For Catholics all over the world, Christmas is a traditional holiday that starts on December 25. It commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, but it is also a time to celebrate with our loved ones, exchange gifts, eat typical products, say goodbye to the year that ends, and welcome the new one that begins.

Click here to continue reading this blog post in Spanish.

But, in Spain, we have our own holiday traditions, and when New Year’s celebrations are over and January 6 is approaching, we start to prepare one the most exciting festivities —especially for the youngest of the family: the arrival of the Three Wise Men. We have already told you in other posts of this blog what this tradition consists of, but today we are going to give you some tips for you to enjoy the ritual of writing the letter with your children, nephews, cousins ​​or little siblings. Not only is it about making a list of all the things they want to be given, but it can be also a good opportunity to teach them to think about their actions and the situation of the world around them.

1. Teach them to reflect on their behavior

Writing the letter to the Three Wise Men can be a great way to perform an exercise in self-criticism in which children reflect on their behavior and improve it in the future. It is therefore a good time to teach them that they should evolve day by day and have a conscious life, not only on these dates, but also during the rest of the year. They will learn to value that every effort has a reward.

2. Teach them to make decisions

Each year in the month of December, children start to decide what gifts they want to receive on January 6. But since they can't ask for everything in the toy catalog —because the Wise Men would go bankrupt— the little ones must learn to choose what they really want. They will be also learning that every decision we make has some kind of impact on our lives. Explain also that, although their desires are reasonable, they may not be given everything they asked for, as the Wise Men must reach every child in the world and, sometimes, they make mistakes. Thus, they will learn that we ​​cannot have all we want, even when we deserve it.

3. Recommend them to ask at least for one non-toy gift

Although we all know that children love toys, it can be a good point to teach them that there are other valuable things to ask for. Maybe, something to make the world a better place, like the ending of war, hunger or pollution throughout the world; or even something for their future, such as a family trip, or an unforgettable experience in a Spanish summer camp! They will learn a new language and make friends from all over the world.

4. Recommend them to choose one other gift that encourages exercise —physical or mental

Hottest toys today encourage sedentary lifestyle, that is, they are designed for children to play without much effort. However, this can be a good time to change habits and ask for some toy that promotes outdoor exercise, teamwork or intellectual development. Good examples of this are puzzles, bicycles, skates, sports balls, or even Spanish courses in Spain!

5. Teach them some history

Take this opportunity to teach some history to the youngest of the family. Tell them about the origin of cultural holidays . They will be learning interesting facts about our past and having fun at the same time, since history can be told as a story. They’ll love it!

At don Quijote, we hope you make the most of this blog post, so that you can perform the ritual in the best way! Here, you can find a letter template that you can download (click on the photo) and complete with the children around you. Do you take the challenge?

New Year’s Eve is the sweetest moment of the year for those who love making lists and putting things into perspective. Putting your objectives down on paper will help you stick to them and make your resolutions happen in 2020. However, sometimes it’s hard to decide what’s next on the list. Let us help you!

In this blog post, you’ll learn which are the most popular New Year’s Resolutions for 2020 and what you can do to follow through with them. Keep on reading in English or click here to switch to the Spanish version of the article!

What does the data say?

The following chart by Ipsos details the most popular New Year’s Resolutions among Americans. Although adopting healthy habits tops the 2020 resolutions list, data shows that some classics are still there, e.g., loosing weight and learning a new skill.

This survey presents an interesting fact. Only 38 percent of Americans said they would go for at least one resolution. However, this percentage is way higher among Hispanics, as 56 percent of them plan to accomplish their goals in 2020. Vivan los latinos!

Let us go through each of these resolutions and help you craft an action plan for 2020!

1. Manage Finances Better

Everyone likes to be in good financial shape. To improve your finances, there’s nothing like planning ahead. First of all, you need to have a good understanding of the money you earn and the money you spend. You can keep track of your income and your expenses using an app. Then, create a realistic budget and stick to it by removing unnecessary expenses. This way, you’ll save some money and build an emergy fund that will help you feel relieved.

