Some of the coolest words in Spanish are those that are imaginative, descriptive…and a pain to translate into languages like English!
Sometimes, an idea can be expressed with a single word in Spanish, but requires a long sentence to convey its meaning in another language.
More often than not, if there’s a word for something in a language, it means it’s important enough for that culture to need a name for it.
If you’re learning Spanish, understanding these beautiful words opens windows into Spanish culture and improves your understanding of the language.
I’ve gathered some of my favourite Spanish words that don’t have English equivalents and explained what they mean.
Here are six cool Spanish words with no direct English translation:
In many Spanish-speaking countries, most people stay at the table for hours after a meal just talking, having a coffee and joking.
In Spanish culture, there isn’t a greater pleasure than sharing a table with family and friends, chatting nonsense or trying to sort out the world’s problems. So we’ve got a word to describe that.
Have you got a new outfit and can’t wait to show it off? There’s a verb in Spanish you can use when wearing an outfit for the first time.
It doesn’t just apply to clothes. We also say it to describe anything we use for the first time.
Are you an early bird? Then you will love this word! The verb “madrugar” describes the action of getting up very early in the morning.
“La madrugada” is the term we use in Spanish to refer to the wee hours in the morning, and a person who gets up during that time period is a “madrugador” or a “madrugadora” (something that I am definitely not…).
On the other hand, if you’re a night owl who likes to go to bed late, then there’s a Spanish word for you too.
You can use this word to say that you stayed up late (or even all night), no matter what the reason is. Maybe you had work to do, you were watching TV, or you were out all night with friends.
A person who goes to bed very late or stays up all night is a “trasnochador” or “trasnochadora”.
Public holidays are great for the odd day off. But when a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, you can turn it into a four-day weekend with a “puente”.
If you never take your coat off, even indoors, or you’re always under a blanket when you’re on the sofa watching TV, then you might be a “friolero” or “friolera”.
From cool words, to music – now try listing to some Spanish songs to improve your language skills even further!
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