.

As such, there are several ways to thank someone that can be used in both formal and informal situations. These are great to know if you’re quite unsure about the formality you need in a specific situation.

10. “Thanks” in Dutch – Bedankt

If you like to keep things simple and want to learn just one word to say “thank you” in every situation, that would be bedankt.

Bedankt is the past participle of the verb “to thank” (bedanken). So it’s safe to assume that in the past people used to say ik heb je bedankt (“I have you thanked”). This shortened over time to just bedankt.

It’s probably the second most common way of thanking someone, and it’s slightly more formal than dankjewel. The absence of je or u makes the word very easy to use, as you cannot accidentally mistake the formality.

You can say bedankt to a cashier when you’re doing groceries, or when thanking your captain after a boat trip through Amsterdam.

11. “Many thanks” in Dutch – Heel erg bedankt

“Many thanks” in Dutch is like a shortened version of echt heel erg bedankt, which we discussed before. The absence of echt makes it a bit less emotional, although it’s still something you’d only say when you’re really grateful.

12. “Thank you so much” in Dutch – Ontzettend bedankt

The literal translation of ontzettend is “enormous”, so the literal translation of ontzettend bedankt would be “enormous thanks”. A better translation is “thank you so much”. It can be compared to super bedankt, but more suited for general use.

13. “Thank you all” in Dutch – Dank jullie wel

In English, the word “you” can be used to address individuals and groups in both formal and informal situations. Dutch isn’t like that. There’s a separate word for “you” in Dutch when you’re addressing a group: jullie.

So naturally, as you’d expect from dankjewel (informal) and dankuwel (formal), there’s also dankjulliewel (plural). This is used when you’re thanking more than one person. For example, you might say dankjulliewel after you’ve had a delicious boerenkool stamppot met braadworst (“kale stew with bratwurst”) dinner at a Dutch couple’s home.

14. How to say “Thank you for…” in Dutch

Often when you say “thanks”, you want to show your gratitude for something specific. This is another part where Dutch and English are similar, as you simply say dankje voor….

When the Pope visits the Netherlands, he always says bedankt voor de bloemen (“thanks for the flowers”).

When you’re saying “thank you for” in Dutch, you can use this simple formula:

Any “thank you” in Dutch + voor + de/het + noun

Two Ways to Say “You Are Welcome” in Dutch

I couldn’t let you go without knowing how to say “you’re welcome”. Imagine being thanked, and seeming rude because you have no idea how to reply!

So how do you respond to thank you in Dutch?

There are two common ways:

Graag gedaan – “glad to have been of help”Geen dank – “No need for thanks”One Final Thing to Watch Out For When Saying “Thank You” in Dutch

In English, if someone asks if you’d like a beer or coffee, and you say “thank you”, people will assume you mean “yes”, or at least double check to see whether you meant “no, thank you”.

In Holland, if you only say dankjewel, there’s a good chance people would assume you mean “no”. It’s seen as a polite refusal of your offer.

So if someone asks you if you want something, be sure to say ja (“yes”), before thanking them for the offer.

Now it’s over to you! Do you now feel comfortable expressing your gratitude in Dutch? Let me know by leaving a comment on my Instagram (@languagehacking), TikTok (@irishpolyglot), and Twitter (@irishpolyglot).

Heel erg bedankt for taking the time to read my tips!

Dutch vs. German: What’s the Difference?Innovative Language Review – Complete Pod101 Language Course Review (with Screenshots and Video Results)How I Learned Dutch in 365 Days with Drops and a Language Tutor A Guide to Arriving in Amsterdam: Language, People, Culture, and More!Benny’s Top Resources for Learning Dutch

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Published on March 13, 2023 04:00

March 6, 2023

500 Core Italian Words for Everyday Conversations (Top 500 Most Used Italian Words)

What if you could understand Italian conversations by only learning 500 of the most used Italian words?

The Italian language is made up of hundreds of thousands of words – while it is hard to pin down a specific number, some linguists have estimated it to be between 160,000 and 260,000!

If you’re learning Italian, I can already see the fear in your eyes: how is someone supposed to learn 260,000 words in a foreign language?

Don’t worry! I am Italian myself, and while I like to learn words, I can assure you that Italians themselves use only around 7,000 words throughout their lifetimes, and usually only about 1,000 in their daily routine.

So who says that with 500 words and some enthusiasm, you wouldn’t be able to understand what’s going on in conversations?

Table of contentsThe 100 Most Used Italian Nouns (+ 20 More Nouns You Need to Know)The 10 Most Used Italian Nouns Related to Places (+ An Additional One)The 10 Most Used Italian Nouns Related to Time (+ Four Bonus Words)The 11 Most Used Italian Nouns Related to People (+ An Additional One)The 10 Most Used Italian Nouns Related to Nature (+ Two Bonus Words)The 8 Most Used Italian Nouns Related to Anatomy (+ Three Bonus Words)50 Other Frequently Used Italian Nouns (+ Ten Additional Italian Nouns)The 100 Most Used Italian Verbs The 2 Italian Auxiliary Verbs Top 10 Most Frequently Used Italian Verbs The 34 Most Used Italian Verbs in the First Group: -are The 33 Most Used Italian Verbs in the Second Group: -ere, -arre, -orre, or -urre The 21 Most Used Italian Verbs in the Third Group -ire 198 Frequently Used Italian Adjectives and Adverbs The 8 Italian Possessive Adjectives 8 Italian Indefinite Adjectives 62 Italian Adjectives of Number 50 of the Most Frequently Used Italian Adjectives 23 Italian Adverbs Derived from Adjectives 12 Italian Adverbs of Place 11 Italian Adverbs of Quantity 11 Italian Adverbs of Time 8 Italian Adverbs of Manner 5 Miscellaneous Italian Adverbs The 10 Italian Subject Pronouns The 10 Italian Reflexive Pronouns 20 Core Italian Conjunctions and Connectors The 10 Core Italian Prepositions 7 Italian Question Words 7 Popular Italian Interjections The 7 Italian Definite Articles The 4 Italian Indefinite Articles The 7 Italian Partitive Articles Strengthen Your Italian with the Most Used Italian Words

Pss: If you want to impress Italians in conversations even more, check out these everyday sayings you can use:

The 100 Most Used Italian Nouns (+ 20 More Nouns You Need to Know)

Along with verbs (which I’ll come to in a moment), nouns are the most important words to learn in a foreign language. Saying “hunger” or “apple” if you are hungry, will make your point come across much better than saying “this” or “red”.

You might not make Italian teachers proud, but at least you’ll fill your stomach.

The most used Italian word is arguably cosa, which translates in many ways in English – including “what”, “thing”, and “matter” – depending on its inflection, grammatical function, or the overall context of the sentence.

Examples:

Dammi la cosa rossa. – “Give me the red thing.” In this sentence, cosa is a feminine, singular noun translated as “thing”.Cosa vuoi? – “What do you want?” Here, cosa is the pronoun “what”.Me ne ha parlato coso. – “What’s-his-name told me about it.” Even if it is highly informal and somewhat disdainful, you can use coso to replace a man’s name when you don’t remember it.Spiegami come funziona questo coso. – “Teach me how this thing works.” Coso as a masculine, singular noun also means “thing”, however, it is much more informal than cosa. Being able to differentiate between when to use coso or cosa is mainly a matter of practice. In the meantime, try to avoid coso as much as possible.Hai troppe cose. – “You have too many things.” Cose can mean both “things” and “matters”, and in this sentence, it’s the former.In Eros Ramazzotti’s song Cose Della Vita, cose means “matters”, so the full title translates as “Matters of Life”.

Knowing these are only a few ways to use cosa/o/e/i in a conversation, you can understand why it comes first in the list of most frequently used Italian nouns. By learning it, you would be able to vaguely say at least half of what you want.

But let’s put jokes aside. Even if it is tempting to handle a whole language with only a word, it’s not very realistic.

Here are the 99 nouns that pop up the most frequently in Italian conversations besides cosa. I also included some extra words that are important to learn even though they are not among the most frequently used.

Related learning: [How to Form Plural Nouns in Italian – An Extensive Guide With Examples

The 10 Most Used Italian Nouns Related to Places (+ An Additional One)casa – “house” or ”home”paese – “country” or “town”mondo – “world”città – “city”strada – “road”piazza – “square”sala – “room”ufficio – “office”zona – “zone”isola – “island”

Additional word: posto – “place”

The 10 Most Used Italian Nouns Related to Time (+ Four Bonus Words)anno – “year”giorno – “day”volta – “time” in the sense of “occasion”tempo – “time”ora – “hour”momento – “moment”notte – “night”sera – “evening”mese – “month”periodo – “period” or “interval”

Additional words:

ieri – “yesterday”oggi – “today”domani – “tomorrow”minuto – “minute”The 11 Most Used Italian Nouns Related to People (+ An Additional One)uomo – “man”donna – “woman”signore/a – “sir”/“madam” or “man”/“woman”. Signore with a capital ‘s’ is used as another way to say “Dio” (“God”).padre – “father”figlio/a – “son”/“daughter”persona – “person”gente – “people”amico/a – “friend”famiglia – “family”nemico/a – “enemy”sorella – “sister”

Additional word: madre – “mother”

The 10 Most Used Italian Nouns Related to Nature (+ Two Bonus Words)acqua – “water”aria – “air”mare – “sea”luce – “light”sole – “sun”albero – “tree”fiore – “flower”natura – “nature”fuoco – “fire”campagna – “(the) country”

Additional words:

terra – “land” or “ground”, “Earth” when it is written with a capital “T”.vento – “wind”The 8 Most Used Italian Nouns Related to Anatomy (+ Three Bonus Words)vita – “life”mano – “hand”occhio – “eye”parte – “part”voce – “voice”piede – “foot”testa – “head”mente – “mind”

Additional words:

bocca – “mouth”gamba – “leg”braccio – “arm”50 Other Frequently Used Italian Nouns (+ Ten Additional Italian Nouns)modo – “manner” or “way”parola – “word”punto – “dot”, “period”, or “moment”lavoro – “job” or “work”stato – “state”caso – “case” or “coincidence”guerra – “war”nome – “name”fatto – “fact”amore – “love”storia – “story” or “history”, occasionally “lies”, “fuss”, and “business” in informal conversationsforza – “strength”ragione – “reason”via – “street” or “road”capo – “boss” or “head”specie – “species” or “kind”governo – “government”senso – “sense”opera – “work” or “opera”prodotto – “product”festa – “party”gioco – “game”prova – “test” or “trial”misura – “measure”posizione – “position”successo – “success”vista – “sight”libertà – “freedom”risultato – “result”importanza – “importance”dubbio – “doubt”ricerca – “research”figura – “figure” or “image”questione – “matter” or “issue”pena – “pain”, “sentence”, or “pity”motivo – “motive”esperienza – “experience”ricordo – “memory” or “souvenir”politica – “politics”processo – “process”vino – “wine”porta – “door”sud – “south”sogno – “dream”cane – “dog”movimento – “movement”occasione – “occasion”prezzo – “price”causa – “cause”sviluppo – “development”

Additional words:

fame – “hunger”sete – “thirst”niente – “nothing”qualcosa – “something”aiuto – “help”errore – “mistake”domanda – “question”risposta – “answer”macchina – “car”aereo – “plane”

Here’s an infographic you can keep at hand with the most important out of those 100 nouns:

The 100 Most Used Italian Verbs

Verbs are all about action – doing things. That could be running, cooking, sleeping, whatever. If you (or someone else, or something else) is doing something, there’s a verb involved. You’ll find a verb in every Italian sentence, so it’s important that you know them.

Learning 100 of the most used Italian verbs will allow you to understand way more conversations than you might think.

The 2 Italian Auxiliary Verbs

Before we dive into the full list of most common Italian verbs, let’s take a good look at the Italian auxiliay verbs, essere (“to be”) and avere (“to have”). I’ll come to why these matter in just a moment.

Essere

(io) sono – “I am”(tu) sei – “you are”(egli/essa/esso) è – “he/she/it is”(noi) siamo – “we are”(voi) siete – “you (all) are”(essi/esse) sono – “they are”

Avere

(io) ho – “I have”(tu) hai – “you have”(egli/essa/esso) ha – “he/she/it has”(noi) abbiamo – “we have”(voi) avete – “you (all)” have”(essi/esse) hanno – “they have”

Not only are the verbi ausiliari (“auxiliaries”) useful for making up composed tenses, but many verbal phrases that in English start with “to be” use avere as their core.

Examples:

avere sonno – “to be sleepy”avere fame – “to be hungry”avere ragione – “to be right”

By using avere + noun, you can even sometimes replace other verbs: avere voglia can replace volere (“to want”).

Top 10 Most Frequently Used Italian Verbs

Besides the auxiliaries, there are 10 other most frequently used Italian verbs:

fare – “to do”dire – “to say”potere – “can” or “to be able to”volere – “to want”sapere – “to know”stare – “to stay”dovere – “to must” or “to have to”vedere – “to see”andare – “to go”venire – “to come”

I’ve divided the next 88 most used Italian verbs into three lists, depending on the group of verbs they belong to.

The 34 Most Used Italian Verbs in the First Group: -aredare – “to give”parlare – “to speak”trovare – “to find”lasciare – “to let go” or “to leave”guardare – “to watch”pensare – “to think”passare – “to pass”, “to move”, or “to hand”portare – “to bring”tornare – “to come back”sembrare – “to seem” or “to look like”chiamare – “to call”cercare – “to look for” or “to search for”entrare – “to enter”ricordare – “to remember”aspettare – “to wait”arrivare – “to arrive”diventare – “to become”mangiare – “to eat”camminare – “to walk”toccare – “to touch”considerare – “to consider”mandare – “to send”domandare – “to ask”ascoltare – “to listen”osservare – “to observe”spiegare – “to explain”mostrare – “to show”significare – “to mean”desiderare – “to wish”giudicare – “to judge”avvicinare – “to move closer” or “to approach”ordinare – “to organize”, “to tidy up”, or “to order”invitare – “to invite”sbagliare – “to make a mistake”, “to miss”, or “to be mistaken”The 33 Most Used Italian Verbs in the Second Group: -ere, -arre, -orre, or -urreprendere – “to take”mettere – “to put”credere – “to believe”vivere – “to live”parere – “to seem”, “to appear”, “to believe” or “to think”tenere – “to keep” or “to grip”rispondere – “to answer”chiudere – “to close” or “to end”bere – “to drink”raggiungere – “to reach”comprendere – “to understand” or “to comprehend”scendere – “to get off” or “to go down”compiere – “to accomplish”, “to complete”, or “to carry out”muovere – “to move”conoscere – “to know”chiedere – “to ask”stringere – “to tighten”decidere – “to decide”ricevere – “to receive”permettere – “to allow”raccogliere – “to pick up”ottenere – “to obtain”ammettere – “to admit”vendere – “to sell”distinguere – “to distinguish” or “to recognize”offendere – “to offend”rimettere – “to replace” or “to refer”rompere – “to break”godere – “to enjoy”imporre – “to impose”produrre – “to produce”discutere – “to discuss” or “to argue”prevedere – “to foresee”spegnere – “to turn off” or “to put out”The 21 Most Used Italian Verbs in the Third Group -iresentire – “to feel” or “to hear”capire – “to understand”morire – “to die”aprire – “to open”uscire – “to go out”riuscire – “to succeed”finire – “to end” or “to finish”scrivere – “to write”dormire – “to sleep”avvenire – “to happen” or “to take place”offrire – “to offer”fuggire – “to flee”riferire – “to refer”impedire – “to prevent” or “to forbid”divertire – “to entertain” or “to amuse”fornire – “to provide”riempire – “to fill”scoprire – “to discover”partire – “to leave” or “to depart”unire – “to unite”colpire – “to hit”

If this seems like a lot to learn, let me reassure you: it only takes some motivation and an open mind. You’re already familiar with many of these words!

Take unire for example. Doesn’t it look awfully similar to its English translation, “to unite”?

And for the learning process, there are many useful techniques to help you memorize them quickly. Have a listen to this episode of the Language Hacking Podcast, in which Benny Lewis explains how to create your own immersion environment at home:

198 Frequently Used Italian Adjectives and Adverbs

Sometimes nouns and verbs on their own can’t convey a message clearly enough, and that’s when adjectives and adverbs come in handy.