2. Eat Healthier

If this is among your New Year’s Resolutions, we have good news! Have you ever heard about the Mediterranean Diet? Apart from being delicious, eating as the Spanish, Italian, and Greeks do has many benefits for your health. The Mediterranean Diet has been proved to lower cardiovascular disease risk, reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and increase longevity, among other things. Why don’t you give it a try?

3. Be More Active & Losing Weight

Cold weather is no excuse! There are many things you can do during the winter to stay fit and lose weight, and winter sports are one of the best ways to break the ice, quite literally, and start the new year full of energy. If you’re up to do some travelling, here’s a list with the top ski resorts in Spain. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

4. Improve Mental Well-being & Social Connections

You need to be introspective and accept your own emotions to be happy. No mental-wellness guide will deny this. In the social aspect, getting surrounded by people who share the same interests as you will definitely help as well. Now, they key question is, how do I do that? If you are a language lover, like us, you can travel and meet people from different cultures who will change your perspective. If you can’t afford travelling at the moment, you can attend events or simply smile at your neighbor! You never know how interesting people you see every day can be.

5. Learn a New Skill

Learning a new skill is not only good for your resume, it is also good for your brain and your well-being! Not to mention that you automatically become a more interesting person. In 2020, our golden suggestion is for you to learn a new language. Choose one whose sound and associated culture please you. If you’re not sure which language you want to study, here are several reasons why you should go for Spanish!

6. Be More Eco-Friendly

The Globate Climate and Health Summit 2019 in Madrid changed many people’s minds about climate change. Although we still have a lot to work on, being aware of the problems Earth is facing is the first step to change. There are a lot of small sustainable actions at your fingertips that can help you fight the climate change, such as using public transportation, saving energy and implementing the 3 “Rs”: reduce, reuse and recycle. Our planet will thank you!

We hope you found this post useful. When the clock strikes twelve tonight, you’ll be ready to begin a New Year full of challenging, exciting goals!

At this time of the year, you have probably already heard about the most iconic New Year’s Eve tradition in Spain: eating twelve grapes at midnight. A couple of minutes before the clock strikes twelve on December 31, you’ll find 46 million Spaniards staring at the TV. That night, all broadcasters in the country show the same scene: Puerta del Sol square, in Madrid. And as the bell strikes, they eat their twelve grapes one by one.

Everything has to run smooth as a Swiss watch (quite literally), because any failure or delay in the procedure may ruin the whole ceremony. For this reason, the master watchmakers in charge of the clock at Puerta del Sol test the system 24 hours in advance. This rehearsal before the moment of truth is called preuvas (pre-grapes). Want to know how you can join the pre-celebration? Keep on reading or switch to the Spanish version of this post.

A Bit of History

At the beginning, preuvas was nothing but a technical run-through. Did you know that Madrid’s Post Office’s clock is almost 186 years old? That being the case, it is not surprising that technicians feel more confident testing its gears before running any event.

However, at some point people from all over the country started joining in and rehearsing New Year’s Eve ritual. The only difference was that, instead of grapes, they used to have twelve candies. Why? Well, simply because grapes are supposed to be bad luck if eaten before New Year.

Over time, the number of attendees increased and now around 25000 people gather each year at Puerta del Sol to rehearse for New Year’s Eve.

Where and When

Puerta del Sol is in downtown Madrid, close to the Royal Palace, the Parliament and the Plaza Mayor. Two of its most iconic symbols are the Tío Pepe advertisement and the Bear and the Madroño Tree statue.

Normally, you can get to Puerta del Sol by train, metro, and bus. But watch out! On December 30 and December 31, there are access restrictions due to the number of people that visit the square. That’s why we recommend you to step down at any nearby station and simply walk there.

Regarding the time of the ceremony, we are glad to tell you that you have two chances to attend preuvas within the same day! The first rehearsal takes place at midday, and the second one at midnight, December 30. But let’s be honest: most people prefer joining the latter.

Please note that in order to attend any of the two, you’ll need to be in the area at least two hours in advance, as the venue quickly becomes crowded and security guards cordon off the whole area.

