50 random words in Spanish
Surprise vocab list, why not?
el nacimiento = birth / source, origin / nativity (religious settings)
de nacimiento = from birth [e.g. sordo/a de nacimiento “deaf from birth” as opposed to deafness caused by something else]
destacar = to emphasize, to make something stand out
sombrío/a = grim, dismal, somber
el ayuntamiento = town hall (building) / local government, municipal government, city council
el comportamiento = behavior
atar = to tie
desatar = to untie
pudrir = to rot, to decompose
pudrirse = to spoil, to become rotten
abordar = to address (an issue), to tackle, to deal with
(mirar/ver) de reojo = to look sideways, to look to the side, to look (at someone/something) askance, to give someone a sideways glance, “to side-eye” or “to give someone the side-eye”
mirar/ver de reojo = “to see/watch/look at out of the corner of one’s eye”
a lo largo de = throughout, “over the course of”
la estrofa = stanza
la flecha = arrow
el alboroto = uproar, racket, noise
el edil, la edila = councilman/councilwoman, alderman, local city councilor in government
[also “edile” or “magistrate” in Ancient Rome if you’re watching/reading a historical thing]
anhelar = to yearn for, to long for
aleatorio/a = random / randomized
el lucro = profit
ánimo de lucro / fines de lucro = for profit [lit. “spirit / goals of profit”]
sin ánimo de lucro / sin fines de lucro = non-profit, not for profit
medir = to measure, to take a measurement, to take a reading (of machinery etc) / to gauge, to calculate / to consider
la etiqueta = tag, label, price tag / etiquette
el trébol = clover, shamrock / clubs (a suit in cards)
el muelle = dock, wharf, pier
los muelles = the docks
escoltar = to escourt, to guard
el/la escolta = escort, follower, companion / bodyguard, security detail, escort
el pueblo = a town
el pueblo = people, population, “citizens” or “inhabitants”
[e.g. el pueblo francés “the French people”, el pueblo mexicano “the Mexican citizens”; in some contexts it can translate as “nation” or “tribe” particularly for indigenous peoples or nomadic groups]
mayúsculo/a = upper case, capital / great, very large, important
la letra mayúscula = upper case letter, capital letter
en mayúsculas = in capital letters [sometimes used as “very important”, like un problema en mayúsculas is “a huge problem” or like “a problem with a capital P” idiomatically, but literally “a problem in capital letters”]
minúsculo/a = lower case / miniscule, tiny
la letra minúscula = lower case letters
en minúsculas = in lower case letters
el aprendizaje = learning / apprenticeship, training
la cuerda floja = tightrope
en la cuerda floja = on the tightrope [can also be understood to mean “walking a thin line” or “skating on thin ice”; meaning the situation is dangerous and “one wrong step” could be disastrous]
de bruces = “face down” / “flat”, “flat on your face”
caerse/darse de bruces = “to fall flat on one’s face”
marginado/a = marginalized
los marginados = outcasts, people who are ostracized, people who are treated badly by people/society, pariahs
el oído = inner ear / hearing, sense of hearing
[if you know Spanish anatomy words, la oreja “ear” is the outer structure or shape, and el oído “inner ear” is related to anything “hearing” related and the inner structure]
partidario/a (de alguien/hacer algo) = in support of, supporting (someone/doing something), a follower of (someone), in favor of
[ser partidario/a is often “to be a proponent of”.... but in politics or with a person it means “a (someone)-supporter”]
la zarza = bramble, briar, thornbush
el zarzal = bramble patch, patch of thorny bushes / blackberry patch
la zarzamora = blackberry bush
[lit. “dark berry thornbush”]
hacer malabares = to juggle
hacer malabares (con algo) = to juggle (something)
[could be objects could be tasks; el malabarismo is “juggling” as a noun though]
la infancia = childhood, infancy
el trastorno = disorder (in a medical sense)
a la deriva = adrift / aimless, aimlessly, without purpose
comprobar = to prove, to verify, to confirm
aislar = to isolate, to alienate, to keep separate
el paraíso = paradise / heaven
el afán = zeal, eagerness, effort
con (el) afán (de hacer algo) = “in the hopes of (doing something)”, “with the intention of (doing something)”, “with the goal of (doing something)”
la presión = pressure, strain / blood pressure
bajo presión = under pressure
ataviarse = “to be dressed up (fancy)”, “to be dressed to the nines” / “decked out”
el/la testigo = witness
agotado/a = exhausted, tired / exhausted, depleted, drained
los escombros = wreckage, rubble, debris
el casco viejo = historic center, historic district, old town
[lit. “old quarter”; generally you’re going to see el casco as “helmet” or “headphone”, but it can also mean “outer hull” of a boat, or “quarter” of a city/town]
la ilusión = illusion / happiness, excitement / “dream��, “desire” [used with tener]
el traje = a suit (like a business suit) / style of dress, regional dress, garb
renunciar = to quit, to step down, to leave
el esmero = care, effort, “time and effort”, attention
con (mucho) esmero = painstakingly, “going to great lengths”, “(taking) great pains”
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Yo me la llevé al río
creyendo que era mozuela,
pero tenía marido.
Fue la noche de Santiago
y casi por compromiso.
Se apagaron los faroles
y se encendieron los grillos.
En las últimas esquinas
toqué sus pechos dormidos,
y se me abrieron de pronto
como ramos de jacintos.
El almidón de su enagua
me sonaba en el oído,
como una pieza de seda
rasgada por diez cuchillos.
Sin luz de plata en sus copas
los árboles han crecido,
y un horizonte de perros
ladra muy lejos del río.
Pasadas las zarzamoras,
los juncos y los espinos,
bajo su mata de pelo
hice un hoyo sobre el limo.
Yo me quité la corbata.
Ella se quitó el vestido.
Yo el cinturón con revólver.
Ella sus cuatro corpiños.
Ni nardos ni caracolas
tienen el cutis tan fino,
ni los cristales con luna
relumbran con ese brillo.
Sus muslos se me escapaban
como peces sorprendidos,
la mitad llenos de lumbre,
la mitad llenos de frío.
Aquella noche corrí
el mejor de los caminos,
montado en potra de nácar
sin bridas y sin estribos.
No quiero decir, por hombre,
las cosas que ella me dijo.
La luz del entendimiento
me hace ser muy comedido.
Sucia de besos y arena
yo me la llevé del río.
Con el aire se batían
las espadas de los lirios.
Me porté como quien soy.
Como un gitano legítimo.
Le regalé un costurero
grande de raso pajizo,
y no quise enamorarme
porque teniendo marido
me dijo que era mozuela
cuando la llevaba al río.
Federico Garcia Lorca,
La casada infiel.
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