These 198 frequently used Italian adjectives and adverbs will make your Italian much more colourful and bring your Italian to life.

The 8 Italian Possessive Adjectivesmio (mia/miei/mie) – “mine”tuo (tua/tuoi/tue) – “yours” (singular second person)suo (sua/suoi/sue) – “his” or “hers”nostro (nostra/nostri/nostre) – “ours”vostro (vostra/vostri/vostre) – “yours” (plural second person)loro – “theirs”

Unlike in English, possessive adjectives in Italian have to agree with the noun that is possessed, and not the possessor, in genre and number.

Examples:

Il mio albero – “my tree”La tua famiglia – “your family”I suoi amici – “his friends”Le nostre mani – “our hands”

Note: Loro is an exception as it always remains the same, no matter the noun to which it refers.

Examples:

I loro piedi – “their feet”La loro vita – “their life”Le loro parole – “their words”

There are two additional Italian possessive adjectives which don’t have evident equivalents in English:

proprio (a/i/e) – “his own”/“her own”/“their own”

When proprio is a possessive adjective, it is used instead of suo/a and loro and only when it refers to something that belongs to the subject of the sentence: Ognuno porta il proprio cuaderno. (“Everyone brings their own notebook.”)

altrui – “of others”/“of someone else”

Altrui is used when the noun to which it refers belongs to an indefinite person: le cose altrui (“other people’s things”).

Unlike proprio, altrui does not change depending on the genre and number of the noun it refers to.

8 Italian Indefinite Adjectives

Words we use on a daily basis like tutto/a/i/e (“all”), troppo/a/i/e (“too much/many”), and altro/a/i/e (“other”) are indefinite adjectives. They describe nouns in a non-specific sense: devo parlare ad altre persone (“I need to talk to other people”).

tutto/a – “all”poco/a – “little”alcuno/a – “not any”, “no”, or “some”ogni – “each”qualsiasi – “any”qualche – “some” or “a few”altro/a – “other” or “different”62 Italian Adjectives of Number

In Italian, the principal types of adjectives of number include the numeri cardinali (“cardinal numbers”), numeri ordinali (“ordinal numbers”), numeri moltiplicativi (“multiplicative numbers”) and numeri frazionari (“fractional numbers”).

The terms might sound intimidating, but they are actually very simple.

31 Italian Cardinal Numbers:

uno/a – “one”due – “two”tre – “three”quattro – “four”cinque – “five”sei – “six”sette – “seven”otto – “eight”nove – “nine”dieci – “ten”undici – “eleven”dodici – “twelve”tredici – “thirteen”quattordici – “fourteen”quindici – “fifteen”sedici – “sixteen”diciassette – “seventeen”diciotto – “eighteen”diciannove – “nineteen”venti – “twenti”trenta – “thirty”quaranta – “fourty”cinquanta – “fifty”sessanta – “sixty”settanta – “seventy”ottanta – “eighty”novanta – “ninety”cento – “hundred” or “a hundred”mille – “thousand” or “a thousand”millione – “million”milliardo – “billion”

You can form other cardinal numbers by combining some of these 31 words, such as trentuno (“thirty-one”) or duecentocinquantotto (“two hundred fifty-eight”).

The 13 Main Italian Ordinal Numbers:

primo/a – “first”secondo/a – “second”terzo/a – “third”quarto/a – “fourth”quinto/a – “fifth”sesto/a – “sixth”ottavo – “eighth”nono – “ninth”decimo – “tenth”centesimo – “hundredth”millesimo – “thousandth”

Note: ultimo is “last”.

The 6 Main Italian Multiplicative Numbers:

doppio/a – “double”triplo/a/triplice – “triple”quadruplo/a/quadruplice – “quadruple”quintuplo/a/quintuplice – “quintuple”decuplo/a/decuplice – “tenfold”centuplo/a/centuplice – “a hundred times as much”

The 12 Main Italian Fractional Numbers:

mezzo/a/metà – “half”un terzo – “one third”un quarto – “one fourth”un quinto – “one fifth”un sesto – “one sixth”un settimo – “one seventh”un ottavo – “one eighth”un nono – “one ninth”un decimo – “one tenth”un centesimo – “one hundredth”un millesimo – “one thousandth”50 of the Most Frequently Used Italian Adjectives

Some adjectives make it possible to describe the way something appears, where it is from, or the feelings it inspires. For example, I remember when seeing the Altare della Pace in Rome, I thought it was monumentale (“monumental”).

Here are 50 of the most frequently used Italian adjectives to help you do just so.

grande – “big”stesso/a – “same”bello/a – “beautiful” or “gorgeous”nuovo/a – “new”certo/a – “sure” or “certain”vero/a – “true”buono/a – “good”italiano/a – “Italian”vecchio/a – “old”piccolo/a – “small”giovane – “young”alto/a – “tall”diverso/a – “different”lungo/a – “long”povero/a – “poor”maggiore– “greater”, “elder”, or “olderpossibile – “possible”caro/a – “expensive” or “dear”pieno/a – “full”nero/a – “black”particolare – “specific” or “unique”bianco/a – “white”attuale – “current”latino/a – “Latin”impossibile – “impossible”sereno/a – “serene” or “sunny”puro/a – “pure”normale – “normal”perfetto/a – “perfect”caratteristico/a – “characteristic”russo/a – “Russian”continuo/a – “continuous”stupido/a – “stupid”estremo/a – “extreme”grigio/a – “gray”reale – “real”interessante – “interesting”medesimo/a – “same”religioso/a – “religious”ampio/a – “wide”biondo/a – “blonde”ufficiale – “official”attento – “attentive” or “alert”enorme – “enormous”sottile – “thin”triste – “sad”minimo – “smallest”, “slightest”, or “minimal”privato/a – “private”rapido/a – “fast”diretto/a – “direct”23 Italian Adverbs Derived from Adjectives

While adjectives mainly describe nouns, adverbs tend to modify, well… verbs. If you need an adverb but know only the adjective that explains the concept, chances are you will be able to build the adverb following the following rules.

In English, we sometimes add the suffix -ly to an adjective to turn it into an adverb. In Italian, the process is similar.

With adjectives that end in -o: Add -mente to the feminine form of the adjective.

Examples:

veramente – “truly”, “really”, or “actually”francamente – “frankly”esattamente – “exactly”sinceramente – “sincerely”profondamente – “deeply” or “profoundly”certamente – “certainly”improvvisamente – “suddenly”chiaramente – “clearly”direttamente – “directly”raramente – “rarely”altamente – “highly”

With adjectives that end in -e: Sometimes, you have to remove the -e and add -mente

Examples:

specialmente – “especially”particolarmente – “particularly”talmente – “so much” or “to such an extent”cordialmente – “cordially”abitualmente – “usually”finalmente – “finally”probabilmente – “probably”eventualmente – “possibly”

Other times, you simply add -mente at the end of the word.

Examples:

velocemente – “quickly”semplicemente – “simply”recentemente – “recently”fortemente – “strongly”

Practice is your best ally to differentiate when to do what with adjectives ending in -e.

Now let’s explore the realm of Italian adverbs that do not derive from adjectives.

12 Italian Adverbs of Placefuori – “outside”dentro – “inside”sotto – “under” or “below”davanti – “in front”dietro – “behind” or “back”qui – “here”, precise locationqua – “here”, imprecise locationlì – “there”, precise locationlà – “there”, imprecise locationvia – “away”lontano – “far”vicino – “close”11 Italian Adverbs of Quantitypiù – “more”meno – “less”solo – “only”tanto – “more” or “very much”quasi – “almost”poco – “little”parecchio – “quite a lot” or “much”abbastanza – “quite” or “enough”almeno – “at least”circa – “about” or “around”per nulla – “at all”11 Italian Adverbs of Timepoi – “then”adesso – “now”sempre – “always” or “forever”mai – “never” or “never”prima – “before”subito – “immediately”dopo – “after”durante – “during”ancora – “again” or “still”presto – “soon”, “early”, or “rapidly”già – “before” or “already”8 Italian Adverbs of Mannerbene/ben – “well”male – “bad”forte – “heavily”piano – “slowly” or “quietly”appena – “just” or “only”insieme – “together”volentieri – “gladly” or “willingly”meglio – “better”peggio – “worse”5 Miscellaneous Italian Adverbspure – “even”, “also”, or “too”forse – “maybe”piuttosto – “instead” or “rather”inoltre – “moreover”oltretutto – “besides”The 10 Italian Subject Pronouns

Although these pronouns aren’t usually used in spoken Italian, it’s important to learn the 10 Italian subject pronouns to be able to study Italian conjugation.

io – “I”tu – “you” (singular second person)egli, ella, esso, Lei – “he”, “she”, “it”, “you” (formal singular)noi – “us”voi – “you” (plural)essi, esse – “they” masculine, “they” feminine

Note: Egli, ella, esso, essi, esse are even less used than io, tu, Lei, noi, and voi in verbal communication as they sound very formal. Often, they are replaced by lui (for egli), lei (for essa), and loro (for essi, esse), but only colloquially. Using lui, lei, and loro as subject pronouns is grammatically incorrect, but is done more and more often.

The 10 Italian Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are useful in sentences such as mi lavo (“I wash myself”). They indicate that the person who’s doing the action is also the recipient of the action.

In Italian, the reflexive pronouns are:

mi – “myself”ti – “yourself”si – “himself”/“herself”/“itself”/“yourself” (formal)ci – “ourselves”vi – “yourselves”si – “themselves”20 Core Italian Conjunctions and Connectors

Conjunctions and connectors are, you guessed it, words that help us tie together two parts of a sentence.

In Italian, the most used conjunctions and connectors are:

e – “and”anche – “as well”, “also”, or “even”dunque – “so”allora – “so” or “therefore”però – “but”, “yet”, or “however”ma – “but”perché – “because”mentre – “while” or “whereas”contro – “against”invece – “instead”o – “or”né – “neither” or “nor”cioè – “that is (to say)” or “namely”anzi – “instead”, “actually”, or “rather”quindi – “therefore”così – “thus”perciò – “so” or “for this reason”finché – “as long as”nonostante – “although” or “even though”a meno che or a meno che non – “unless”The 10 Core Italian Prepositions

Prepositions show the relationship between two elements of a sentence. In Italian, the most common ones are:

tra – “between”fra – “among”di – “of” or “from”a – “at”, “in”, or “on”da/dal/dalla – “from” or “to”in – “at”, “in”, “to”, or “into”su – “on”, “up”, or “over”per – “for”con – “with”senza – “without”7 Italian Question Words

Learning a new language conveys a lot of question-asking, which you will be able to face much better by knowing the seven question words in Italian:

chi – “who”che – “what” (note: cosa? is also used to ask, “what?”)dove – “where”quando – “when”come – “how”perché – “why” (note: when not used as a question word but as a conjunction, perché means “because”)quale (quali) – “which”7 Popular Italian Interjections

Italians are fans of interjections, those little words that reveal the emotions of the speaker in a spontaneous reaction.

Here are some of the most popular Italian interjections:

sì – “yes”no – “no” (mind-blowing, I know)toh – “here, have it” or “look” → Example: Toh, chi si vede! (“Look who’s here!”)peccato – “what a shame” (literally “sin”)dai – “come on” (literally “give”)ciao – “hello” and “goodbye”ecco – “here”, “there”, or used to express comprehension → Ecco, lo sapevo! (“There, I knew it!”)The 7 Italian Definite Articles

Unlike in English, gli articoli determinativi (“definite articles”) agree with the noun they refer to. Therefore, instead of being just one definite article like in English (“the”), there are six of them:

il or lo – “the” (masculine singular versions)i or gli – “the” (masculine plural versions)la – “the” (feminine singular version)le – “the” (feminine plural version)l’ – singular “the” placed in front of both masculine and feminine nouns that start with a vowel. It essentially is a contraction of lo and la.

Why are there two versions of the masculine “the”, both plural and singular? The default masculine definite articles are il and i, but they don’t sound good in front of certain combinations of letters. Therefore, lo and gli sometimes replace them.

You can learn the difference through practice, but I’m still leaving the rules here in case you’d like to give them a try (they’re quite easy!).

Lo and gli are used before words that start with:

pn-ps-gn-z-x-y-s- followed by a consonanti- followed by a vowel

Gli precedes words that start with a vowel.

The 4 Italian Indefinite Articles

Unlike their definite cousins, gli articoli indeterminativi (“indefinite articles”) in Italian only exist in the singular form. They are the equivalent of the English “a” and “an”.

un – “a” or “an” (standard masculine version)uno – “a” (masculine version used in front of words starting z or s followed by a consonant)una – “a” (feminine version in front of consonants)un’ – “an” (feminine version in front of vowels)The 7 Italian Partitive Articles

Gli articoli partitivi (“partitive articles”) are essential in Italian because they introduce unknown amounts. You could consider them the translation of “some” in sentences such as voglio dell’acqua (“I want some water”) or dammi dei prodotti (“give me some products”).

del – “some” (standard masculine singular version)dello – “some” (masculine singular version)della – “some” (feminine singular version in front of consonants)dell’ – “some” (feminine and masculine singular version in front of vowels)dei’ – “some” (masculine plural version)degli’ – “some” (masculine plural version)delle – “some” (feminine plural version)

The same rules that apply to the use of il, lo, i, gli apply to del, dello, dei, degli.

Strengthen Your Italian with the Most Used Italian Words

How do you feel about discovering the 500 core Italian words?

What if, by learning only five words every day, you’d end up being able to have Italian interactions in around three months? Maybe you could participate in the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp to keep you motivated. By the end of the 90 days, you’d get to have a 15-minute conversation in Italian and use those 500 words!

You can also enrich your vocabulary by checking out these resources for learning Italian, or some of these articles:

How to Learn Italian: 5 Top Tips for Italian Learners (Plus 5 Great Reasons to Learn Italian)112 Basic Italian Phrases to Learn and Speak NOW!Italian Uncovered Review — What’s the “Secret Ingredient” of this Italian Course?15 Online Language Lessons to Learn Italian for Free Innovative Language Review – Complete Pod101 Language Course Review (with Screenshots and Video Results)

The post 500 Core Italian Words for Everyday Conversations (Top 500 Most Used Italian Words) appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

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Published on March 06, 2023 04:00

February 27, 2023

French Conjugation: The Present Tense – 21 Most Common Verbs (With Charts and Examples)

French conjugation refers to the different endings of French verbs.

For example, think of the verb “to speak”, which in French is parler. In English, the verb is the same whether it’s I speak, you speak, or they speak.

In French, the verb changes:

Je parle – “I speak”Tu parles – “You speak”Ils parlent – “They speak”.

We have conjugation in English, because our verb endings change, too. For example, you don’t say “she speak”, you say “she speaks”.

When you’re learning these French conjugations as a native English speaker, it can feel scary, but it doesn’t have to be.

French Conjugation Can Be Easy

Do you find French conjugation scary? If yes, you are not alone. Many learners think the same, especially in the beginning.

When I was a secondary school student learning French, it seemed impossible to learn how to conjugate the most basic verbs, let alone master French conjugation.

Even so, I decided to study languages at university. I lived in France and Belgium, and ended up teaching French to people from all over the world.

Today, I speak French on a daily basis.

The conjugations that scared me so much come naturally to me now. If I could go back in time and apply the knowledge I had today, I would have become fluent sooner.