This Is What You’ll See

This might be your first time rehearsing for Nochevieja, so let’s go over what you have to do. The first thing you will see is a golden globe descending from the top of the clock 35 seconds before the bells start striking. After that, you’ll hear four bell tolls. They are the so-called cuartos. But don’t go that fast! You don’t need to do anything yet.

After the four strikes are complete, it’s your time to start eating. By the end of the twelve strikes, you should have eaten all your grapes or candies.

This is all you need to know to successfully attend preuvas. We encourage you to visit Spain’s capital city on December 30 and join this fun activity while you learn Spanish at don Quijote!

“For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas.” – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

THAT time of the year is right behind the corner and all of us, children and adults, can’t wait to celebrate the joy of these days with our beloved ones. Yes, we are talking about Christmas time, a time of giving. And if there is one giving character, that’s the one we are going to talk about in this post. Keep on reading in Spanish if you prefer.

Santa Claus, Papá Noel, Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas… There are few people with so many names and faces such as Santa. This character is not as popular in other parts of the world as it is America. In some cultures, it has a different name, and in some others, it doesn’t even exist. Not to mention that in some countries there are other magical beings (like the Three Wise Men) who deliver all children’s presents at this time of the year.

Accompany us in our particular Christmas Carol and find out the many faces of Santa around the Spanish-speaking world!

Santa Claus in Spain and Latin America

In Spain, the most popular name for this lovely old man is Papá Noel. Papá means ‘daddy’, while the word Noel is derived from the French Noël, which stands for ‘Christmas’. Father Christmas is a popular nickname for this character in countries such as the UK, France (Pére Noël) or Italy (Babbo Natale).

Although Santa is growing popularity among Spaniards due to globalization and advertising, for many people in Spain and Latin America he is just the leading character of many Hollywood movies. The tradition of leaving presents under the Christmas tree belongs actually to The Three Wise Men – three Kings coming all the way from the Orient with their camels and gifts (or charcoal, if one has not behaved properly throughout the year).

Other Holiday Characters

Only within the Spanish territory, there are five more characters fulfilling Santa’s role: delivering presents to all good boys and girls around the country. And in Latin America you can find at least two more. Learn more about them:

1. Olentzero

This coalman comes out of the forest where he lives only once a year to bring presents to all children in the Basque Country. Initially, he used to announce the arrival of baby Jesus, but with time he ended up becoming the Santa’s counterpart in this Spanish region.

2. Tió de Nadal

Nope, we are not talking about Rafael Nadal, the popular tennis player. Tió de Nadal is a human-shaped log with a smiley face and a red hat coming from the Catalan mythology. This funny character is fed nuts and covered with a blanket for several days until December 24. Then, it comes the miracle: kids look under the blanket to find out he has pooped out their presents.

3. El Esteru

In Cantabria (Northern Spain), the presents that kids find under their Christmas tree are not necessarily delivered by The Three Wise Men, as in most households in the country. It is El Esteru, a woodcutter, who brings happiness to the little ones on January 6.

4. Apalpador

You might know the region of Galicia in Spain for its Celtic roots and its own different language. Apart from that, Galicia also has its own kind of Santa, called Apalpador. He is a coalman (as well as the Olentzero) who comes down from the mountains on Christmas Eve and New Year’s to touch children’s belly while they sleep and checks if they’ve eaten well throughout the year. If so, he gives them sweets and presents.

5. L’Anguleru

This fledgling character was created in 2008 to foster the celebration of a Christmas that’s closer to the unique traditions of Asturias. L’Anguleru is a Fisherman who goes fishing on December 24, then sells what he has caught and uses the money to buy children gifts.

6. Colacho

Colacho is short for Nicolacho, a reference to Saint Nicholas. At the end of the day, this is just another name they use in Costa Rica for good old Santa, with his red suit and his reindeers carrying the sleight. 

7. Viejito Pascuero

In many Spanish-speaking countries, the translation for Christmas time is Navidad. However, in Chile they call this time of the year Pascua. Viejito Pascuero (literally old Christmas guy) is one of the names Chileans know Santa for, along with Papá Noel.

