Las Palabras en Español/SPANISH VOCABULARY

Spanish is straightforward and fairly simple—I’ve left out the obviously close to English words. Here is a basic pronunciation guide:

A few consonants are different: LL is pronounced ‘y,’ the ñ is an ‘n-y’ combination, and v at the beginning of a word is usually pronounced as the letter b—but there are exceptions. J is pronounced as an ‘H’, but all Hs are silent. All Rs are rolled, but RR’s roll is held a little longer. Vowels a, e, i, o and u are pronounced ah, eh, ee, oh and oo. Accents are usually on the next to last syllable, unless marked.

Abuela [ah-BWAY-lah] — Grandmother

andale pues [AWN-duh-lay pwace] — an expression similar to "okay then," or "well then" (Literally, “hurry then”)

anoche [ah-NO-chay] — last night

arroyo [ah-RROY-yo] — ravine, gulch or dry stream bed; also called a "wash"

bienvenidos [bee-EN-ven-EE-dos] — welcome

bruja [BROO-hah] — shaman/witch

chile colorado — red chile sauce over hunks or cubes of stewed beef

chiquita [cheh KEE tah] — very little girl, diminutive of chica (endearment)

chorizo [Chore-EEZ-oh] — spicy pork sausage

¡hijuela! [EE-whay-la] — an exclamation (slight vulgarity) “son of a—!” A combination of words: hijo (son) and de la (of the…female implied). Exactly what the son is of, is never stated. This is considered a fairly acceptable exclamation, whereas hijo de puta is definitely not.

¿Qué pasó? [Kay pahSO] — What happened?

yo creo que sí [Yo CRAY-oh kay SEE] — I think so (Literally, “I believe that yes”)



**Much more is in the glossary included in Celtic Fire, Desert Rain...**