So instead, I’ll share it with you!

function runSplitTest(){var randomNumber = Math.floor(Math.random() * 2) + 1console.log(randomNumber)var copy = "";if (randomNumber == 3){ copy = 'A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away in French for at least 15 minutes with the "Fluent in 3 Months" method. All it takes is 90 days. <a href="https://fluentin3months.com/challenge... this link to find out more.</a>'} else { copy = 'Editor's note: Before we get started, if you’re looking for an online French course, here’s the course we recommend: <a href="https://www.fluentin3months.com/olly-... Uncovered - Learn French Through the Power of Story</a>, a course with a fascinating new method by Olly Richards. You can try it for free for 7 days!'}console.log(copy)var copyToChange = document.querySelector("p.copyText").innerHTML = copy;}runSplitTest();Table of contentsFrench Conjugation Can Be Easy The 3 Types of Verbs in French Is French Conjugation Hard?Most Common Verbs in French for Beginners 1. Parler (“To Speak”)2. Penser (“To Think”)3. Aimer (“To Like” / “To Love”)4. Regarder (“To Watch”)5. Appeler (“To Call”)6. Donner (“To Give”)7. Aider (“To Help”)8. Manger (“To Eat”)9. Habiter (“To Live”)10. Finir (“To Finish”)11. Choisir (“To Choose”)12. Être (“To Be”)13. Avoir (“To Have”)14. Aller (“To Go”)15. Venir (“To Come”)16. Faire (“To Do” / “To Make”)17. Vouloir (“To Want”)18. Pouvoir (“To Be Able To” / “To Can”)19. Savoir (“To Know”)20. Voir (“To See”)21. Prendre (“To Take”)How to Make Negative Sentences in French Present Tense French Pronunciation Tips for Verbs French Conjugation Tips Start With the Most Common Verbs Look for Patterns Practice Makes Perfect Listen to French Songs and Watch French Films Use Different Techniques to Study So… You Mastered the French Present Tense. What’s Next?The 3 Types of Verbs in French

To understand French conjugation, you need to know the different types of French verbs. We can divide French verbs into three groups:

First group verbs: regular verbs ending with -er, like parlerSecond group verbs: regular verbs ending with -ir, like choisirThird group verbs: irregular verbs that don’t follow a specific rule, like faire

What is the difference between regular and irregular verbs? The conjugation of irregular verbs doesn’t follow a pattern, like with regular verbs.

Have a look at this table which compares the regular verb parler (“to speak”) to the irregular verb être (“to be”)

Parler (regular verb) Être (irregular verb) je parle je suis tu parles tu es il/elle parle il/elle est nous parlons nous sommes vous parlez vous êtes ils/elles parl/ent ils/elles sont

Can you see how parler follows a pattern and être doesn’t? That’s the difference between regular and irregular verbs in French.

Is French Conjugation Hard?

I have a piece of good news and a piece of bad news.

Good news: 80% of French verbs belong to the first group, regular verbs. If you know how to conjugate one of these verbs, it means that you can conjugate all of them.

For example, the verb parler, (“to speak”) belongs to the first group. All the other first group verbs follow the same logic as parler when it comes to conjugation in the present tense. This means you can apply your knowledge to all the other first group verbs and conjugate décider, arriver, manger, and thousands more.

Bad news, now? Some of the most common verbs in French are third group verbs, which means they are not regular.

Think of the verbs you use every day in English—”to have”, “to go”, “to come”, “to do”… You would use them on a regular basis in French as well—avoir, aller, venir, faire… They all belong to the third group.

Learning the most common French verbs would not only speed up your learning, but it will also help you get more fluent and more confident while you’re using the language.

Most Common Verbs in French for Beginners

Let’s conjugate some of the most common verbs together. To make it easier, we’ll start with the first group verbs and then move on to the irregular third group verbs.

Keep in mind that this list is not in order of frequency.

1. Parler (“To Speak”) Suffixes for 1st group verbs Conjugation Translation -e Je parle I speak -es Tu parles You speak -e Il/elle parle He/she speaks -ons Nous parlons We speak -ez Vous parlez You speak -ent Ils/elles parlent They speak

Example sentence: Je parle français. (“I speak French.”)

Note: Parler is a first group verb. Here is how we conjugate these verbs in French present tense: we remove the -er and add the correct ending. As you can see in the chart, the ending for each person is different.

2. Penser (“To Think”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je pense I think 1st Tu penses You think Il/elle pense He/she thinks Nous pensons We think Vous pensez You think Ils/elles pensent They think

Example sentence: Tu penses à quoi? (“What are you thinking of?”)

Note: Penser is also a first group verb so we conjugate it the same way as parler, using the same endings.

3. Aimer (“To Like” / “To Love”) Conjugation Translation Verb group J'aime I like 1st Tu aimes You like Il/elle aime He/she likes Nous aimons We like Vous aimez You like Ils/elles aiment They like

Example sentence: Il aime sa famille. (“He loves his family.”)

Note: When the verb starts with a vowel, we do a contraction for je and for je only. For example, instead of saying je aime, we should say j’aime.

4. Regarder (“To Watch”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je regarde I watch 1st Tu regardes You watch Il/elle regarde He/she watches Nous regardons We watch Vous regardez You watch Ils regardent They watch

Example sentence: Vous regardez la télé tous les jours. (“You watch TV every day.”)

5. Appeler (“To Call”) Conjugation Translation Verb group J'appelle I call 1st Tu appelles You call Il/elle appelle He/she calls Nous appelons We call Vous appelez You call Ils/elles appellent They call

Example sentence: Ma mère m’appelle. (“My mother is calling me.”)

Note: You already know this verb. How? Think of the first sentence you’ve learned in French. It’s probably je m’appelle. Although it is used as “my name is,” its literal meaning is “I call myself.” Makes sense right?

6. Donner (“To Give”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je donne I give 1st Tu donnes You give Il/elle donne He/she gives Nous donnons We give Vous donnez You give Ils/elles donnent They give

Example: Je donne le livre à ma sœur. (“I givethe book to my sister.”)

7. Aider (“To Help”) Conjugation Translation Verb group J'aide I help 1st Tu aides You help Il/elle aide He/she helps Nous aidons We help Vous aidez You help Ils/elles aident They help

Example: J’aide mon ami. (“I help my friend.”)

Note: Here’s a trick to remember the verb aider: think of “first aid” in English. It comes from Old French which originates from Latin.

8. Manger (“To Eat”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je mange I eat 1st Tu manges You eat Il/elle mange He/she eats Nous mangeons We eat Vous mangez You eat Ils/elles mangent They eat

Example: Je mange trop de sucre. (“I eat too much sugar.”)

Note: While we’re conjugating, we must keep in mind the pronunciation as well. French is not a phonetic language, which means that it’s not pronounced the same way it’s written.

Now check out nous mangeons. It looks like there’s an extra -e there, right? It’s just there so that the G in mangeons sounds like the rest of the verb.

9. Habiter (“To Live”) Conjugation Translation Verb group J'habite I live 1st Tu habites You live Il/elle habite He/she lives Nous habitons We live Vous habitez You live Ils/elles habitent They live

Example: Elle habite à Paris. (“She lives in Paris.”)

Note: The letter “h” usually counts as a vowel in French and it is always silent. This is why we say j’habite and not je habite.

10. Finir (“To Finish”) Suffixes for 2nd group verbs Conjugation Translation -is Je finis I finish -is Tu finis You finish -it Il/elle finit He/she finishes -issons Nous finissons We finish -issez Vous finissez You finish -issent Ils/elles finissent They finish

Example: Elles finissent dans 10 minutes. (“They finish in 10 minutes.”)

Note: Finir is a second group verb. To conjugate these verbs, we first remove the -ir infinitive and add the right ending. We can apply this to all of the second group verbs.

11. Choisir (“To Choose”) Conjugation Translation Group Je choisis I choose 2nd Tu choisis You choose Il/elle finit He/she chooses Nous choisissons We choose Vous choisissez You choose Ils/elles choisissent They choose

Example: Je choisis la deuxième option. (“I choose the second option.”)

Note: Choisir belongs to the second group as well so it has the same endings as finir.

12. Être (“To Be”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je suis I am 3rd Tu es You are Il/elle est He/she is Nous sommes We are Vous êtes You are Ils/elles sont They are

Example sentence: Je suis malade. (“I am sick”)

Note: Although être is an irregular verb, it’s likely to be one of the first verbs you learn in French. I’d recommend learning it very well as—spoiler alert—être will be very important as you learn other tenses in French.

13. Avoir (“To Have”) Conjugation Translation Verb group J'ai I have 3rd Tu as You have Il/elle a He/she has Nous avons We have Vous avez You have Ils/elles ont They have

Example sentence: J’ai 25 ans. (“I am 25 years old.”)

Tip: Don’t forget that we use the verb avoir, not être to talk about our age in French. You’re literally saying “I have 25 years” instead of “I am 25 years old.”

14. Aller (“To Go”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je vais I go 3rd Tu vas You go Il/elle va He/she goes Nous allons We go Vous allez You go Ils/elles vont They go

Example sentence: Mon frère va à l’école. (“My brother goes to school.”)

Tip: Aller is a tricky verb. Although it ends with -er, it is an irregular verb and it belongs to the third group. You can see that its conjugation is very different from first group verbs.

15. Venir (“To Come”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je viens I come 3rd Tu viens You come Il/elle vient He/she comes Nous venons We come Vous venez You come Ils/elles viennent They come

Example sentence: Tu viens du sud. (“You come from the south.”)

Note: Just like the verb aller, venir is also a third-group verb—don’t let the -ir ending fool you.

16. Faire (“To Do” / “To Make”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je fais I do/make 3rd Tu fais You do/make Il/elle fait He/she does/makes Nous faisons We do/make Vous faites You do/make Ils/elles font They do/make

Note: Have you noticed something in common between faire and venir? In both these verbs, je and tu are conjugated the same way. Il/elle end with -t, nous ends with -ons, and vous ends with -ez.

What about ils/elles in faire? That’s very different from venir. Well, check out aller this time!

17. Vouloir (“To Want”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je veux I want 3rd Tu veux You want Il/elle veut He/she wants Nous voulons We want Vous voulez You want Ils/elles veulent They want

Example sentence: Je fais du sport tous les jours. (“I do sports every day.”)

Example sentence: Il veut beaucoup de cadeaux pour son anniversaire. (“He wants a lot of presents for his birthday.”)

18. Pouvoir (“To Be Able To” / “To Can”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je peux I can 3rd Tu peux You can Il/elle peut He/she can Nous pouvons We can Vous pouvez You can Ils/elles peuvent They can

Example sentence: Je peux parler français. (“I can speak French.”)

19. Savoir (“To Know”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je sais I know 3rd Tu sais You know Il/elle sait He/she knows Nous savons We know Vous savez You know Ils/elles savent They know

Example sentence: Je ne sais pas. (“I don’t know.”)

Note: Check out the similarities between the conjugations of vouloir, pouvoir, and savoir.

20. Voir (“To See”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je vois I see 3rd Tu vois You see Il/elle voit He/she sees Nous voyons We see Vous voyez You see Ils/elles voient They see

Example sentence: Je vois une voiture devant le supermarché. (“I see a car in front of the supermarket.”)

21. Prendre (“To Take”) Conjugation Translation Verb group Je sais I know 3rd Tu sais You know Il/elle sait He/she knows Nous savons We know Vous savez You know Ils/elles savent They know

Example sentence: Vous prenez le bus à 10h. (“You take the bus at 10 o’clock.”)

Note: In French, there are many important verbs that derive from prendre. Comprendre, for example, means “to understand.” You would conjugate it the same way as prendre.

How to Make Negative Sentences in French Present Tense

The most common way to make a negative sentence in French is to use the words ne and pas. The verb would go in the middle of these two words. If you check example 19, you will see the negation in action: je ne sais pas (“I don’t know”).

Here are some other ways to form negative sentences in French:

Negative words Meaning Example Translation ne … pas not Je ne parle pas. I don't speak. ne … rien anything Tu ne fais rien. You don't do anything. ne … personne nobody/no one/anybody/anyone Elle ne voit personne. She doesn't see anyone. ne … jamais never, not … ever Vous ne fumez jamais. You never smoke. ne … plus any more Il n'est plus là. He's not here anymore. French Pronunciation Tips for Verbs

It is true that spelling these verbs correctly is important, especially if you’re a student. But don’t forget that pronunciation is equally important. This is the part where it gets easier though.

Let’s explain by using the verb parler again. As we just covered, the present tense conjugations for the verb parler are je parle, tu parles, il/elle parle, nous parlons, vouz parlez, ils/elles parlent.

Among these six conjugations, parle, parles and parlent are all pronounced the same. That’s four out of six which means that you have more than a 50% chance of getting the pronunciation right! This is only one of the reasons why speaking French is easier than you think. You only need to learn how to say the nous form and the vous form, which is not that hard—you just don’t pronounce the last letter.

In French, there is also an alternative word for nous. It’s called on and it means “we,” just like nous. But on is conjugated in the same way as il/elle, not nous. Native speakers use on instead of nous in informal situations such as when they are speaking with their friends. So if you say on parle instead of saying nous parlons, you would sound more fluent. Plus, it’s easier to conjugate.

French Conjugation TipsStart With the Most Common Verbs

This will boost your confidence as you’ll start to understand French more and more. When you learn the common verbs, you’ll be able to conjugate the more uncommon ones more easily as well.

Look for Patterns

Even in irregular verbs, there are some patterns. For example, vous conjugations end with -ez in many verbs.

Try identifying these patterns so that you’ll spend less time finding the right conjugation for each verb.

Practice Makes Perfect

Don’t be afraid to speak even though you’re not 100% sure if you are conjugating the verbs correctly. If you don’t know a word, there is always a way to work around it to make yourself understood.

By speaking with fellow French speakers, you will get a lot of speaking practice, including conjugation.

Listen to French Songs and Watch French Films

Besides improving your vocabulary, you’ll also hear correctly-conjugated French verbs all the time. Plus, you’ll listen to nice songs and watch cool films. Win-win!

Use Different Techniques to Study

You can use different techniques to practise your verbs and see what works best for you. Writing verbs on flashcards, reading them out loud, or using a language learning app can all be options.

Also, keep in mind that everyone has a different learning style. For example, I learn by writing and speaking.

So… You Mastered the French Present Tense. What’s Next?

I’d say once you’re confident conjugating aller, venir, avoir, and être and a handful of the common verbs, you can move on to futur proche (near future) or passé composé (present perfect/simple past).

Next articles? Possibly!

Bonne chance! (“Good luck!”)

How to Speak French: The Faster Way to Learn French French Uncovered Review — Does “Story Learning” Really Work for French?Learn the French Pronouns Once and For All [With Charts!]60+ Essential French Phrases for Beginners to Start Speaking Now FrenchPod101 Review: 30 Days with FrenchPod101

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Published on February 27, 2023 04:00

February 13, 2023

15 Romantic Words for “Beautiful” in Spanish

Spanish is a beautiful language, with a lot of words to describe beauty. But would you know how to tell your Spanish-speaking valentine how attractive they are?

There are many ways in Spanish to say “beautiful”, just like there are many ways to say it in English: “attractive”, “handsome”, “good-looking”, “pretty”, “cute”, “hot”, “fit”, “sexy”, and so on.

In this article, I will show you some of the most common Spanish adjectives for “beautiful”, and explain how you can use them like a native Spanish speaker.

Bello/bella is a safe, all-purpose word that you can use to mean “beautiful” or “lovely”. It’s a bit formal, especially in Spain, but it can describe anything: beautiful people, beautiful clothes, a beautiful view, a beautiful mind.

There’s also a closely-related noun belleza, which means “beauty”.

2. Bonito / Bonita – “Pretty” or “Nice”

Bonito / bonita also means “beautiful”, but it’s not quite as strong as bello. It’s closer to “pretty” or “nice”.

This adjective is more common than bello and, like bello, can describe anything – not just a person.

Just be careful if you see bonito on a menu. When used as a noun, the word refers to a type of fish that’s similar to tuna (and has the same name in English).

3. Guapo / Guapa – “Handsome”

Guapo/guapa is a word with some regional variations. Most commonly, it describes an attractive person, especially male, and isn’t really used for beautiful objects or places.

In some regions of Spain, however, guapo is used more liberally. As well as meaning “attractive” when describing a person, more generally it can mean something like “cool” or “awesome”.

In other places, guapo can mean “brave” or “bold”. In some parts of Latin America it can even mean a “bully” or “braggart”. One Puerto Rican commenter says that where he’s from, calling a man guapo “could definitely cause a fight.”

You know how the word “handsome” in English is only really used for men, not women? Guapo is a bit like that, but not quite as strong. You do hear women being called guapa, but it’s more common to hear them being called bonita. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to be called guapo than bonito.

4. Lindo / Linda – “Lovely”

Lindo/linda is more common in Latin America than Spain (and is also very common in Brazilian Portuguese). It’s similar in meaning to bonito/bonita: it can mean “beautiful”, “pretty”, “lovely”, or “nice”.

In Latin America you can also use lindo as an adverb. For example, ella canta lindo means “she sings beautifully.”