Now that you know the many faces of Santa Claus all around the world, we encourage to travel to any of these countries and get presents from a different Santa this year. With the Winter Break program offered in don Quijote schools, it will be easy to live a full immersion into the Spanish and Latin Christmas traditions.

In today’s blog post, we are going to learn how to express quantity for nouns. You’ll see this topic is not too complicated, and surely you will have very few questions after we are done with the explanation. ?

Click here to keep on reading in Spanish.

Bastante / bastantes (enough)

These quantifiers express a sufficient amount of something. For example:

¿Tenemos bastante comida para todos? ¡Somos 20!

Do we have enough food for all of us? We are 20 people!

No quiero discutir contigo. Ya he tenido bastantes problemas por hoy.

I don’t want to keep fighting with you. I’ve had enough for today.

The only variant of this quantifier is its plural form, bastantes, as it lacks a feminine form.

Mucho / mucha / muchos / muchas (too, many, a lot of)

We have have already talked about the use of these words in previous posts. They are used to describe a quantity which is greater than needed. For example:

En verano, al mediodía hace mucho calor. Prefiero pasear por la noche.

During the summer, it’s too hot at noon. I prefer walking at night.

Aquí hay mucha gente. Busquemos otro restaurante.

There are many people here. Let’s find another restaurant.

If you want to intensify the message, you’ll be tempted to use a direct translation of the word combo ‘too many’. However, it is important for you to know that the phrase *muy mucho is not correct in Spanish. Instead, we can use the word muchísimo and feminine variant muchísima. This is one of those things you won’t easily find on the Internet, but that a real Spanish teacher can help you learn with a Spanish course.

Aquí hay muchísima gente.

There are way too many people here.

Sometimes, we also use bastante to define a quantity which is greater than needed but lower than the one we express with the word mucho. Let us help you understand:

1. Tengo bastantes dudas. ¿Puedes ayudarme? / I have several questions. Can you help?

2. Tengo muchas dudas. ¿Puedes ayudarme? / I have many questions. Can you help?

In the first instance, we are saying that we have some questions, and that they are not few. But, in any case, they are less than the ones I have in the second example.

Demasiado / demasiada / demasiados / demasiadas (too much, too many)

All the words above express a quantity that is greater than expected and, in addition to that, greater than what is defined by mucho. In other words, when using these quantifiers, we are talking about an excess, which has negative connotations. For example:

Hay demasiada comida. Solo somos 5 y seguro que tiraremos casi todo a la basura.

There is too much food. We are only 5 people and most of it will be thrown away.

Tu hijo tiene demasiados videojuegos. Podrías comprarle algún libro.

Your son has too many videogames. You could get him some books.

Poco / poca / pocos / pocas (few, little, not many)

Unlike the previous quantifiers, poco expresses a quantity which is lower than usual. However, it doesn’t necessarily have negative connotations. For example:

Me gusta esta playa porque siempre hay muy poca gente.

I like this beach because there are not many people.

Quedan pocos huevos. ¿Puedes comprar por favor?

There are few eggs left. Could you buy some, please?

Please note that, opposite to mucho, in this case we can add the word muy to intensify the concept of poco. So, it is correct to say:

Tengo muy poco papel en la oficina.

I have very little paper left at the office.

Many thanks to Ignacio Sellés for preparing this explanation, which was as enlighting as the bright sun of Alicante, the city where he teaches Spanish at our partner school.

We have already talked about the linguistic economy in Spanish, for example, about abbreviations and apocopes. As you know, in order to save time and space, sometimes we shorten the words, or even join several to create a single word. Today, it's time to tell you what contractions are, and also to show you some examples so that you learn to use them properly. Thus, it will be easier for you to learn Spanish and, above all, to use it accurately.

Read this blog post in Spanish.

What is a grammar contraction?

The contraction in grammar is a morphological resource (morphology is the branch of linguistics that studies the structure of words) in which the union of two words occurs (the second usually begins with a vowel) to form a single one. The contraction resorts to the rhetorical figure of the diction (alteration of the composition of the words or phrases), and primarily to the transformation or metaplasm (alteration of the writing or pronunciation of the words without changing their meaning).

