Today’s Spanish word of the day is “primero.” It’s an adjective meaning “first”. When used before a singular masculine noun, it loses the final o and becomes just “primer”, for example “el primer capítulo” (the first chapter). The word “primero” comes from the Latin primarius, meaning “first” or “primary”. Some English words from this root […]
Today’s Spanish word of the day is “personal.” It can be used as an adjective meaning “personal”, or as a masculine noun meaning “staff” or “personnel”. Although it’s written identically to the English word “personal”, Spanish “personal” is pronounced quite differently, with pure e and a vowels and the stress on the final syllable. In
Today’s Spanish word of the day is “anoche.” It’s an adverb meaning “last night”. “Anoche” is used to refer to things that took place during the previous night. For example: Unlike in English, where “last night” is a phrase, in Spanish, “anoche” is a single word. The word “anoche” is thought to come from the
Today’s Spanish word of the day is “nave.”It’s a feminine noun that usually means “ship” or “vessel”, but in some contexts can also mean “building”, “hall” or “nave” (in a church). The word “nave” comes from the Latin navis, which also meant “ship.” Some English words from this root include “navy”, “navigate” and “nave”. The
Today’s Spanish word of the day is “dormir.” It’s a verb meaning “to sleep.” The reflexive form “dormirse” can mean “to fall asleep.” For example: The word “dormir” comes from Latin dormire, meaning “to sleep”. This is also the root of several English words related to sleep, including “dormant” and “dormitory”. “Dormir” is an irregular
Today’s Spanish word of the day is “hotel”. Unsurprisingly, it means “hotel”! It’s pronounced a bit differently in Spanish to in English though, with a silent h, a shorter o, and a soft t. Both English and Spanish “hotel” come from the French word hôtel, which originally meant a palace or large house before acquiring
Today’s Spanish word of the day is “trabajo”. It’s a masculine noun meaning “work”, “job” or “labor”. It can also be used to refer to an individual assignment or task. The word “trabajo” comes from the verb “trabajar”, meaning “to work”. The etymology of “trabajar” is contested, but the most common theory is that it
Today’s Spanish word of the day is “paz”. It’s a feminine noun meaning “peace”. Unlike in English where the word “peace” is usually used without the definite article “the”, in Spanish it is common to use the definite article. When talking about the concept of peace in general, you would refer to it as “la
Today’s Spanish word of the day is “realmente”. It’s an adverb meaning “really” or “actually”. You might have noticed that a lot of English adverbs that end in -ly end in -mente in Spanish. The -ly ending in English has Germanic roots, while the -mente ending comes from Latin. Here are a few other examples:
Today’s Spanish word of the day is “caja”. It’s a feminine noun meaning “box” or “crate”. The word can also refer to the place where you pay in a shop or other establishment, and can translate as “cash register”, “checkout”, “counter” or “till”. One related Spanish word is the verb “encajar”, meaning “to fit”. This