5. Bueno / Buena – “Good Looking”

You’ve surely come across bueno/buena before, as it’s one of the most common Spanish adjectives. Actually, it’s one of the most common words – in the Spanish language.

Bueno usually means “good”, but it has some hidden tricks. If I told you about a girl I know who is buena, what do you think it means?

To quote Bill Clinton, it depends on what the meaning of the word “is” is. Remember that “is” in Spanish can be está (from estar) or es (from ser).

Ella es buena, means she’s “good” in the sense that she’s a good person. She’s moral, virtuous, and does the right thing. Similarly, ella es malo means “she’s (a) bad (person)”.

On the other hand, if I said ella está buena, I’m saying that she’s good-looking. If I want to hammer the point home, I could even say ella está bueníssima – she’s very attractive.

6. Hermoso / Hermosa – “Gorgeous”

Another common word, hermoso/hermosa is used for beautiful people, places, and things. It’s a bit more wide-ranging than bello – translations include “beautiful”, “gorgeous”, “nice”, or even (in Latin America) “noble”.

Remember that bello had a noun cousin called belleza? Hermoso has a similar relationship with hermosura, which means “beauty”. You can also say una hermosura to mean “a beautiful woman”.

##7. Atractivo / Atractiva – “Attractive”

You guessed it – atractivo/atractiva means “attractive”. You can use it in pretty much the same way as in English, for people, places, or things.

El atractivo is also a masculine noun meaning “attraction”, “appeal”, or “charm”.

8. Radiante – “Radiant”

Another word that’s similar to the English – radiante means “radiant” or “beaming”.

It’s not just limited to describing people. For example, una mañana radiante means “a radiant/beautiful morning”.

9. Precioso / Preciosa – “Gorgeous” or “Lovely”

You can call a person, place or thing precioso/preciosa. It means they’re “gorgeous” or “lovely”. The English cognate “precious” can make sense too. For example, a diamante (“diamond”) is a piedra preciosa (“precious stone”).

10. Rico / Rica – “Cute” or “Sexy”

Rico/rica usually means “rich”, or “wealthy”. When describing food, it also means “tasty” or “delicious”.

However, rico/rica can also be used with people, places, and things to mean “lovely” or “cute”. If you use estar to say that a person is rich – e.g. él está rico, it can also be understood to mean “sexy”.

11. Mono / Mona – “Pretty”

As a noun, mono means “monkey” – but it’s not (necessarily) offensive to call a person mono or mona. When used as an adjective in Spain, it can mean “pretty” or “cute.”

The noun mono can also mean “overalls” or “jumpsuit”, or it can be a slang term for “craving” or “withdrawal symptoms.” Just don’t confuse it with moño, which means “bun” (as in the hairstyle) or, in Latin America, a “ribbon” or “bow”.

12. Macizo / Maciza – “Hot”

Most literally, macizo/maciza means “solid” – as in madera maciza (“solid wood”). However, it’s also a colloquial term in Spain for “attractive”. Saying that someone está macizo/a is like saying they’re “hot”, “hunky”, or a “babe”.

13. Bombón – “Sweet Like Chocolate”

A bombón is a type of small chocolate or candy – the exact type depends on your dialect. But it can also mean “an attractive person” – a “beauty” or “stunner”. So call your lover a bombón if you want them to know that you find them sweet.

14. Sexy / Sexi – “Sexy”

No prizes for guessing what sexy means – it’s a recent import from English. Like many other anglicismos, the Spanish spelling of the word isn’t consistent. Sometimes it’s written in the original English way (“sexy”), but sometimes it’s written as sexi to better match Spanish spelling rules.

15. Estar Como un Queso – “To Be Like a Cheese”

Finally, an amusing slang term from Spain. If someone tells you that you’re como un queso (“like a cheese”), how should you react? Are they saying you need to take a shower?

Believe it or not, it’s a compliment! Estar como un queso means “to be attractive/tasty/dreamy/hot”. Perhaps a strange way to put it, but don’t get offended if someone says it to you. They’re being nice!

Or maybe your feet just stink – who knows?

A Warning About “Hot” in Spanish

Before we finish, a word of warning. If you want to call someone very beautiful in Spanish, you might think of the English slang term “hot” – but think twice before calling a Spanish speaker caliente.

While this adjective does literally mean “hot”, someone who’s caliente is in fact aroused. And if you’re not careful, telling someone they’re caliente could earn you a slap.

You have been warned.

You’re Now the Master of Beauty in Spanish

Or maybe not, let’s not go too far… But you certainly know how to give someone a compliment and not only make an awkward attempt at it!

If you’re still in the mood for cheesy- ahem, romantic words, check out our popular article on . You can also find more Spanish-related posts by visiting our Spanish Hub.

I also have a video for you if you’re trying to learn Spanish actively:

Or pick something to read from this list:

¡Lo Siento! and 25 More Ways to Say “Sorry” in Spanish 20+ Resources for Spanish Reading Practice (Beginner to Intermediate)Spanish Uncovered Review — An Honest, Detailed Review on Learning Spanish with Story The 10 Best Ways to Learn Spanish (Be Fluent Faster!)101 Common Spanish Phrases to Start Speaking Spanish Right Now

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Published on February 13, 2023 04:00

February 6, 2023

“Thank You” in Thai: 11 Ways to Express Appreciation in Thai

At first glance, it might seem that saying “thank you” in Thai is as simple as learning ขอบคุณ (cop coon). While that is the correct way to say “thank you”, there are some alternatives to express your gratitude in Thai.

It is very important to show respect to the person you are speaking with in Thai culture, so knowing these different ways to say “thank you” is a must!

Table of contentsQuick List: 3 Common Ways to Say “Thank You” in Thai A Quick Review of Thai Grammar: How Ending Particles Soften Sentences (and Make Them More Polite)ครับ (krap)ค่ะ (ka)นะ (na)จ้า (jaa)How to Say “Thank You” in Thai – ขอบคุณครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun krap/ka)How to Say an Extra Polite “Thank You” in Thai – ขอบคุณนะครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun na krap/ka)How to Say “Thank You Very Much” in Thai – ขอบคุณมากครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun mak krap/ka)How to Say an Extra Polite “Thank You Very Much” in Thai – ขอบคุณมากนะครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun mak na krap/ka)How to Say “Thank you, Sincerely” in Thai – ขอบคุณจริงๆครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun jing jing krap/ka)How to Say an Informal “Thank You” in Thai – ขอบใจ (kop jai)How to Say an Informal “Thank You” in Thai for Female Speakers – ขอบใจจ้า (kop jai jaa)How to Say “Thank You” in Thai through Gesture – ไหว้ (wai)How to Say “Thank You Very Much for the Delicious Food” in Thai – ขอบคุณมากสำหรับอาหารอร่อยๆ (kop khun mak sahm rap ah-han ah-roy ah-roy)How to Say “You’re Welcome” in Thai – ไม่เป็นไร (mai pen rai)Another Way to Say “You’re Welcome” in Thai – ยินดีครับ/ค่ะ (yin dee krap/ka)Ready, Set, Go… ขอบคุณ!Quick List: 3 Common Ways to Say “Thank You” in Thai

Here are 3 of the most common ways to say “thank you” in Thai:

ขอบคุณ (kop khun) – “thank you”ขอบคุณมาก (kop khun mak) – “thank you very much”ขอบใจ (kop jai) – “thank you” (informal)

However, don’t forget that Thai gives a lot of importance to politeness. These ways to say “thank you” are not exactly complete: they lack some ending particles that will make them much more fit for use.

Keep on reading to learn what I am talking about.

A Quick Review of Thai Grammar: How Ending Particles Soften Sentences (and Make Them More Polite)

Before we get started, it is important that you understand a vital aspect of the Thai language.

Thai contains words called ending particles that are very frequently used at the ends of sentences. They soften what is being said and show respect to the person you are talking to.

These ending particles might be compared to using the word “please” or saying something like “if you don’t mind” at the end of a sentence or request.

Often, they do not have a literal meaning but instead change the tone of what you are trying to say, usually to make a sentence more polite or respectful. It’s similar to the difference between bluntly saying “give me that” versus a kinder “could you hand me that please?”

These particles are such an important part of the Thai language that they are among the most used words in everyday conversation. Forgetting to include them or not learning how to properly use them could result in your Thai sounding harsh or blunt.

The ending particles that we will be discussing in this article are:

ครับ (krap)ค่ะ (ka)นะ (na)จ้า (jaa)

Keep in mind that the ending particle you use depends on who the speaker is, it does not change based on who you are speaking to.

ครับ (krap)

ครับ (krap) is an ending particle that is used by male speakers and it is added at the end of a sentence to soften it and make it sound more polite.

It does not have a direct translation but is used very frequently in spoken Thai. You could consider it a polite period to the end of your sentence.

ค่ะ (ka)

Female speakers use the ending particle ค่ะ (ka). It’s the equivalent of ครับ (krap) mentioned above. Female speakers use it in the same way, and it carries the same meaning.

นะ (na)

Both male and female speakers can use นะ (na) to make a polite statement.

นะ is often used when making requests.

If you would like to be extra polite you can say นะ (na) right before ครับ (krap) or ค่ะ (ka).

จ้า (jaa)

จ้า (jaa) is an ending particle that, technically, both male and female speakers can use, but it is much more often used by female speakers.

It is considered less polite and would often only be used when speaking with people who are younger than you or of a lower status.

Now that you’ve learned a few of the more important ending particles, I’m going to show you how these can be used to properly say “thank you” in Thai.

How to Say “Thank You” in Thai – ขอบคุณครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun krap/ka)

The most commonly used phrase in Thai to say “thank you” is ขอบคุณครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun krap/ka).

If you are a male speaker you would say ขอบคุณครับ (kop khun krap) and if you are a female speaker you would use the phrase ขอบคุณค่ะ (kop khun ka).

ขอบคุณครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun krap/ka) is the most commonly used way to thank someone and this can be safely said 99% of the time. You can say this when you’re speaking with someone younger than you as well as someone older and of a higher status.

In the Thai language, there is often an extremely formal and informal way to say the same thing. ขอบคุณครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun krap/ka) strikes the perfect balance of showing respect while not being too formal. It could be used with your boss or someone else of higher status but at the same time would not be unusual to say to a friend or colleague.

How to Say an Extra Polite “Thank You” in Thai – ขอบคุณนะครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun na krap/ka)

If you would like to show an extra level of politeness, you can use the phrase ขอบคุณนะครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun na krap/ka). นะ (na) adds an extra level of respect and consideration for the person you’re thanking.

You can use ขอบคุณนะครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun na krap/ka) to thank someone who is going out of their way to help you with something, or if you are not very familiar with someone and want to show a little bit more respect towards them.

How to Say “Thank You Very Much” in Thai – ขอบคุณมากครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun mak krap/ka)

If you would like to say “thank you very much” in Thai, you can use ขอบคุณมากครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun mak krap/ka). The word มาก (mak) means “much” or “very”, so you are showing a higher level of gratitude.

Similar to ขอบคุณนะครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun na krap/ka) you would use ขอบคุณมากครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun mak krap/ka) when someone has done something extra kind for you.

This phrase is considered respectful and kind with anyone and it’s always a good thing to say when someone has helped you out.

A fun feature of the Thai language is that you can often repeat a word for emphasis. This is so common that there is a symbol in written Thai called a ไม้ยมก (mai yah-moke) that indicates you should repeat the previous word a second time.

In this case, that would mean you can say มาก (mak) twice to show that you really appreciate the person you are speaking with. The way to say this is ขอบคุณมากๆครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun mak mak krap/ka).

How to Say an Extra Polite “Thank You Very Much” in Thai – ขอบคุณมากนะครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun mak na krap/ka)

What if someone you don’t know very well has been very kind to you and you want to make sure to thank them in a respectful way?

In that case, you would want to use ขอบคุณมากนะครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun mak na krap/ka). มาก (mak) adds an extra level of appreciation and นะ (na) shows more consideration and politeness.

How to Say “Thank you, Sincerely” in Thai – ขอบคุณจริงๆครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun jing jing krap/ka)

Another way to express appreciation is to use the phrase ขอบคุณจริงๆครับ/ค่ะ (kop khun jing jing krap/ka) which translates to “thank you, sincerely.”

Notice that the word จริง (jing) which means “true” is repeated twice to add emphasis. This is a heartfelt way to show the person you are talking to that you are truly grateful for what they did for you.

This is a phrase that would be appropriate to use with everyone you are speaking with.

How to Say an Informal “Thank You” in Thai – ขอบใจ (kop jai)

Of course, you wouldn’t speak with your close friends in the same way you would speak to a boss or teacher. So how should you thank your close friends?

You can use ขอบใจ (kop jai) when speaking with friends or people who are younger than you or of a lower status. Amongst friends, using ขอบใจ (kop jai) is a way to show closeness and familiarity.

You would not usually use ขอบใจ (kop jai) when speaking with someone you don’t know well as it could be considered rude.

How to Say an Informal “Thank You” in Thai for Female Speakers – ขอบใจจ้า (kop jai jaa)

A phrase that is generally used by female speakers to thank someone close to them is ขอบใจจ้า (kop jai jah).

This is still an informal way to thank someone. You should only use it with those you feel close to and those who are younger or of a lower status.

How to Say “Thank You” in Thai through Gesture – ไหว้ (wai)

In Thai culture, there is a gesture of respect that you will often see Thais do to one another. This is called the ไหว้ (wai) and it is done by placing your hands together, palms touching, at around chest to neck level. It can sometimes come with a small bow to show respect.

This is a way that Thais greet each other and sometimes it will be done when thanking one another.

As a Thai learner, you should always look for the opportunity to ไหว้ (wai) to someone out of gratitude, especially if someone does the ไหว้ (wai) gesture to you first.
For extra kindness and politeness, you can use any of the above phrases along with the ไหว้ (wai) gesture.

The only exception to this are the informal phrases that you would use amongst friends. It would be a bit unusual to ไหว้ (wai) to a close friend.

How to Say “Thank You Very Much for the Delicious Food” in Thai – ขอบคุณมากสำหรับอาหารอร่อยๆ (kop khun mak sahm rap ah-han ah-roy ah-roy)

If you are in Thailand, chances are that you are eating something delicious.

If you would like to thank someone for preparing a wonderful meal, you can say ขอบคุณมากสำหรับอาหารอร่อยๆ (kop khun mak sahm rap ah-han ah-roy ah-roy) which translates to “thank you very much for the delicious food.”

How to Say “You’re Welcome” in Thai – ไม่เป็นไร (mai pen rai)

If someone is thanking you, you might wonder how you should respond.

A very common phrase to use is ไม่เป็นไร (mai pen rai). This literally translates to “it’s nothing” and is very common in spoken Thai. It can be used with just about everyone and is a gracious and kind way of saying “you’re welcome.”

ไม่เป็นไร (mai pen rai) it’s used in the sense of “it’s no problem at all.”

Interestingly, ไม่เป็นไร (mai pen rai) can also be a polite way to say “no” to someone. Instead of responding to someone with a direct ไม่ (mai) meaning “no,” it can be more respectful to use the phrase ไม่เป็นไร (mai pen rai)

In this case, it has a meaning closer to “no thank you.”

Another Way to Say “You’re Welcome” in Thai – ยินดีครับ/ค่ะ (yin dee krap/ka)

If you would like to add a more personal touch to “you’re welcome”, you can use the phrase ยินดีครับ/ค่ะ (yin dee krap/ka). This literally translates to “joyful” and implies the idea of “it was my pleasure.”

This phrase is obviously a little more heartfelt and can be used with anyone when you would like to let them know that you were happy to help.

Ready, Set, Go… ขอบคุณ!

Now you have all you need to show your gratitude in Thai!

If you are looking for more ways to improve your Thai, be sure to check out Fluent in 3 Months’s top resources for learning Thai along with 10 games and exercises that can help you grow in your language ability.

How to Order Your Favorite Thai Dishes IN Thai Innovative Language Review – Complete Pod101 Language Course Review (with Screenshots and Video Results)Reading Thai and its tones isn’t as hard as you think LingQ Review: An Honest, In-Depth Review of the LingQ Language Learning Tool Getting along with other learners & conclusions of Thai mission

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Published on February 06, 2023 04:00

January 30, 2023

Japanese Greetings: 17 Ways to Say “Hello” in Japanese

Do you want to say “hello” in Japanese?