Types of contractions in Spanish

1. Preposition + article

This is the most frequent type of contraction in the Spanish language:

• A + el = al

• De + el = del

* Example: "Marta fue al médico porque se encontraba mal."

We don't say: "Marta fue a el médico porque se encontraba mal.”

2. Preposition “para”

Although they have a very colloquial use and have not yet been accepted by the RAE (Royal Academy of the Spanish Language), it is possible that, in some informal conversation or colloquial piece of speech, you will hear the following contractions with the preposition “para”. However, never write these constructions in a contracted way or use them in situations that are not quite informal or for a very specific purpose.

• Para + el/la = pal/pa’la (use only in very informal situations).

*Example: "El poder, pal pueblo".

• Para + allá = pa’llá (use only in very informal situations).

*Example: “Vete pa’llá.”

• Para + que/qué = pa’que / pa’qué (use only in very informal situations).

*Example: “Pa’que veas.”

• Para + arriba = pa’rriba (use only in very informal situations).

*Example: “Venga p’arriba.”

• Para + delante = pa´lante (use only in very informal situations).

*Example: “Un pasito pa’lante, María.”

• Para + abajo = pa’bajo (use only in very informal situations).

*Example: “Tira pa’bajo.”

• Para + atrás = pa’trás (use only in very informal situations).

*Example: “Ni in paso pa’tras.”

• Para + dentro = pa’dentro (use only in very informal situations).

*Example: “¡Arriba, abajo, al centro… y pa’dentro!”

3. Other cases 

• Donde + quiera= doquiera = doquier

*Example: “Hay gente por doquier.”

• Otra + hora = otrora

*Example: “Esta ciudad era otrora campo…”

• Entre + ambos = entrambos

*Example: “Entrambos hermanos construyeron una casa.”

At don Quijote, we know that facing the challenge of learning a new language is never easy and can be almost heroic. However, we hope that this post is useful for you and that you can practice grammar contractions when you visit Spain or Latin America.

At today’s blog post, we want to talk about how to apply for Spanish citizenship. At don Quijote, we know that bureaucratic processes can be a maze full of difficulties, something tedious and even frustrating on many occasions, especially under the great pressure and the need to obtain Spanish citizenship. For this reason and to make things a little easier for you, we have decided to dedicate today's blog post to help you carry out these procedures.

Click here to change to the Spanish version.

Steps to apply for Spanish citizenship

1. Meet all the necessary requirements

First of all, and before beginning any type of procedure that entails a waste of money and time that may be unnecessary, you must be sure that you meet all the necessary conditions to obtain citizenship in Spain. These requirements are as follows:

1.1 Prove continued residence:

Except for those who are children of Spanish citizens or have been born in Spain, citizenship is obtained after a period of residence in the country. Therefore, the first thing you should do is to demonstrate that you’ve been a legal resident in Spain for a continuous period of time. The minimum time required depends on the situation of the applicant and their country of origin:

• 10 years of legal and continued residence for most of the countries of origin.

• 5 years of legal and continued residence for refugees.

• 2 years of legal and continued residence for those who come from the following countries: Latin America, Portugal, Andorra, Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Sephardic Jew.

• 1 year for those married to a Spanish citizen, born in Spanish territory or who, although born outside and their parents too, their grandparents are all Spanish.

But be careful, because there are several factors that are very important to consider. First, the study periods or other visas do not count, you must access the residence card. Second, the residence has to be continued. That is, if you are in an irregular situation, you will have to start counting again when you recover the legal residence since the calculation will be interrupted. Be careful with departures from the country too, there have been some cases in which nationality’s been denied due to departures exceeding 3 months. So, to avoid surprises and future problems, if you’re planning to leave Spanish territory for a longer duration, consult the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

1.2 Prove good civic behavior:

The second condition to comply is not to have a criminal or police record, so you will have to present such documentation. In addition, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs they ask the CNI (National Intelligence Center) to issue a report to gather information about you and your career in Spain.

