February 2026

In Spanish, “read” in the past tense is usually leí or leía, depending on whether the action was finished or ongoing. You’ll see two past-tense choices for “to read” all the time: a “done” past and a “was reading / used to read” past. Spanish makes that difference clear, and once you spot it, your […]

Spanish often keeps “gourmet” as a loanword, and you can also use gastronómico, de alta cocina, or exquisito when the tone calls for it. You’ll see “gourmet” on Spanish menus, food packaging, cooking magazines, and store signs. Sometimes it’s written exactly the same as in English. Other times, Spanish writers pick a home-grown option that

In Spanish, you normally keep the name “Trevor,” saying it as “TREH-vor” with a crisp R sound and clear vowels. Names don’t work like regular vocabulary. Most of the time, Spanish doesn’t swap a person’s name for a translated version. So if someone is named Trevor, Spanish speakers usually say Trevor too. The trick is

An “arch” in Spanish can be arco, arco de + noun, or arco in anatomy; the right pick depends on what you mean. You’ll see “arch” used for buildings, eyebrows, feet, bridges, and even a ball’s curved path. Spanish doesn’t lock you into one single word for every case. Most of the time, arco does

The Spanish word for the number 4 is “cuatro,” and it matches English “four” in meaning while sounding like “KWAH-troh.” “Four” shows up everywhere: time, dates, classroom problems, sports scores, phone numbers, and street addresses. If you’re learning Spanish, getting 4 right pays off fast because it’s used in counting, math, and everyday phrases. This

A natural way to say it in Spanish is “Me bajó la regla”, and you can switch to more formal wording for school or a clinic. Talking about your period in another language can feel awkward, even when you know the words. Spanish gives you several ways to say “I started my period,” and the

In Spanish, a ladle is usually “cucharón,” the deep spoon used to serve soup, stew, and sauce. You see a ladle all the time in kitchens, cafeterias, and soup shops. It’s one of those small words that turns into a real-life moment fast: you’re cooking, you’re serving, you’re trying to ask for the right utensil,

In Spanish, “arrogant” is often arrogante, yet other picks shift the shade from smug to bossy. “Arrogant” looks simple until you try to say it in Spanish and notice there are choices. Some sound blunt. Some sound formal. Some sound like school feedback. The right pick depends on what you mean: pride, rudeness, showing off,

Most classes call it “verbo con cambio de raíz” (also “verbo con cambio vocálico”), meaning the stem vowel shifts in some conjugations. You’ll hear “stem-changing verb” a lot in English textbooks. In Spanish, teachers and grammar books often use a couple of labels, and the right pick depends on what you’re writing: a homework answer,

Say “¿De qué color es esto?” to ask about an item’s color, then swap esto/eso/aquello to match what you’re pointing at. You can learn a lot of Spanish when your phrases match real moments. Colors come up in stores, classrooms, art projects, makeup aisles, and while describing photos. If you’ve ever held something up and