Now, 挨拶 (aisatsu) means “greeting” in Japanese. And you’ll need to know your Japanese greetings if you want to start a conversation in Japanese! Greetings are some of the most simple phrases to learn, and you’ll use them all the time.

You may already know one or two Japanese greetings, like konnichiwa. But konnichiwa isn’t how you would normally greet someone, especially if they’re close to you. How to say “hi” in Japanese depends on the situation and whom you’re greeting.

Let’s learn to say “hello” in Japanese and more with these essential Japanese greetings.

These are the most common ways to say “hello” in Japanese:

“Hi” – やあ！ (Ya-)“Hello” – こんにちは (Konnichiwa)“Hello” on the phone – もしもし (Moshi moshi)“Good morning” – おはようございます (Ohayou gozaimasu)“Good Evening” – こんばんは (Konbanwa)“Yoohoo”- ヤッホー (Ya-ho-)“Hey” – おす！ (Osu!)“Yo!” – よー！(Yo-!)“How are you?” – お元気ですか (O-genki desu ka)“How’s it going?”- 調子はどうですか (Choushi wa dou desu ka)

You can also improve your pronunciation with this video:

Now let’s have a closer look at those greetings to know which you can use when.

“Hi” in Japanese – やあ！ (Ya-)

A super simple greeting to start off with! やあ is used casually between friends. It’s more of an exclamation to grab attention. In Japanese, it’s common to greet your friends and coworkers with a やあ, or just あー (Aah-), followed by their name.

Here’s an example:

やあ！すずきちゃん、今日いい天気ですね。(Yaa-! Suzuki-chan, kyou ii tenki desu ne.)

“Hi! Suzuki-chan, nice weather today, huh.”

You could even omit the exclamation and only greet someone with their name to say “hi.”

“Hello” in Japanese – こんにちは (Konnichiwa)

こんにちは is “hello” in Japanese, but it’s not used as often as you would think. こんにちは is somewhat formal so it would sound a bit awkward to say it to a friend. While it’s normal in some cultures to exchange short, friendly greetings to those you pass on the street, that’s a big no-no in Japan. You wouldn’t greet a passing stranger with こんにちは. It’s mainly used in semi-formal situations, like in an office space.

It also means “good afternoon” in Japanese, and so you would really only use it in the afternoon.

“My Name is” in Japanese – 名前は＿＿＿です。(Namae wa ____ desu.)

How to say “my name is” in Japanese is quite simple. You could say it two ways: 名前は＿＿＿です。 (Namae wa **** desu.) or ＿＿＿＿です。(____ desu._)

All you have to do is fill your name in the blank. So, for example, I would say 名前はケイトリンです。 (Namae wa Keitorin desu) Or, I could shorten it and say: ケイトリンです。(Keitorin desu.)

In Japanese, Namae is “name,”, wa is the subject marker, and desu is the helping verb “is.” That’s why you can say Namae wa or just your name and desu. The first means “My name is Caitlin” while the second means “I am Caitlin.”

To be technical, the full phrase would be 私の名前は＿＿＿です。 (Watashi no namae wa **** desu._) But watashi no (“my”) isn’t needed because it’s understood in context. You almost never need to use watashi unless you need to clarify the subject.

If you’re in a very formal situation, there is one less common way to introduce yourself: と申します。(___ to moushimasu.) It’s a polite way to say “My name is” or “I call myself.” This is humble speech and is used when talking to someone of much higher status. It’s usually only used in business situations when you’re introducing yourself to a new company client or the company president.

“Good Morning” in Japanese – おはようございます (Ohayou gozaimasu)

In the mornings, you can greet people with おはようございます. It’s a formal way to greet someone so you would use it when saying hello to your boss in the morning.

Informally, you would drop gozaimasu and just say ohayou. This is very common to say to everyone. You’ll often hear friends exaggerate the sounds, and draw out the “o” at the end like おはよー！

“Good Evening” in Japanese – こんばんは (Konbanwa)

In the evening, greet others by saying こんばんは. It’s a polite and formal way to say “good evening.” You can use this with almost anyone, but it’s definitely more common to greet friends and family with an informal greeting on this list instead.

“Goodnight” in Japanese – おやすみなさい (Oyasumi nasai)

This is more a parting phrase than a greeting. But at night and when going to bed, you say おやすみなさい. It literally means: “Go take a rest.”

Between friends and family, you would leave off the nasai that makes the phrase formal. Instead, say おやすみ－！

“Long Time No See” in Japanese – お久しぶりですね (O-hisashiburi desu ne)

If you haven’t seen someone for a while (three weeks or longer) you can say お久しぶりですね。This means, “It’s been a while, huh?” or “Long time no see!” You can say this to anyone, from a friend to someone in the workplace. The “o” at the beginning adds respect, and the “ne” at the end means “huh” or “right?” Both can be dropped, to make it a less formal statement.

You’ll combine this phrase with other greetings. Here’s an example:

あー、すずきさん。久しぶりですね。元気だった？ (Aa-, Suzuki-san. Hisashiburi desu ne. Genki datta?)
“Ah, Suzuki-san. Long time no see, huh. How have you been?”

“Yoohoo” in Japanese – ヤッホー (Ya-ho-)

This is a very casual greeting, usually between young kids or close friends. It’s a more feminine greeting, but don’t worry boys – your greeting is next.

ヤッホー is another exclamation type of greeting used to grab a close friend or child’s attention. It’s like yelling “Yoohoo!” and waving for attention. You would follow it with your friend’s name.

“Hey” in Japanese – おす！ (Osu!)

おす is a masculine, slang way to greet other guys. Girls don’t typically say this (although I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t my favorite informal greeting. I use it sometimes with friends – often receiving strange looks). And guys wouldn’t say it to girls.

Unlike the other informal phrases on this list, it’s an exclamation that’s more often used when you already see and have the person’s attention. So you don’t need to follow it up with their name, but you still can.

It can also be used as “Yes, sir!” or a “Roger!” Some anime use this, but it’s not common in everyday speech.

“Yo!” in Japanese – よー！(Yo-!)

Exactly the same as English. You can greet a close friend informally with a simple yo! You wouldn’t say this to anyone older than you, though. This one is also more masculine, but sometimes young girls and women say it, too, to get someone’s attention.

You could also use the phrase おーい！(O-i!) This is only used as an exclamation, and it’s a more masculine expression. It can be a bit rude or harsh, so you’d only use this with people close to you.

“How are you?” in Japanese – お元気ですか (O-genki desu ka)

You can greet someone with “How are you” by saying お元気ですか. The “o” here is to show respect, and “ka” is the question particle. You can drop the “o” to make it informal and to reply, you could say genki desu. The word genki means “energy” or “healthy,” so you’re asking “Are you healthy?”

Unlike in English, you don’t ask someone this phrase often. You usually wouldn’t ask someone you saw yesterday, “How are you today?” in Japanese. But if it’s been a while, it’s common to put the phrase in the past tense and ask 元気だった？ (Genki datta, “How have you been?”) To simplify it further, you could only say “Genki?” and raise the inflection on the last syllable.

Another way to ask how someone is doing is to say いかがですか (Ikaga desu ka). It means both “How are you?” and “How’s it going?” But it’s more formal and used to ask a higher-status individual how something specific is going. Like their job, or school.

Example:

お仕事はいかがですか。(O-shigoto wa ikaga desu ka)

“How’s work going?” or “How is your work going?”

“How’s it going?” in Japanese – 調子はどうですか (Choushi wa dou desu ka)

The actual translation for this one is “What’s your condition?” but it’s used informally to ask “how’s it going” in Japanese.

The difference here is that it’s a “how are you” phrase to follow up on something that was already discussed between you and a friend. For instance, the last time you saw your friend, they told you they were slammed at work and stressed about it. When you see them again, you can ask 調子はどうですか to see how it’s been since.

“I’m Back!” in Japanese – ただいまー (Tadaima-)

When you come home, you can announce it by proclaiming ただいまー！This means “I’m back!” or “I’ve returned home!” You can use this at work, too, when you’ve left the office for a while and returned.

You’ll be greeted in return with お帰り (okaeri) which literally means “you’ve returned” but translates better as “welcome back.” If you’re returning to the office from a business trip or out-of-the-office meeting, you might be greeted instead with お疲れ様 (otsukaresama) or just お疲れ (otsukare). Both mean “you must be tired” or “thanks for your hard work,” but otsukare is less formal.

“Nice to Meet You” in Japanese – はじめまして (Hajimemashite)

When you meet someone for the first time, you can start off by saying はじめまして. This means “nice to meet you.”

You would normally follow it by giving your name, and then saying よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegaishimau). This is also usually translated as “nice to meet you” but it has many, many uses in Japanese.

A more accurate (but awkward in English) meaning would be “please look after me.” It’s a formal expression used whenever you’re asking to build a relationship with someone, or when you have to put your trust in them. It can also be shortened to “yoroshiku” to be less formal.

A common greeting at New Year’s is あけましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いします。(Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.) So when you see people after the new year, you’re wishing them “Happy New Year! This year, again, please look after me.” To close friends, you shorten it to あけおめ！今年もよろしく (Akeome! Kotoshi mo yoroshiku).

“Welcome!” in Japanese – いらっしゃいませ (Irasshaimase)

When you walk into a store in Japan, you’ll often be greeted with いらっしゃいませ！It means “welcome” to store guests.

However, you wouldn’t say this to someone coming into your home. When you arrive at someone else’s home, you greet them with お邪魔します (ojama shimasu). It means “I’m sorry to bother you.” The host would welcome you by saying どうぞ (douzo), or “please, after you,” “come in,” or “go ahead.”

“Hello” on the Phone in Japanese – もしもし (Moshi moshi)

Answering your phone in Japanese also has its own greeting! When you say “hello” on the phone, you say もしもし with a raised inflection to say “Hello?” It comes from the verb 申す (mousu), the humble version of “to say.” However, you would only use moshi moshi when answering a phone call from a friend or family member.

In business situations, moshi moshi is considered rude. So instead, you’d answer the phone with はい (hai, “yes”), followed by your last name/family name or the company name.

“Nice day, huh?” in Japanese – いい天気ですね (Ii tenki desu ne)

Like English, you can also start off by greeting someone with a generic phrase about the weather. Usually, it’ll be something along the lines of いい天気ですね (ii tenki desu ne, “Nice weather, isn’t it?”) or 暑い / 寒いですね (atsui / samui desu ne, “It’s hot / It’s cold, isn’t it?)

How Do YOU Say “Hello” in Japanese?

There are many ways to greet someone in Japanese! But the best way to strike up a conversation and get started speaking Japanese is with a simple “hello.” Learning these phrases is a great place to start getting comfortable with the language.

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Now, learn your core Japanese words to expand your vocabulary!

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Published on January 30, 2023 02:00

January 23, 2023

38 Italian Sayings that Italians Really Use

Every language has its own turns of phrase and quirky sayings, and we Italians are fond of our many aforismi e proverbi (“aphorisms and proverbs”).

Think about it: what better way is there to sound like a native than to incorporate local expressions into your speech?

Plus, by learning Italian sayings you’ll get an insight into Italian culture and how Italians think.

In this article, you’ll find popular Italian sayings about life, success, friendship, family, and food, as well as some Latin expressions that are still widely used in the Boot and a list of Italian idioms.

Table of contents10 Italian Phrases About Life (+ a Bonus!)1. Il Mattino Ha l’Oro in Bocca – “The Early Bird Catches the Worm”2. Nessuna Nuova, Buona Nuova – “No News Is Good News”3. Ai Mali Estremi, Estremi Rimedi – “Desperate Times Call for Drastic Measures”4. Finché C’È Vita C’È Speranza – “While There’s Life, There’s Hope”5. Meglio Tardi Che Mai – “Better Late Than Never”6. Ride Bene Chi Ride Ultimo – “He Who Laughs Last, Laughs Longest”7. L’Abito Non Fa il Monaco – “Clothes Don’t Make the Man” and “Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover”8. A Caval Donato Non si Guarda in Bocca – “Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth”9. Batti il Ferro Finché È Caldo – “Make Hay While the Sun Shines”10. Chi Troppo Vuole Nulla Stringe – “Grasp All, Lose All”11. Bonus Italian Saying: La Vita È Come Una Fotografia. Se Sorridi, Viene Meglio (“Life is Like a Photograph. If You Smile, It’s Better”)5 Italian Phrases About Success 12. Chi Dorme Non Piglia Pesci – “You Snooze, You Lose”13. Chi Fa Da Sé, Fa Per Tre – “Do It Yourself If You Want It Done Right”14. Chi Non Fa, Non Falla – “He Who Makes No Mistakes, Makes Nothing”15. La Pazienza È la Virtù dei Forti – “Patience is a Virtue”16. Non Rimandare a Domani Quello Che Puoi Fare Oggi – “There’s No Time Like the Present”4 Italian Sayings About Friends and Family 17. Chi Trova un Amico, Trova un Tesoro – “He Who Finds a Friend, Finds a Treasure”18. Noi Non Potremo Avere Perfetta Vita Senza Amici – “We Couldn’t Have a Perfect Life Without Friends”19. Quale il Padre, Tale il Figlio – “Like Father, Like Son”20. Tra Moglie e Marito Non Mettere il Dito – “Never Interfere Between a Husband and Wife”4 Italian Sayings About Food 21. L’Appetito Vien Mangiando – “Appetite Comes With Eating”22. Non Tutte le Ciambelle Riescono Col Buco – “Not Everything Turns Out as Planned”23. Tutto Fumo e Niente Arrosto – “All Bark and No Bite”24. Cercare il Pelo nell’Uovo – “To Be Nit-Picky”4 Italian Sayings About Love 25. L’amore È Cieco – “Love Is Blind”26. Al Cuore Non Si Comanda – “The Heart Wants What It Wants”27. Sfortunato al Gioco, Fortunato in Amore – “Unlucky at Cards but Lucky in Love”28. Occhio Non Vede, Cuore Non Duole – “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”5 Latin Sayings Used by Italians 29. Repetita luvant – “Repeating Does Good”30. Verba Volant, Scripta Manent – “Words Fly Away, Writings Remain”31. Ad Maiora Semper – “Towards Greater Things”32. De Gustibus (Non Disputandum Est) – “There Is No Arguing About Taste”33. Carpe Diem – “Seize the Day”5 Italian Idioms 34. In Bocca Al Lupo! – “Good Luck!”35. Cavolo! – “Darn!”36. Un Freddo Cane – “It’s Freezing Cold”37. Sogni d’Oro – “Sweet Dreams”38. Farsi in Quattro – “Bend Over Backwards”What’s Your Favorite Italian Saying?

Italian is my native language, so I’m very proud to share these.

Pronti? Via! (“Ready? Let’s go!”)

Life is full of surprises, isn’t it? Both good and bad ones. But it doesn’t look like Italians are ever really surprised. In fact, they seem to have a proverb or idiom related to about every possible situation in life.

As there are many Italian sayings about life, I’ve collected 10 of the most popular ones for you. As a bonus, I’ve also added a saying that isn’t very popular but makes up for it in charm.

[image error] 1. Il Mattino Ha l’Oro in Bocca – “The Early Bird Catches the Worm”

If you’re an early riser, this Italian quote might be your motto.

Literally translated as “the morning has gold in its mouth”, il mattino ha l’oro in bocca suggests that the early morning hours are the ones which bring about more productivity.

This phrase is considered to be the equivalent of the English “the early bird catches the worm” because, despite not meaning the exact same thing, they have a similar message: those who start off before others catch the best opportunities.

2. Nessuna Nuova, Buona Nuova – “No News Is Good News”

There is little to explain about nessuna nuova, buona nuova as it has an exact equivalent in English: “no news is good news.” You will also hear it as nulla nova, bona nova, the original Latin version of the saying.

If you’re not familiar with the phrase in any of those languages, you’ll catch its meaning after reading its Italian counterpart: le notizie brutte si sanno subito. (“bad news is immediately known”)

Not hearing any news about a person usually means that their routine is going on as always, hence there is no need to report any changes.

3. Ai Mali Estremi, Estremi Rimedi – “Desperate Times Call for Drastic Measures”

This Italian phrase comes from the Latin extremis malis, extrema remedia. It literally translates to “to extreme wrongs, extreme cures”, but would usually be rendered in English as “desperate times call for drastic measures”.