In any case, Spanish jurisprudence stipulates (at the official level) that meeting both requirements ensures nothing. Not having criminal records is only an indicator for good behavior, but they do not guarantee anything in any way, that is, you can get citizenship, even if you have criminal records and vice versa. But, in the real practice, the fact of having these records, imply an automatic refusal of the application. Therefore, it is advisable to cancel such records in the case of having them before applying for citizenship by residence.

1.3 Sufficient degree of integration in Spanish society

The last necessary requirement is to prove a sufficient degree of integration in Spanish society. Before, personal interviews were conducted by public officials, however, the questions could be very arbitrary, so the process was modified and now two more objective tests are carried out.

• Those applicants who do not come from Spanish-speaking countries will have to take the DELE exam (official test accrediting the degree of proficiency and mastery of the Spanish language) – A2 minimum level required. If you want to know how to register, visit our entry How to sign up for the DELE exam in 5 easy steps.

• All applicants will have to take the CCSE test (Constitutional and Sociocultural Knowledge of Spain). This is a test that contains 25 questions taken from a catalog of 300. The good thing is that every year they are published at the Cervantes Institute website. We recommend you prepare it thoroughly.

2. Documents from the country of origin

You will also have to request the corresponding documentation in your country of origin. It is important that you do it after having the rest of the paperwork (language and culture exams, accreditation of good behavior, etc.) since such documentation may expire and you would have to repeat the procedures. Check with your country's embassy or consulate for more information.

3. Submit the application to the Ministry of Justice

Finally, after all the above requirements and steps, you will have to submit the completed application, as well as the rest of the documentation at the Ministry of Justice.

We wish you the best of luck!

This is probably not the first time you find us talking about linguistic economy. When we shorten words, either using apocopes, acronyms or other types of abbreviation, we make language more economical. In other words, we express ourselves quicker. In today’s post, we bring you a list with some of the most used abbreviations in Spanish, so you can easily identify them.

Keep on reading to learn the most commonly used Spanish abbreviations or click here to switch to continue reading in Spanish.

Before Getting Started: Differences Between Sigla and Acrónimo

Both siglas and acrónimos are shortened forms of words. In Spanish, siglas are a type of abbreviation formed by the initial letter of each term in the string. They are spelled letter by letter. By contrast, acrónimos can be spelled by syllable.

• Sigla: ECB > BCE (European Central Bank > Banco Central Europeo). Spelling: B-C-E.
• Acrónimo: UN > ONU (United Nations > Organización de Naciones Unidas). Spelling: O-NU.

In this article by RAE (which is by the way an abbreviation of Real Academia Española) you’ll find the most common Spanish abbreviations.

Country and Language Abbreviations

Let us introduce you the ISO 3166 system in case you didn’t know it. This is a standard coding system that assigns three letters to each country. This way, the code for Spain is ESP, the code for Mexico is MEX and the code for Costa Rica is CRI.

And because not all countries have just one language, the international community has created another abbreviated system called ISO 639 to identify all languages around the world using only two letters. Here’s the name of all official languages spoken in Spain according to this system:

• Spanish: ES
• Catalan: CA
• Basque: EU
• Galician: GL

International Organizations Abbreviations in Spanish

One of the biggest challenges when learning a new language is being able to understand abbreviations. Some cultures tend to keep the official abbreviation (in the source language), but we all know that in Spanish we translate everything, even movie titles.

However, most of the times organizations abbreviations are made of English or French terms, which are not that different from Spanish. Thanks to this, the Spanish abbreviation usually differs from the English one only in the order of the elements. Let’s see the abbreviation of some of the most popular organizations in the media:

Time Abbreviations

Charts, calendars, reports and official documents usually contain dates that we tend to shorten to save time and space. To do so, we can use only numbers following the format dd/mm/yyyy or shorten the name of the month and the weekday. Although there are discrepancies between the different short forms, Fundéu recommends the use of the following ones:

Month Abbreviations in Spanish

Weekday Abbreviation in Spanish

Texting Abbreviations in Spanish

Since the SMS (abbreviation of Short Message Service) appeared, the use of abbreviations increased. Afterwards, social media and instant messaging did they part and, nowadays, abbreviations are an ordinary thing in our daily chats. Twitter’s character limit and WhatsApp’s immediacy are good reasons why you should learn to identify (and use) texting abbreviations.

