re top ten tips post for learning spanish
Posted: 23 June 2011 04:14 PM  
Just Landed
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Hi, enjoyed reading the posts. As well as the classes I’ve had, I try and speak with neighbours, shopkeepers, older spanish people sitting in the street and new spanish friends as much as possible.  Just be brave and cheerful seems to work.

As long as I don’t bore them (people have lives) and make it plain that I like to be corrected and have a laugh, then they do correct me and have taught me to pronounce words better and a few sayings (which are not in the dictionary). We’ve also laughed at my mistakes and they also ask for the English words to items such as ‘spoons’ - they found this word hilarious! Just as they found my asking for a pierne de pollo hilarious (I know its pata de pollo now, now I know).

I’m still lost when spanish people talk quickly in Andalucian dialect though 😊 - will keep practicing as people aren’t yet jumping into doorways on my approach LOL

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Posted: 05 July 2011 03:19 PM   [ # 1 ]  
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Art, I hate to be pedantic, but for chicken you’d be better calling it a ‘zanco’ which would be a chicken drumstick. Unless it’s still running around in the farmyard of course.

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Posted: 05 July 2011 04:46 PM   [ # 2 ]  
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I’m laughing again - any corrections welcome and will try out the new word for chicken leg (not still running around LOL) - thanks

Anyone else had any hilarious mistakes?

A friend of mine wanted some ‘sopa de mariscos’ and asked for ‘sopa de maricones’ which had the kitchen staff and bar falling about….Some mistakes are actual words which are very inappropriate!

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Posted: 05 July 2011 10:06 PM   [ # 3 ]  
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The best one I heard was on the radio, a female German Erasmus student using colloquial Spanish wanted to express how tired she was:

The correct phrase is “estoy hecho polvo

she said “estoy hecho un polvo”  which is something completely different (to have sex with someone)

Poor girl.

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Posted: 13 March 2018 01:44 PM   [ # 4 ]  
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oh no… what a shame! :(

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