This phrase is used when talking about serious situations. If a problem is harsh, the proverb suggests that the solution should be equally heavy.

4. Finché C’È Vita C’È Speranza – “While There’s Life, There’s Hope”

Italians are fond of this phrase. They like to remember that they should keep hoping for the best, even when they are in a dire situation or things look impossible.

Finché c’è vita, c’è speranza has a sibling proverb: la speranza è l’ultima a morire (literally: “hope is the last one to die”).

5. Meglio Tardi Che Mai – “Better Late Than Never”

Meglio tardi che mai is another Italian phrase that points to a glass-half-full mindset. It is a reminder that it’s better when things happen late, but still happen, rather than not happening at all.

This proverb has a twin related to quantities: meglio poco che niente (“something’s better than nothing”).

Both phrases are often used sarcastically.

6. Ride Bene Chi Ride Ultimo – “He Who Laughs Last, Laughs Longest”

Because of this saying, I’ve always been cautious during competitions. You should never feel like the victory is yours before the competition is actually over!

Ride bene chi ride ultimo is not only used as a warning but also as a moral. Its meaning sometimes coincides with that of the sayings non vendere la pelle dell’orso prima di averlo ucciso (literally: “don’t sell the bear’s skin before having killed it”) or non dire gatto se non ce l’hai nel sacco (literally: “don’t say cat if you don’t have it in the bag”), which both mean “don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched”.

7. L’Abito Non Fa il Monaco – “Clothes Don’t Make the Man” and “Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover”

Literally translated in English l’abito non fa il monaco becomes “the clothes do not make the monk”. We can see in it a trace of the heavy importance of the Catholic religion in Italian culture.

If we were to look for the English equivalent of this idiom, we’d find two. Let’s see why.

Firstly, it’s not the monk’s clothes that make him a holy man, but his actions. In this case, the phrase means “clothes don’t make the man”.

But then, if a man is clothed as a monk, he isn’t necessarily one. In this case, the English translation would be “don’t judge a book by its cover”. There even is another saying for this in Italian: “non è tutt’oro ciò che luccica” (“all that glitters is not gold”).

8. A Caval Donato Non si Guarda in Bocca – “Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth”

You’d be surprised at how often this saying is used in Italy. How weird is it to talk about looking a horse in the mouth?

When horses were a crucial resource, buyers checked a horse’s mouth before purchasing them to make sure it was in good health. They assured themselves that the horse was worth the money spent and would be able to perform its tasks well. That’s what we still do when we’re considering buying a product, after all.

But would you check the quality of a gift you’ve received in front of the person who gifted it to you? That’d be rude.

That’s what this saying means. You should be grateful for what you get and not look for reasons to dismiss a gift.

9. Batti il Ferro Finché È Caldo – “Make Hay While the Sun Shines”

Batti il ferro finché è caldo (literally: “beat the iron while it’s hot”) is the Italian phrase used when you want to encourage someone to act while there is an opportunity to grab. In fact, giving iron shape is possible only when it’s hot enough to be reformed. When it cools down, there’s nothing you can do to bend it.

10. Chi Troppo Vuole Nulla Stringe – “Grasp All, Lose All”

Chi troppo vuole nulla stringe literally means “those who want too much end up keeping/getting nothing”.

It’s a colloquial but wise saying that brings to mind one of Aesop’s fables: Il Cane e l’Osso (“The Dog and The Bone”).

In this story, a dog is enjoying a bone on the side of a river. While he is chewing his meal, he happens to look down at the water’s surface. He mistakes his reflection for another dog chewing on what seems to him like a bigger bone. Eager to get a better meal, the dog opens his mouth to get the other bone… But what happens instead is that his own meal falls into the river, where the dog can’t get it back.

There’s another Italian phrase with a similar meaning. It is: il meglio è il nemico del bene (“the perfect is the enemy of good.”) While there’s nothing wrong in aiming to give your best effort, the proverb teaches that wanting too much perfection might lead you to lose the work you put up to get something simply good.

11. Bonus Italian Saying: La Vita È Come Una Fotografia. Se Sorridi, Viene Meglio (“Life is Like a Photograph. If You Smile, It’s Better”)

This one is not very popular as it is more recent than any of the above-mentioned phrases, but I wanted to include it because it’s one of the most beautiful Italian sayings I’ve ever heard.

5 Italian Phrases About Success

There are quite a few Italian expressions related to success. Here are five that are frequently used in Italy:

12. Chi Dorme Non Piglia Pesci – “You Snooze, You Lose”

Chi dorme non piglia pesci literally translates to “those who sleep don’t catch fish.”

Does it sound like it makes no sense? Well, think about it. You can’t expect to catch fish if all you do when going out to the river is sleep on the bank.

Similarly, you can’t expect to get results if you’re too lazy to work for them.

13. Chi Fa Da Sé, Fa Per Tre – “Do It Yourself If You Want It Done Right”

According to this saying, doing things yourself is as if you did the job of three people. What Italians want to say is that you have to do things yourself if you want them to be done properly. And here I am writing this excellent article about Italian sayings, so of course, I think it’s true. 😄

14. Chi Non Fa, Non Falla – “He Who Makes No Mistakes, Makes Nothing”

The exact English translation of chi non fa, non falla is “who does nothing makes no mistakes”.

It doesn’t sound like much of a proverb, does it? Making no mistakes could even be considered something positive. But the saying makes sense when you know that there is an implicit conclusion to it.

In fact, Italian parents never tire of reminding their children that mistakes pave the path to great achievements. Who hasn’t been told that making mistakes is a way to learn new lessons?

So by saying “who does nothing makes no mistakes,” the proverb means that those who do nothing achieve and learn nothing.

15. La Pazienza È la Virtù dei Forti – “Patience is a Virtue”

In Italian, we say that “patience is the virtue of the strong”. Anyone can give in to anger or get impatient, but few are strong enough to keep calm and wait for life to happen at its own pace.

Being able to never lose my temper is a superpower I’d love to have.

16. Non Rimandare a Domani Quello Che Puoi Fare Oggi – “There’s No Time Like the Present”

Raise your hand if you’ve put off something you needed to do only to find that you ran out of time. 🙋

This Italian saying is a wise warning to avoid that kind of situation. Non rimandare a domani quello che puoi fare oggi literally means “don’t postpone what you could do today to tomorrow.”

4 Italian Sayings About Friends and Family

Family and friends hold an important place in Italian culture. For this reason, there are a few Italian proverbs related to friends and family.

Let’s discover four of them.

17. Chi Trova un Amico, Trova un Tesoro – “He Who Finds a Friend, Finds a Treasure”

One of my middle-grade teachers once taught me that a true friend is someone who would not hesitate in letting you stay at their place if your house burnt down. It’s an extreme example, but it covers what true friendship should convey.

In this Italian saying, finding a friend is compared to finding a treasure because a true friend turns out to be an invaluable companion in life.

18. Noi Non Potremo Avere Perfetta Vita Senza Amici – “We Couldn’t Have a Perfect Life Without Friends”

This quote by Dante Alighieri is one of the most famous Italian sayings still used in everyday speech despite its old-fashioned phrasing. You might hear it from Italians who have studied classic literature at university.

By reading this quote and the saying above, you can understand how valuable friendship is in Italy.

19. Quale il Padre, Tale il Figlio – “Like Father, Like Son”

Also quoted as tale padre, tale figlio, this saying is often used with a negative connotation.

It implies that a son has the same values, morals, or behavioral tendencies as his father and usually serves as a criticism or reproval of said traits.

20. Tra Moglie e Marito Non Mettere il Dito – “Never Interfere Between a Husband and Wife”

Tra moglie e marito non mettere il dito is literally translated as “don’t put a finger between wife and husband.” Granted, it doesn’t stand out for clarity, but at least it rhymes in Italian.

I’ve learnt this phrase from my Italian grandparents. Getting involved in a couple’s business when they are arguing is not a good thing if you do not know the depth of the situation.

4 Italian Sayings About Food

You might have scrolled down or skimmed the previous parts to get to this one. I don’t blame you if you did, few people can resist the words “Italian” and “food” in the same sentence.

Italians do very well when they deal with food in the kitchen, but what about when they mix it up with proverbs and sayings? I’ll let you judge.

21. L’Appetito Vien Mangiando – “Appetite Comes With Eating”

If you’re planning to go to Italy and are thinking about learning only one saying, this is the one. It’s not particularly meaningful, but it’s used very often.

To be honest, the truth behind the saying is not so much about appetite as it is about gluttony, but I guess it sounded better this way. It means that people always want more than they already have.

And with Italian cuisine, you bet they do. 😉

22. Non Tutte le Ciambelle Riescono Col Buco – “Not Everything Turns Out as Planned”

Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco literally means “not all doughnuts come out with a hole.” If this saying makes you feel perplexed, don’t worry, you’re not alone: even some Italians are not too keen on it!

First of all, why would Italians talk about doughnuts as they’re not a typical Italian food? That’s a good question, and the answer might disappoint you in its simplicity. In fact, there isn’t a real answer. Italians just seem to have warmed up to doughnuts and decided that they are the perfect ingredient to cook up a proverb.

Secondly, what does the saying mean? This I know. A doughnut is supposed to look like a ring of dough, but sometimes an error in the preparation might result in a hole-less doughnut. Not everything in life turns out the way you planned!

23. Tutto Fumo e Niente Arrosto – “All Bark and No Bite”

Do you know people who like to rant a lot, but when it comes to taking action, they suddenly become very shy? You could say about them that they are tutto fumo e niente arrosto.

You can also use the expression to describe hyper-hyped products or initiatives that turn out to be a lot less than what they’d been marketed as.

24. Cercare il Pelo nell’Uovo – “To Be Nit-Picky”

Cercare il pelo nell’uovo literally translated to English would be “to look for the hair in the egg”. It means to split hairs, looking for the fault or minor error in a situation.

4 Italian Sayings About Love

If you think about it, love is an impossible concept to define in all its beauty. However, Italians try their best to put it into words. They have many ways to talk about romantic love with their partners, for example.

Here, you can learn four Italian sayings about love.

25. L’amore È Cieco – “Love Is Blind”

This saying could have several interpretations. Whether it relates to blindness when it comes to physical appearance or a love interest’s faults, the message is clear: when you fall in love, you do it regardless of anything.

26. Al Cuore Non Si Comanda – “The Heart Wants What It Wants”

Al cuore non si comanda (literally: “you can’t rule the heart”) means that love blooms unexpectedly and you can’t control it.

I’ve heard from trusted sources that it’s a favorite motto of rom-com scriptwriters.

27. Sfortunato al Gioco, Fortunato in Amore – “Unlucky at Cards but Lucky in Love”

To be honest, this proverb does not have a tried-and-true message to deliver. It’s more of a superstitious belief than a moral.

I, for example, am very unlucky at both. 💔

28. Occhio Non Vede, Cuore Non Duole – “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”

The literal translation of occhio non vede, cuore non duole is “eye doesn’t see, heart doesn’t hurt.”

What this saying implies is that what you don’t see with your own eyes won’t hurt you. It’s used when talking about love delusions.

5 Latin Sayings Used by Italians

In Italy, the study of ancient Latin and Greek is well-looked upon as the civilizations they’re linked to are an important foundation of Italian culture.

Besides small words or expressions like viceversa (“the other way around”), idem (“same”), and in extremis (“at the last moment”), Italians have conserved several Latin expressions for day-to-day use. Here are five of them.

As you’ll notice, they’re short, which makes them easier to remember and use on a daily basis.

29. Repetita luvant – “Repeating Does Good”

In Italian, repetita Iuvant becomes ripetere la stessa cosa, aiuta (“repeating the same thing helps”), but the Latin version is used the most.

It’s used in situations when repetition could be considered boring, such as in school, to remind the listener that repeating things makes them easier to remember.

I learnt this one from my nonno (“grandfather”), who used to tell me repetita iuvant when I got bored with my school work.

[image error] 30. Verba Volant, Scripta Manent – “Words Fly Away, Writings Remain”

Verba volant, scripta manent, or le parole volano, gli scritti rimangono in Italian, is a quote from a famous speech by the Emperor Titus at the Roman senate.

It’s a truth that spoken words can be forgotten or ignored, but written words remain tangible and visible proof.

31. Ad Maiora Semper – “Towards Greater Things”

Ad maiora semper means verso cose più grandi (“towards greater things”). It’s a phrase for encouraging people when their life is opening up to new possibilities, such as after graduation.

32. De Gustibus (Non Disputandum Est) – “There Is No Arguing About Taste”

This phrase, which in Italian becomes i gusti non si discutono, is used to say that there is no arguing about taste as it is subjective.

Some of my friends use it when I tell them their love for pineapple pizza is irrational.

33. Carpe Diem – “Seize the Day”

The Italian version of carpe diem is cogli l’attimo (“seize the moment”). This Latin phrase is popular worldwide as a reminder to enjoy the present.

5 Italian Idioms

You’ve learnt many Italian proverbs and sayings as well as some Latin ones… Now how about getting to know some Italian idioms? Let’s do that.

34. In Bocca Al Lupo! – “Good Luck!”

Yes, you’ve read this right. A common colloquial way to wish someone good luck in Italian is to tell them “in the mouth of the wolf.”

This idiom’s origin is unclear, but a popular belief is that it comes from the legend of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. The twins were found and raised by a wolf from a young age, and because of this, the wolf represents protection and care.

However, this poetic version clashes with the typical answer to the interjection: crepi il lupo (“may the wolf die”). This may stem from the times when wolves were considered the most dangerous animals in Italy.

35. Cavolo! – “Darn!”

Imagine this situation: you’re at the till at the supermarket and the cashier has finished scanning your week’s worth of groceries. You’re about to take out your wallet to pay when… Cavolo! (literally, “Cabbage!”) You realize you’ve left it at home.

36. Un Freddo Cane – “It’s Freezing Cold”

Brrr… If you want to shiver in Italian, you must use this funny idiom: fa un freddo cane. It’s hard to translate it to English in a way that makes sense.

Cane (“dog”) in this case is used as an intensifying adjective, so the phrase doesn’t mean “it’s dog cold” but “it’s really, really cold”.

37. Sogni d’Oro – “Sweet Dreams”

To wish your loved one a good night in Italian, you can tell them to have sogni d’oro (literally: “golden dreams”).

38. Farsi in Quattro – “Bend Over Backwards”

Farsi in quattro (literally, “Make oneself in four”) is the Italian way to say that you’ve gone out of your way to do something. It’s an idiom often used to describe parents’ efforts to give the best to their children.

What’s Your Favorite Italian Saying?

So, what do you think of these Italian sayings? I live in London now, so I don’t get to use them very often, and it felt so good to share them with you!

Now, it’s your turn to use them! In bocca al lupo! (“Good luck!”)

Italian Uncovered Review — What’s the “Secret Ingredient” of this Italian Course?500 Core Italian Words for Everyday Conversations (Top 500 Most Used Italian Words)112 Basic Italian Phrases to Learn and Speak NOW!15 Online Language Lessons to Learn Italian for Free “Congratulations” in Italian (and 20+ more Italian Celebration Phrases)

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Published on January 23, 2023 04:00

January 16, 2023

Spanish Adjectives List: 50 Descriptive Spanish Words [With Sentence Examples!]

Spanish adjectives don’t have to be difficult.

Below, I’ll list 50 of the most common and useful Spanish adjectives – like the words for common and useful. 😉 I have also included some important rules to apply when using adjectives in Spanish.

At the end of the article, I will also discuss gender agreement and other rules tied to adjectives in Spanish.