Let’s leave aside academic formality for a while and have a look at some of the most popular digital abbreviations.

Hope you found this post useful. Next time you face an unknown Spanish abbreviation, breath deeply and don’t panic! You can use the tips above to find out its meaning.

"But what does “purity of the Spanish language” even means? Castilian is an evolved Latin which adopted new elements: Iberic, Visigothic, Arab, Greek, French, Italian, English and even from pre-Columbian America. How can you talk about purity of Castilian? When did you decide that from now Castilian is set on stone and all new contribution are noxious impurities? This so-called purity is the last example of some sort of protectionism, linguistic chauvinism, limited, petty, and like any chauvinism it only impoverishes us."

Rosenblat, A. (1971: 12) Nuestra lengua en ambos mundos. Barcelona: Salvat y Alianza.

Languages ​​are living and changing entities that flow and adapt to the social and cultural needs of their speakers. It is often said that, when a language stops evolving, it also stops being spoken, and its use tends to disappear. Our language is kept alive and ever-changing in "ambos mundos” (both words), worlds with cultural differences that shine through the fascinating lexical variants of the Spanish language.

We have already talked about the presence of Spanish all over the world (spoken in 21 countries), not only in Latin America, but also in remote places like the Philippines or Equatorial Guinea. And, although it sounds topical, the Spanish language is very rich in terms of vocabulary. But not all the richness of our culture is reduced to lexical issues, since the foods that compose the great gastronomic variety of Spanish-speaking countries are also delicious. Today, at don Quijote's blog, we want to show you some examples of foods that receive different names according to the Spanish-speaking country we are in. So, when you visit any of them, you will know how to order your favorite foods.

Keep reading this post or click here to switch to the Spanish version.

1. Aguacate (avocado)

This rich and nutritious fruit has its origin in Mexico, and maintains the same name also in Spain, Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia. However, in Bolivia and Chile this delicious food is known as "palta", while its name is "cura" or "avocado" in Venezuela and "pagua" in Cuba.

2. Dulce de leche (a type of sweet candy similar to fudge candy)

This is the name that this delicious candy receives in Uruguay and also in Argentina, where its part of their traditional  and, although it is not a typical food in Spain, it is increasingly common to find it thanks to the thousands of Argentines who live in this country. In Colombia and Panama, they call it “arequipe”, and "cajeta” in Cuba and Mexico.

3. Fresa (strawberry)

This is the name that this sweet and nutritious fruit receives in Spain and most Latin American countries. But be careful, because in Mexico or Costa Rica, "fresa" is also used to refer pejoratively to someone who has a good social or economic position. In Chile, Argentina and Uruguay it is known by the name “frutilla”.

4. Habas (beans)

To begin with, we must distinguish between the different types of beans and pods we have. On the one hand, we find what in Spain it’s called “alubias” or “judías” (beans), which can be red (“alubias pintas”) or white (“alubias blancas” or “judías blancas”). These, in Mexico and Central America, are known as “frijoles” (although these are black), while in the Dominican Republic are called “habichuelas” and “caraotas” in Venezuela. On the other, the green vegetable pods (“green beans”) are called "judías verdes” in Spain and Colombia, “chauchas” in Argentina and “vainitas” in Perú.

5. Jugo (juice)

Although in Spain it is usually called "zumo", the word "jugo" can be used as a synonym, although it is more common to use it for liquids obtained after cooking stews. The word "jugo" is used to refer to the squeezed fruits in the Canary Islands, Colombia and most Latin American countries. In Mexico, however, the juice is called "licuado".

6. Maracuyá (passion fruit)

If you’ve ever been to Spain, you may have had a “zumo de maracuyá” (passion fruit juice), although this food is also known as “fruta de la pasión”. Other of the many names that it receives in Latin America are “granadilla púrpura”, “pasionaria”, “curuba”, “parcha”, “calabacito” or “ceibey”.

