25 Spanish Words impossible to translate
25 Spanish Words impossible to translate
It’s funny how we never question the comprehensibility of our language, especially, our mother tongue. The notion of not even considering thinking or expressing our perspectives in another language is just baffling if you think about it. The human mind is so trained to think that way that there is no other pattern, unless, of course, if you start learning a different language.
Spanish is one native language that is known for so many things, the rough accent, the local dialect, Spanish pronunciation, difficult sounds, the terms, and the words that are whole expressions in themselves. These super awesome Spanish tongue twisters are so cool that you can’t translate them. Don’t believe it? Well, we have created a list of the 25 most amazing Spanish words that can’t be translated and here’s why:
How do you say I want you in Spanish sexually?
Most Spanish speakers say ‘te quiero’ when they want to tell someone that they want them. But if you wish to let someone know that you desire them sexually then ‘te deseo’ would be a better option. Because in many Spanish-speaking countries, ‘te quiero’ is used for saying I love you to friends and family members.
What is the longest Spanish word?
The longest word in the Spanish language is Esternocleidooccipitomastoideos. It is the Spanish name of a muscle that can be found in a human neck. In English, the muscle is known as sternocleidomastoid, which is also a long word, but not as long as the Spanish translation. However, Spanish does not have a lot of long words.
What is the hardest word to say in English?
The majority of English speakers are non-natives, which is why they often have trouble pronouncing words. But English has plenty of difficult words that can even confuse the natives. A two-syllable word ‘Isthmus’, which is pronounced as is-muss often confuses people. Many English speakers find words like colonel and squirrel equally difficult to pronounce.
What words have been borrowed from Spanish?
English has borrowed hundreds of words from Spanish over the years but here are the most common ones:
- Rodeo, taken from rodear
- Aficionado, from aficionar, which means to inspire affection
- Renegade, from renegado
- Embargo, from embargar
- Vanilla, from the Spanish word vainilla
- Cafetaria, from cafeteria, which simply means coffee shop
1.Merendar
This one on top of our list is something you always love to have during those long days when you are feeling sad or anxious, or the days when you didn’t have the time to do a proper lunch so you want it. Yes, the word above means an afternoon snack, coffee, or tea. Unpredictable isn’t it? And of course, there is no single word in the English language that can cover all three of the above.
2.Verguenza Ajena / Pena Ajena
Ever been at a gathering with a stupid friend who’s simply annoying and does things that make him look even more stupid but instead of him, you are the embarrassed one? Well, the words above mean the whole of that, covering the whole situation in just two words is simply impossible in any other lingo
14.Chanclazo
Mothers in Spain are fond of this term, meaning I am going to hit you on the back with this Chancla. Well, you can ask your Spanish friends for more on this.
15.Enmadrarse
If your husband is overly in love with his mother, he is the one you can call Enmadrarse.
16.Consuegros
This one has to be the most convenient word for parents who have children who are married. They can refer to their daughter or son’s parents in law as Consuegros.
17.Casa Ajena
Well, this is the place you can never feel comfortable in. A home where you can’t make yourself at home.
18.Tocayo / a
It gives you a sense of pleasure when you meet someone with your same name, and guess what, TOCAYO is what they say in Spansih when they find a name twin.
19.Tuerto
If someone has one blind eye, what do you call him? other than a pirate of course, well, they call it TUERTO in Spanish.
20.Friolento / a
Are you too sensitive to cold or feel the chills quicker than others? Then we can call you a FRIOLENTO/A.
21.Enchilar
When you put some chilli on something, how do you say it in English? Well, in Spanish, you say Enchilar
22.Me cae bien.
When you like someone but don’t know how you are gonna get along with them in the future but just for present, you say Me Cae Bien
23.Duende
Although Duende is somewhat a kind of elf-like creature who keeps children from misbehaving, in the Spanish word and Latin American world yet it means an artistically powerful work that moves a person deeply, woah, now this is deep.
24.A Huevo!
Well, this one’s quite funny actually because it literally translates into, “To Egg” but it actually means HELL YEAH!!!
25.Echar Los Perros
This last one is impossible to translate into English because it has two different meanings in Latin America and Spain.
The Latinos use it to mean to flirt or to hit on whereas the Spanish word uses it when they are to scold someone.
So these were our favorites, if you have any special words that you want us to translate, you can send them to us. For all your Spanish Translation needs, we are here!
“Espantapájaros” is voted to be the hardest Spanish word to pronounce. The word translates into Sacrecrow. It is considered a real tongue twister because of its repeated consonants with different accentuations. If you are not a native speaker, you must possess at least really good Spanish Language skills to attempt such a tongue twister.
If you have been taking Spanish lessons, you must have also learned the rules to master foreign language pronunciation. Handling hardest words in Spanish could be tricky, however, below are some rules that can help you a lot.
English natives, forget your English vowel sounds.
Focus on exaggerating sounds.
Use a Spanish dictionary, listen to hardest words and mimic as much as you can.
Try some popular tongue twisters to get comfortable with speaking in another way.
Watch Spanish movies and listen to the pronunciations that you want to master.
The most difficult word in Spanish is, “Espantapájaros”.