¿Listos? ¡Vamos!

function runSplitTest(){var randomNumber = Math.floor(Math.random() * 2) + 1console.log(randomNumber)var copy = "";if (randomNumber == 3){ copy = 'A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away in Spanish for at least 15 minutes with the "Fluent in 3 Months" method. All it takes is 90 days. <a href="https://fluentin3months.com/challenge... this link to find out more.</a>'} else { copy = 'Before we get started, if you’re looking for an online Spanish course, here’s the course I recommend: <a href="https://www.fluentin3months.com/olly-... Uncovered - Learn Spanish Through the Power of Story</a>, a course with a fascinating new method by my friend Olly. You can try it for free for 7 days!'}console.log(copy)var copyToChange = document.querySelector("p.copyText").innerHTML = copy;}runSplitTest();Table of contentsWhat is an Adjective Anyway?50 of the Most Useful Spanish Adjectives 10 Basic Spanish Adjectives 1. & 2. Bueno and Malo (“Good” and “Bad”)3. Grande (“Big”)4. Pequeño (“Small”)5. Rápido (“Fast”)6. Lento (“Slow”)7. Caro (“Expensive”)8. Barato (“Cheap”)9. Seco (“Dry”)10. Mojado (“Wet”)11. Fácil (“Easy”)12. Difícil (“Difficult”)13. Joven (“Young”)14. Viejo (“Old”)15. Nuevo (“New”)16. Alto (“High/Tall”)17. Bajo (“Low”)18. Corto (“Short”)19. Largo (“Long”)20. Aburrido (“Bored/Boring”)21. Vivo (“Alive”)22. Muerto (“Dead”)23. Listo (“Ready/Smart”)24. Inteligente (“Intelligent”)25. Pobre (“Poor”)26. Rico (“Rich”)27. Común (“Common”)28. Raro (“Rare”)29. Útil (“Useful”)30. Guapo (“Beautiful”)31. Feo (“Ugly”)32. Feliz (“Happy”)33. Triste (“Sad”)34. Pesado (“Heavy”)35. Tranquilo (“Calm”)36. Importante (“Important”)37. Fuerte (“Strong”)38. Débil (“Weak”)39. Abierto (“Open”)40. Cerrado (“Closed”)41. Cansado (“Tired”)42. Despierto (“Awake”)43. Loco (“Crazy”)44. Limpio (“Clean”)45. Sucio (“Dirty”)46. Rojo (“Red”)47. Azul (“Blue”)48. Verde (Green)49. Amarillo (Yellow)50. Naranja (Orange)How Spanish Adjectives Work With Gendered Nouns Where Should You Put Spanish Adjectives in a Spanish Sentence?Ser vs. Estar: These Can Change the Meanings of a Spanish Adjective Spanish Adjectives, Here We Come!What is an Adjective Anyway?

An adjective is a word that describes a noun. Examples in English:

I’m reading an interesting book.Elephants are big.I bought a red car.

Spanish adjectives work the same way, with just a couple of differences from English, which I’ll elaborate more on later in this post.

50 of the Most Useful Spanish Adjectives

By learning a few core Spanish words, you can get by fine in standard daily conversations. When it comes to adjectives.

10 Basic Spanish Adjectives

These are the 10 common Spanish adjectives you need to learn:

bueno/a – “good”malo/a – “bad”grande – “big”pequeño/a – “small”difícil – “difficult”fácil – “easy”caro/a – “expensive”barato/a – “cheap”común – “common”nuevo/a – “new”

If you’re only going to take one thing away from this post, let it be this list! You can also download it or Pin it with this infographic:

1. & 2. Bueno and Malo (“Good” and “Bad”)

Bueno and malo mean “good” and “bad” respectively:

El libro es bueno. – “The book is good.”La película es mala. – “The film is bad.”

There are a couple of things to keep in mind about these two adjectives.

First of all, when they come before a masculine singular noun, they drop the final “o”. (A few other adjectives do this as well, as you’ll see later in this article).

Un buen libro – “a good book”Un mal libro – “a bad book”

Secondly, the meaning changes slightly depending on whether you use these adjectives with ser or estar.

With people, if you use bueno and malo with ser, it means “good” or “bad” in the sense of their moral character. If you use estar, you’re talking about their appearance.

Él es bueno/malo. – “He’s a good/bad person.”Él está bueno. – “He’s good-looking.”

With food, ser bueno/malo means that the food is good quality and healthy. Estar bueno/malo means that it tastes good – although it might not be healthy!

Esta hamburguesa está muy buena, pero no es buena – “This burger tastes good, but it’s not good-quality/healthy.”

One more thing: bueno is also commonly used as a filler word, similar to how we say “well” or “so” in English.

Don’t worry! Not all Spanish adjectives are as complicated as bueno or malo. Let’s continue:

3. Grande (“Big”)

Grande means “big”:

Tu casa es muy grande. – “Your house is very big.”

Like bueno and malo, this adjective has a slightly different meaning when it’s placed before or after a noun. When placed after the noun, grande means “big” in the physical sense. When before the noun, it means “big” in terms of status or significance – a better translation might be “great” or, well, “grand”.

Also note that before a noun of either gender, grande gets shortened to gran.

Un hombre grande – “a big man”Un gran hombre – “a great man”

This may seem complex, but there’s one great thing about grande: It’s the same for both masculine and feminine nouns!

Una caja grande – “a big box”Un perro grande – “a big dog”4. Pequeño (“Small”)

Pequeño means “small”:

Vive en una casa pequeña. – “He/she lives in a small house.”Una manzana pequeña – “a small apple”5. Rápido (“Fast”)

Be rápido/a this word means “fast” or “quick”:

Usain Bolt es la persona más rápida del mundo. – “Usain Bolt is the fastest person in the world.”¿Tienes un carro rápido? – “Do you have a fast car?”6. Lento (“Slow”)

Are you as slow as a lentil? Lento (“slow”) is the opposite of rápido.

Sea paciente, es un proceso lento. – “Be patient, it’s a slow process.”Las tortugas son lentas. – “Tortoises are slow.”7. Caro (“Expensive”)Lo compraría si no fuera tan caro. – “I’d buy it if it wasn’t so expensive.”¿Vives en una casa cara? – “Do you live in an expensive house?”8. Barato (“Cheap”)Me gusta mucho el precio. ¡Qué barato! – “I like the price a lot. How cheap!”Una botella de su vino más barato, por favor. – “A bottle of your cheapest wine, please.”9. Seco (“Dry”)

Seco means “dry”. You can see a trace of it in the English word de_sic_cated.

Será un verano seco. – “It’ll be a dry summer.”Ponte esta ropa seca. – “Put these dry clothes on.”10. Mojado (“Wet”)Mis zapatos están mojados. – “My shoes are wet.”La sala aún está mojada. – “The room is still wet.”11. Fácil (“Easy”)

This is an easy word to remember – fácil means “easy”. It’s a cousin of English words like “facile” and “facility”.

¡Español es fácil! – “Spanish is easy!”No hay soluciones fáciles. – “There aren’t easy answers.”12. Difícil (“Difficult”)

It’s not difícil to guess what this word means – it’s “difficult”:

¡El español no es difícil! – “Spanish isn’t difficult!”Es difícil dar otro ejemplo. – “It’s difficult to give another example.”

Remember that accent: unlike the English word “difficult”, the stress in difícil falls on the second syllable, not the first.

13. Joven (“Young”)

Joven means “young”. In the plural form, you need to add an accent on the o:

Ella es muy joven. – “She’s very young.”Ellos son muy jóvenes. – “They’re very young.”14. Viejo (“Old”)

Viejo means “old”. Use it for people or things:

Soy un hombre viejo. – “I’m an old man.”Tengo que comprar un nuevo ordenador, el mío es demasiado viejo. – “I have to buy a new computer, mine is too old.”

Viejo can subtly change its meaning depending on whether it goes before or after the noun:

un viejo amigo – “an old friend” (you’ve known each other for a long time)un amigo viejo – “an old friend” (he or she is advanced in age)15. Nuevo (“New”)

Nuevo means “new”. Like viejo, its meaning changes subtly depending on the word order. When it goes after the noun, it means “new” in the sense of “brand new” – it’s just been made. When it’s before the noun, it means “new” in the sense of “newly acquired”.

Ella compró un nuevo carro. – “She bought a new car.” (The car may be used, but it’s newly in her possession.)El carro nuevo tiene aire acondicionado. – “The new car has air-conditioning.” (The car is brand new.)16. Alto (“High/Tall”)

Alto means “high” or “tall”:

Un edificio alto – “a tall building”Una tasa alta – “a high rate”Es un hombre alto. – “He’s a tall man.”Subir una montaña alta. – “To climb a high mountain.”

Bonus fact: Alto is written on stop signs in Mexico and most other Spanish-speaking countries in Central America. It comes from the German word halt, which means “stop” (or “halt”, obviously) in English.

17. Bajo (“Low”)Los Países Bajos – “The Low Countries (i.e. the Netherlands)”Tocar las notas bajas – “to play the low notes”

It also means “short”, in the sense of someone’s height:

Bruno Mars es muy bajo. – “Bruno Mars is very short.”18. Corto (“Short”)

Corto is the more general word for “short”. While bajo is used when talking about height, corto is used for distances.

Un viaje corto – “a short trip “Una historia corta – “a short story”19. Largo (“Long”)

Watch out – this word is a false cognate. It doesn’t mean “large”, it means “long”! It can be used for lengths of measurement, time or distance:

Ese es un cuchillo largo. – “That is a long knife.”La reunión fue demasiado larga. – “The meeting was too long.”La Carretera Transcanadiense es una de las autopistas más largas del mundo. – “The Trans-Canada Highway is one of the longest highways in the world.”20. Aburrido (“Bored/Boring”)

I hope you’re not aburrido/a with this list. This adjective means bored – or it can mean boring, depending on whether you use ser or estar.

Juan es una persona muy aburrida. – “Juan is a very boring person.”Estoy muy aburrido. – “I’m very bored.”21. Vivo (“Alive”)

Vivo can mean “alive” or “living”:

El rey está vivo. – “The king is alive.”Ella es la persona viva más vieja del mundo. – “She is the oldest living person in the world.”

Use the term en vivo to refer to a TV programme being broadcast “live”.

22. Muerto (“Dead”)

Muerto means “dead”:

Zed está muerto. – “Zed’s dead.”

Notice that I didn’t write Zed es muerto. This adjective uses estar, not ser. Estar is supposed to be used for temporary states, but if you ask me, being dead is pretty permanent!

I’m afraid that this is just one of those exceptions to the ser/estar rule that you’ll have to learn. A good way to remember it is to note that both vivo and muerto use the same verb – and vivo (“alive”) is definitely a temporary state, so it uses estar. Meaning muerto does, too.

23. Listo (“Ready/Smart”)

Listo is another example of an adjective that changes its meaning when you use ser vs estar. With estar, it means ready:

Estoy listo para firmar el contrato. – “I’m ready to sign the contract.”

But with ser, it means “smart”:

Ella es muy lista! – “She’s very smart!”24. Inteligente (“Intelligent”)

If you’re inteligente, you can figure out that this word means “intelligent”. It’s an alternative to listo.

Eres la persona más inteligente que haya conocido. – “You’re the smartest person I’ve ever met.”25. Pobre (“Poor”)

Pobre means “poor”. When it comes after the noun, it means “financially poor”. When it’s before the noun, it means “unfortunate” or “disadvantaged”, such as in the English sentence “you poor thing!”

Bolivia es un país pobre. – “Bolivia is a poor country.”¡Deja de asustar a este pobre niño! – “Stop scaring this poor child!”26. Rico (“Rich”)Bill Gates es muy rico. – “Bill Gates is very rich.”

You can also use it to describe food:

¡Que rica es esta comida! – “This food is so rich/tasty/great!”27. Común (“Common”)

Can you guess what this común word means? That’s right: “common”. It can also mean “shared”.

Es una enfermedad común. – “It’s a common illness.”Tenemos una responsabilidad común. – “We have a common/shared responsibility.”

In the plural form, drop the accent from the “u”:

Tenemos valores comunes. – “We have shared/common values.”28. Raro (“Rare”)

This word means what you’d guess it means: “rare”. It can also mean “strange” or “weird”.

En raras ocasiones – “on rare occasions”Es raro conducir por la izquierda. – “It’s weird to drive on the left.”29. Útil (“Useful”)

This word has some útil-ity – it means “useful”:

Es una herramienta útil. – “It’s a useful tool.”Esta opción es útil. – “This option is useful.”30. Guapo (“Beautiful”)

An important word if you want to flirt! This adjective means “beautiful” or “good-looking”, and can be applied to men or women.

Podría ser muy guapo si quisiera. – “He/she could be very beautiful if he/she wanted.”¡Qué guapa estás! – “You’re so beautiful!”31. Feo (“Ugly”)

The opposite of guapo, this word means “ugly”.

Él es feo. – “He’s ugly.”Cinderella tiene dos hermanastras feas. – “Cinderella has two ugly step-sisters.”32. Feliz (“Happy”)

Feliz is related to the English word (and girl’s name) “Felicity”.

Tú me haces feliz. – “You make me happy.”Los animales no parecen felices. – “The animals don’t look happy.”33. Triste (“Sad”)Cuando estoy triste, lloro. – “When I’m sad, I cry.”Estaba pensando de cosas tristes. – “I was thinking about sad things.”34. Pesado (“Heavy”)

Pesado means “heavy”. If you’re talking about weight, it’s more common to use the verb pesar, “to weigh”:

El piano pesa mucho. – “The piano weighs a lot.”El piano es pesado. – “The piano is heavy.” (not wrong, but uncommon)

You can also describe a person as pesado. This means the person is “boring”, “gloomy”, or “annoying”. Think of Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:

Marvin es pesado. – “Marvin is gloomy/a downer.”35. Tranquilo (“Calm”)

Are you in a tranquil situation? This word means calm or quiet:

Estaba tranquilo en la casa. – “It was quiet in the house.”

Tranquilo can also be used as an interjection. It’s like saying “calm down” or “don’t worry” in English.

Tranquilo, todo irá bien. – “Don’t worry, everything will be okay.”36. Importante (“Important”)No lo hice porque no parecía importante. – “I didn’t do it because it didn’t seem important.”Olvidé los partes importantes. – “I forgot the important parts.”37. Fuerte (“Strong”)

This adjective has a faint resemblance to the English word “force” – or “forte”, as in, “speaking Spanish is one of my fortes”. So it should be easy to remember that it means “strong”.

Arnold es fuerte. – “Arnold is strong.”El chile ha tenido una fuerte influencia en la cocina del Sudeste Asiático. – “The chili pepper has had a strong influence on Southeast Asian cuisine.”38. Débil (“Weak”)

If you’re debilitated, you’re “weak” – and that’s what débil means:

Mi doctor me dijo que tengo una corazón débil. – “My doctor told me I have a weak heart.”Él es muy débil. – “He’s very weak.”39. Abierto (“Open”)

Abierto means “open”:

La puerta está abierta. – “The door is open.”

You can use abierto to describe a person, which is just like calling someone “open” in English – it means they’re sociable, friendly, agreeable:

Ana es una persona muy abierta. – “Ana is a very open person.”40. Cerrado (“Closed”)Está cerrado porque olvidé abrirlo. – “It’s closed because I forgot to open it.”Perdona, pero la cocina está cerrada. – “Sorry, but the kitchen is closed.”41. Cansado (“Tired”)

I hope that all these adjectives aren’t making you cansado/a (“tired”):

Estoy cansada, he trabajado mucho. – “I’m tired, I’ve been working hard.”Está cansado de luchar. – “He’s tired of fighting.”42. Despierto (“Awake”)Si no estoy despierta, despiértame. – “If I’m not awake, wake me up.”Los dos están despiertos. – “Both of them are awake.”43. Loco (“Crazy”)

You might recognise this word from the title of the song Livin’ La Vida Loca – it means “crazy”:

Cree en cosas locas. – “He/she believes in crazy things.”El mundo se está volviendo loco. – “The world’s going crazy.”

(P.S. Have you heard about the Mexican train killer? He had _loco-_motives… I’ll show myself out.)

44. Limpio (“Clean”)No tengo una camisa limpia. – “I don’t have a clean shirt.”Quiero dejarlo todo limpio. – “I want to leave it all clean.”45. Sucio (“Dirty”)Su pañal está sucio. – “His/her diaper is dirty.”Tienes una mente sucia. – “You have a dirty mind.”46. Rojo (“Red”)

Let’s wrap it up with some of the most common adjectives you’ll need to describe colours. First of all, rojo, which means “red”:

Mi coche es roja. – “My car is red.”El árbitro está mostrando una tarjeta roja. – “The referee is showing a red card.”

If you speak Portuguese, beware of the false friend! The Portuguese word roxo means not “red” but “purple.” (The correct translation of rojo into Portuguese is vermelho.)