7. Palomitas de maíz (popcorn)

This is the name that this delicious corn-based snack receives in Spain, while in Argentina it is called “pochocló” or “pororó”, “cabritas” in Chile, and “cotufas” in Venezuela.

8. Papaya

This is the name that this tropical fruit (famous for its many good properties) receives in Spain and some Latin American countries. Other names are “papayón”, “olocotón”, “lechoza” or “lechosa” in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, and “frutabomba” in Cuba. In Paraguay and Argentina, they refer to this fruit as "mamón", but be careful, because in many Latin American countries, and also in Spain, this word means something completely different and can be received as an insult.

9. Patata (potato)

The Solanum tuberusom tuber is known as “patata” in Spain (peninsula and Balearic Islands), where it is the main ingredient of one of the most typical recipes in this country: the Spanish tortilla. But, in Latin America and in the Canary Islands, it maintains the Quechua origin name "papa", as in this language of the Peruvian Andes, from where it was exported to the rest of the world after the conquest of America in the 15th century.

10. Plátano (banana)

If you are in Spain and want to ask what the favorite food of monkeys is, the answer will be “plátano”. However, Venezuelans would answer "campur" and in other Caribbean countries, "banana" or "guineo".

And here ends today’s blog post. At don Quijote, we hope you enjoyed it and, above all, that it serves you for the future. Finally, we encourage you to share with us more examples of lexical varieties in Spanish.

See you soon!

How do you call this?

And what about this?

Spanish has words for everything. And as we love to speak very quickly, we need to shorten the words we use. This is called linguistic economy. Click here to switch to the Spanish version of this post and keep on learning!

Probably you’ve learned Spanish with the help of a profe (teacher), and very likely last night you were watching the tele (TV). Maybe you went to work by bus (bus) yesterday and took some notes with a boli (pen). Do you remember what was the last peli (movie) you watched at the cine (cinema)?

Well, these words are a few examples of what apocopes are.

What is an apocope?

‘To apocopate’ is to shorten a word. That it to say, to cut off a sound at the end of it. This sound can either be a letter or a whole syllable. As in other languages, in Spanish this is a very common linguistic phenomenon.

When apocopes occur, short words keep the same meaning as their longer counterparts. Let’s see some examples of what we are talking about.

Spanish Apocopes

Nouns

We can apocopate both proper names and common names. Do you know anyone whose name is Manu or Isa? Well, in case you haven't been told yet, but their full names are Manuel and Isabel.

As we said before, when we speak Spanish, we use words like profe, bus, cine, boli, moto, bici… Well, next time you pronounce them you’ll know that you are using apocopated words, because these are their longer versions:

Profe is short for profesor, which means teacher.

Bus is short for autobús, which means bus.

Cine is short for cinematógrafo, which means cinema.

Boli is short for bolígrafo, which means pen.

Moto is short for motoclicleta, which means motorcycle.

Bici is short for bicicleta, which means bike.

Pronouns

Talking about pronouns, it is very common thing to use them shortened. When you say that algún díra irás a la playa (one day you’ll go to the beach), or that no te ha tocado nunca ningún sorteo (you have never won a raffle), you are using apocopated pronouns without realizing.

When we talk about possessions, we say that this is tu libro (your book) or that this is mi mesa (my table). But do you know which are the longer counterparts of these words?

Algún is short for alguno, which means some.

Ningún is short for ninguno, which means none.

Mi is short for mío, which means ‘of mine’.

Tu is short for tuyo, which means ‘of yours.

Adverbs

Did you know that adverbs can also be apocopated?

If one day we set the alarm much earlier than usual, we say that we woke up muy temprano (too early). Or, for example, if we compare the height of two brothers, we say that one of them is almost tan alto como el otro (as tall as the other one).

Muy is short for mucho, which means ‘too’, ‘very’ or ‘a lot of’, depending on the context.

Tan is short for tanto, which means ‘as much as’.

These are just a few of the many examples you can use of apocopated words. If you want to learn more, come and learn Spanish at our schools in Spain or Latin America.