47. Azul (“Blue”)

Like the English word “azure”, azul means “blue”:

Tengo ojos azules. – “I have blue eyes.”¿Por qué es el cielo azul? – “Why is the sky blue?”48. Verde (Green)

Verde resembles the English word “verdure”, which means “lush green vegetation”. So of course, verde means “green”:

El césped es verde. – “The grass (or lawn) is green.”No compres esas manzanas, aún están verdes. – “Don’t buy those apples, they’re still unripe.”

Like in English, you can say that someone is verde de envidia – “green with envy”. A chiste verde – literally, “green joke” – means a “dirty joke”.

49. Amarillo (Yellow)

Is this the way to Amarillo? This word means “yellow”:

Me puse una camiseta amarilla. – “I put on a yellow shirt.”Veo un letrero amarillo. – “I see a yellow sign.”50. Naranja (Orange)

Just like in English, naranja can be both a noun and an adjective in Spanish. The noun una naranja refers to the fruit.

Fun fact: in English, the colour “orange” was named after the fruit, not the other way around. (Previously, the colour was called “reddish-yellow” or “yellowish-red”, or something like that). The same is true for the word naranja in Spanish.

Note that, thanks to this adjective’s weird origins, it doesn’t change its ending for number or gender. Masculine or feminine, singular or plural, it’s always “naranja”:

Zanahorias son naranja. – “Carrots are orange.”Esta es una caja naranja. – “This is an orange box.”El libro naranja – “the orange book”

Another fun fact: while the noun naranja means the fruit, the noun naranjo means the tree on which naranjas grow.

How Spanish Adjectives Work With Gendered Nouns

As you probably know, every noun in Spanish has a gender – either masculine or feminine. When describing a noun with an adjective, the adjective must agree with the noun in number and gender.

“Agreement” means that the ending of the adjective must be altered depending on the noun’s gender, and on whether the noun is singular or plural. For example:

El libro rojo – the red book (masculine)Los libros rojos – the red books (masculine plural)La pared roja – the red wall (feminine)Las paredes rojas – the red walls (feminine plural)

Notice how the ending of rojo (“red”) changes to match the gender and number of the noun it describes. Let’s briefly cover the ways in which an adjective ending might change.

(As for remembering which gender the noun has, remember the cardinal rule: it’s the words that have the genders, not the objects they describe).

In Spanish dictionaries, adjectives are usually given in their masculine singular form. In the above example, that’s rojo. So when you see me talking about “adjectives which end in o“, for example, I mean adjectives whose masculine singular form ends in “o”.

Most Spanish adjectives end in o, and follow the above pattern (pequeño means “small”):

masculine singular: -o (pequeño)feminine singular: -a (pequeña)masculine plural: -os (pequeños)feminine plural: -as (pequeñas)

If a Spanish adjective ends with e or ista, then it’s the same for both genders. But it still needs an “s” in the plural. Excelente means “excellent” and realista means “realistic”:

masculine singular: excelente, realistafeminine singular: excelente, realistamasculine plural: excelentes, realistasfeminine plural: excelentes, realistas

If it ends with a consonant, then you add “-es” in the plural. If that consonant is z, you must change it to a c.

Débil means “weak” and feliz means “happy”:

masculine singular: débil, felizfeminine singular: débil, felizmasculine plural: débiles, felicesfeminine plural: débiles, felices -o
(example: pequeño)-e and -ista
(examples: excelente and realista)ends in any consonant but Z
(example: débil)ends in Z
(example: feliz)masculine singularpequeñoexcelente, realistadébilfelizfeminine singularpequeñaexcelente, realistadébilfelizmascular pluralpequeñosexcelentes, realistasdébilesfelicesfeminine pluralpequeñasexcelentes, realistasdébilesfelicesWhere Should You Put Spanish Adjectives in a Spanish Sentence?

In English, the adjective almost always goes before the noun. We say “a red car”, not “a car red”. (Two notable exceptions to this rule: a “court martial” and the “surgeon general”.)

In Spanish adjectives usually go after the noun:

Estoy leyendo un libro interesante. – “I am reading an interesting book.”_Los elefantes son grandes. – “The elephants are big.”_Compré una coche roja. – “I bought a red car.”

There are some exceptions, as we’ll see in the examples below. But generally: if in doubt, put the adjective after the noun.

Ser vs. Estar: These Can Change the Meanings of a Spanish Adjective

Remember that Spanish has two words for “to be”. Ser is used for permanent qualities while estar is used for temporary states.

It’s usually obvious whether to use ser or estar with a given adjective. For example, you’d say soy inglés (“I am English”) but estoy enfadado (“I am angry”).

However, some adjectives change their meaning depending on whether they’re used with ser or estar:

Ella está aburrida. – “She’s bored.”Ella es aburrida. – “She’s boring.”Él está orgulloso. – “He’s proud.”Él es orgulloso. – “He’s arrogant.”Spanish Adjectives, Here We Come!

Now that you have a good beginner’s list of adjectives, check out some of these posts to get deeper into the language:

60+ Really Useful Spanish Phrases for Conversation and Travel 101 Common Spanish Phrases to Start Speaking Spanish Right Now 20+ Resources for Spanish Reading Practice (Beginner to Intermediate)Dabble Spanish Best Podcast to Learn Spanish? SpanishPod101 In-depth Review With Pros and Cons

The post Spanish Adjectives List: 50 Descriptive Spanish Words [With Sentence Examples!] appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

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Published on January 16, 2023 04:00

January 9, 2023

Is the Swahili Language Hard to Learn? 6 Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

The Swahili language is in the Bantu language family, spoken in central and southern Africa, and it is also heavily influenced by Arabic.

For this reason, there are many aspects that are often challenging for speakers of other languages to learn.

However, Swahili isn’t as difficult as you may think! Here are some of the most common challenges beginners face and how to overcome them.

Table of contents1. Learning All the Swahili Greetings 2. Mastering Noun Classes Making Sentences with Matching Noun Classes 3. Differentiating Between Similar Words 4. Natives Speaking Too Quickly 5. Encountering Different Dialects (or Offshoot Languages)6. Old Teaching Resources The Swahili Language Isn’t That Hard!1. Learning All the Swahili Greetings

There are so many greetings in the Swahili language, and it can be very challenging to learn them all. In fact, you may still come across a new greeting after living in a Swahili-speaking area for years!

Another important fact to know is that unlike in English, if someone says “hello” to you, you can’t just say “hello” back.

In Swahili, sometimes you have one set call and response pair (such as hujambo and sijambo), or multiple options for a response (mambo and the listener’s choice of poa, safi, salama, and more). In addition, jambo, the word most commonly taught to mean “hello,” isn’t actually used as much as you think. Using it can even make you seem like a tourist.

So what should you say instead?

If you are greeting someone casually, mambo goes a long way. It was by far the most common way to greet people in a familiar way that I encountered in Tanzania. When I first arrived and was still an absolute beginner, I made sure I had two possible responses ready to mambo – safi and poa, for example.

Why two? Because a conversation could go like this:

Me: Mambo!
Listener: Poa. Mambo?
Me: Safi.

Although it is natural to repeat the same greeting, it feels somewhat awkward to repeat the same response.

If you are greeting an elder or a boss, stick to shikamoo to show respect. They will always reply with marahaba. Easy!

If you are unsure how casually or respectfully to greet someone, you can stick to habari, which is quite neutral. Like mambo, if someone says habari to you, you can usually use the same responses as mambo.

For more help, be sure to check out our in-depth guide to Swahili greetings so you can have something to say in any situation.

2. Mastering Noun Classes

Swahili doesn’t have noun genders, but it has something called “noun classes” or “word classes.”

This is usually the most difficult aspect of the Swahili language for non-native speakers. Depending on how you count them, linguists say there can be as few as six or as many as eighteen!

But don’t you worry, I have your back.

First, what are noun classes? They are different categories of nouns (such as living beings, natural objects, etc.) that are usually marked with a certain prefix. The core categories for beginners to first learn are as follows with their singular and plural forms:

M/Wa: For people and animals (ex. mtu “person” and watu “people”)M/Mi: For natural objects and body parts (ex. mti “tree” and miti “trees”)Ki/Vi: For languages, tools, and man-made objects (ex. kisu “knife” and visu “knives”)Ji/Ma: For fruits, natural objects, uncountable nouns (with no singular form), and other miscellaneous nouns (ex. jiwe “rock” and mawe “rocks” / chungwa “orange” and machungwa “oranges”)N: For loanwords from other languages and miscellaneous nouns (ex. simu “cell phone” / ndege “bird” or “airplane”)U: For uncountable nouns (with no plural form), abstract ideas, country names, and miscellaneous nouns (ex. unga “flour” / ubaya “badness”)

As you can see, some categories are focused, and some are quite broad. A lot of words also don’t fit nicely into these category types. You will pick them up as you learn more vocabulary!

Making Sentences with Matching Noun Classes

In Swahili, adjectives and verbs must match the noun class. For example, a M/Wa noun has the corresponding verb prefix a- (singular) or wa- (plural). The corresponding adjective prefixes are simple: m- and wa-. Therefore, to say “A nice person reads,” you would say:

Mtu mzuri anasoma.
(Person + nice + reads.)

However, to say “Nice people read,” you would say:

Watu wazuri wanasoma.
(People + nice + read.)

Similar to European genders, learning Swahili noun classes requires some patience. I recommend you first find a good textbook or teacher to guide you through them gradually.

You should understand the general categories and make sure to memorize the class whenever you learn a new noun, but don’t try to master them all at once! It takes time, but since they are integral to Swahili sentences, you will figure them out with practice.

I’ll leave an initial resource for you here: noun classes.

3. Differentiating Between Similar Words

Here’s one good news for you: learning Swahili noun classes can help you differentiate between similar words. Not only that, but they can also help you understand the etymology of words and build your vocabulary easily!

How about a few examples?

“Person” is mtu, but to make the inanimate word “thing,” you just change the noun class prefix to kitu.You can see above chungwa is “orange,” so add the natural prefix m to it to get the tree: mchungwa.“Meat” is the N class noun “nyama,” and to say “animal,” just add the living being prefix m to make mnyama.“England” is Uingereza (U class), and the English language is Kiingereza (Ki/Vi class).

See how all these words are related!

Sometimes, it takes a little bit of creativity to see the connection.

For example, upepo (U class) is “wind,” and pepo / mapepo (Ji/Ma class) is “demon” / “demons.” They might not seem intuitively connected at first, but remember the native religions in East Africa were often animistic and believed in spirits in the natural world.

Maybe it was a demon that caused the wind!

Expert note: There are other similar-sounding words unrelated to word class that you will need to be careful to learn properly. Two sets of verbs that I always thought through before I spoke were kuelewa (“to understand”) and kulewa (“to be drunk”), as well as kunywa (“to drink”) and kunya (“to poop”).

But… Mixing these up as a beginner is fine! It will even make for funny stories to tell your friends. Again, practice makes perfect.

4. Natives Speaking Too Quickly

Here’s a quite good problem to have: When native Swahili speakers know that you are learning their language, they will be very excited to speak to you in Swahili! From my experience, even if the person I’m talking to speaks fluent English, they’ll jump at the chance to let me practice my Swahili.

This is an amazing opportunity to practice as much as you can!

Feeling intimidated? Oftentimes I found that the people I was conversing with spoke way too quickly and often used vocabulary and grammar far beyond what I had learned. So what should you do?

First, don’t be afraid to let the other know that you’d like them to speak more slowly. You can tell them, Ongea pole pole, tafadhali (“Speak slowly, please”). Or you can ask them to repeat: Sema tena, tafadhali (“Say it again, please”).

Don’t know a word? You can say, Neno hilo linamaana gani? (“What does that word mean?”). If nothing else, tell them that you don’t understand: Sielewi.

Of course, your listening will get better with practice. You can find a good language partner or language tutor to help you improve.

Another of my favorite methods is listening to podcasts, which you can do on your own schedule.

5. Encountering Different Dialects (or Offshoot Languages)

In almost any language you learn, you will come across different dialects. Swahili is no exception.

Since Swahili is a lingua franca of East Africa, it is spoken in many countries. It is an official language and widely spoken in Tanzania and Kenya, and it is also an official language in Uganda and Rwanda. It is a recognized minority language in Burundi, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The language can change somewhat across nations and even within the same country. For example, a minibus in Tanzania is called a daladala, but the same thing is called a matatu in Kenya.

But think about how American English and British English don’t always agree on words: “apartment” and “flat” are widely different, but you’ve learnt that they are both the same thing, haven’t you? The same will happen with Swahili.

Additionally, Swahili spoken in Tanzania and along the Kenyan coasts is thought to be the most original form of Swahili. Some Swahili speakers will characterize it as “pure,” while others will see it as “textbookish.”

In fact, if you go to Nairobi, you will find that many people speak Sheng. Some linguists view Sheng as a Swahili slang dialect, while others view it as a separate pidgin or creole language!

Luckily, Sheng aside, the Swahili dialectal differences are generally not as extreme as other languages, such as Arabic. If you learn standard Swahili, natives from every region should be able to understand you.

Then, once you have a foundation, you can start learning a local dialect (if you so desire!).

6. Old Teaching Resources

Finally, the last thing to watch out for on your Swahili language learning journey is outdated teaching methods and materials.

Some Swahili textbooks still in circulation were written quite long ago. They can use old language or introduce vocabulary that isn’t relevant to modern life. Some Swahili teachers even learned to teach from these resources.

Here is an example of what I mean. When I arrived in Tanzania with almost no Swahili, I joined a beginner group tutoring session. For most of it, we had to translate sentences between Swahili and English. Below is an example of a textbook exercise on which my tutor was basing her lessons:

The book was introducing fundamental grammar (the present tense), but the bulk of the sentences it was asking me to translate were not necessary to my daily life or normal conversations. The only ones I found immediately relevant to me were the very last two in part one!

I was also confused by the old English – would I be sounding like a Victorian too if I used the Swahili it taught me?

To continue, based on the exercises, the tutor made a list of new vocabulary:

Granted, I appreciated the tutor doing her best to help me get through the exercises, and some of these words were quite useful. Chandarua (“mosquito net”) was a very important item to have, and at night, I often went to look at the nyota (“stars”). However, as far inland as I was, there was no reason for me to talk about a ship’s “mast” – or “cannons,” for that matter.

I also later learned that some of these words were a bit formal and not used as often as colloquial counterparts – and this was for both Swahili and English. I didn’t study hotuba at first because I don’t often talk about “sermons,” but it became an important word when I later learned it also means “speech”!

From my experience, many Swahili teachers and tutors learned how to teach through older methods, such as the grammar-translation method above. This may not be suitable for your needs. Now, I’m not saying that the grammar-translation method isn’t useful – I personally believe that it still has a place in language learning.

As long as the phrases and sentences are relevant to your life, it is one useful way to learn languages. However, nowadays there are many alternatives to this classical method to use instead of or in combination with grammar and translation study.

So what should you do? If you choose to use a tutor, make sure you communicate what you want to learn or practice with them early on.

Be clear and transparent with them – if something isn’t working for you, feel free to communicate so in a polite manner. Usually your tutor will be very happy to understand your needs and style better!

Even if they learned through classical methods, many would welcome a chance to try different methods so they can develop their teaching skills further. If it’s just not a good match, you can always try another.

Likewise, shop around for a textbook or learning material that suits you best. I personally found Complete Swahili (formerly known as Teach Yourself Swahili) to be a very reliable and well-rounded textbook.

I particularly liked that it has language lessons and cultural notes geared toward a variety of contexts, whether you are in a Tanzanian city or a Kenyan coastal village.

The Swahili Language Isn’t That Hard!

The Swahili language has some difficult aspects, but of course, there will be difficult aspects in any language you learn.

Luckily, once you get past these challenges, the rest of the language is quite easy!

So go ahead – read, write, speak, and listen to Swahili, and you’ll master even the most difficult parts of it in no time.

120 Core Swahili Words — Basic Swahili To Get Along in East Africa The Best Podcasts to Learn Swahili at Any Level Hello in Swahili – “Habari?” and 14 More Swahili Greetings (and Their Response!)How to Learn Swahili: An In-Depth Guide (With Resources!)The 2-Minute Speaking Practice: Recording Myself to Stop Saying “Like” All the Time

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Published on January 09, 2023 04:00