https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed You may have visited Galicia, but what do you know about the Spanish region's unique language? Here are five things to know about Galician or Galego. https://www.thelocal.es/20241018/five-things-to-know-about-the-galician-language Fri, 18 Oct 2024 11:50:23 +0200 five-things-to-know-about-the-galician-language If there’s one letter in the world that’s intrinsically Spanish it’s this one, so much so that the words for Spain (España) and Spanish (español) have it. But how much do you really know about this N with a squiggly hat on it? https://www.thelocal.es/20200625/five-fascinating-facts-you-didnt-know-about-the-letter-in-spanish Thu, 25 Jun 2020 12:57:49 +0200 five-fascinating-facts-you-didnt-know-about-the-letter-in-spanish You may know it as as the Spanish national football team and Rafa Nadal’s battle cry, but "Vamos" is used frequently in daily spoken Spanish. These common uses will help you sound like a local. https://www.thelocal.es/20241022/vamos-ten-easy-but-very-useful-ways-to-use-this-great-word-in-spanish Tue, 22 Oct 2024 14:16:40 +0200 vamos-ten-easy-but-very-useful-ways-to-use-this-great-word-in-spanish You may have noticed that many young Spaniards call people "tío" (uncle) or "tía" (aunt), even if they’re not related to them. Here's why and how to use this slang correctly. https://www.thelocal.es/20241018/why-do-people-in-spain-say-tio-and-tia-all-the-time Fri, 18 Oct 2024 11:48:51 +0200 why-do-people-in-spain-say-tio-and-tia-all-the-time 'Simpa', 'turismofobia' and 'crudivorismo' are just some of the new words out of 330 added to the 2026 version of Spain's most official dictionary. https://www.thelocal.es/20251218/the-new-words-added-to-the-spanish-dictionary-for-2026 Thu, 18 Dec 2025 10:36:12 +0100 the-new-words-added-to-the-spanish-dictionary-for-2026 Although Spain is famed for being warm and sunny, Spaniards have plenty of expressions and proverbs to refer to cold and rainy weather (with the odd swearword chucked in, of course). https://www.thelocal.es/20210112/ten-phrases-to-talk-about-cold-and-wet-weather-like-a-true-spaniard Tue, 12 Jan 2021 13:04:02 +0100 ten-phrases-to-talk-about-cold-and-wet-weather-like-a-true-spaniard Understanding what your driving instructor is saying to you in Spanish will be crucial if you want to pass your practical test. https://www.thelocal.es/20210308/spanish-driving-licence-the-essential-language-to-pass-your-practical-test Mon, 08 Mar 2021 19:21:02 +0100 spanish-driving-licence-the-essential-language-to-pass-your-practical-test Frustrated with your Spanish? Don't sweat it: Even native speakers sometimes make mistakes. Here we list some of the most common ones - all in the name of making you feel better about yourself of course. https://www.thelocal.es/20230126/ten-spanish-mistakes-even-spaniards-make Thu, 26 Jan 2023 16:35:55 +0100 ten-spanish-mistakes-even-spaniards-make Spaniards are a happy bunch who don’t hold back on laughing or talking about times they were in stitches. These expressions should help you navigate the language that’s used in comical situations in Spain. https://www.thelocal.es/20220124/que-risa-ten-spanish-expressions-to-talk-about-laughing-like-a-local Mon, 24 Jan 2022 17:25:22 +0100 que-risa-ten-spanish-expressions-to-talk-about-laughing-like-a-local If you’ve crossed the line with a Spaniard, there’s a high chance they’ll use one of a number of expressions in Spanish that refer to the face or head. Here’s the interesting reason why. https://www.thelocal.es/20210216/why-spaniards-refer-to-your-face-if-they-think-youre-being-cheeky Tue, 16 Feb 2021 15:35:56 +0100 why-spaniards-refer-to-your-face-if-they-think-youre-being-cheeky In hot and sunny Spain, ‘agua’ is certainly a word you need to know. But there are also many handy expressions which include the word for water, from the Spanish version of being 'in dire straits' to what you call a 'party pooper'. https://www.thelocal.es/20210322/speak-like-a-local-ten-very-useful-spanish-expressions-with-the-word-water Mon, 22 Mar 2021 17:25:25 +0100 speak-like-a-local-ten-very-useful-spanish-expressions-with-the-word-water Spanish is the only language in the world which puts an ‘upside down’ exclamation mark (¡) or question mark (¿) at the start of a sentence. ¿Por qué? (why?), we ask. https://www.thelocal.es/20221213/why-spanish-has-question-and-exclamation-marks-at-the-start-of-sentences Tue, 13 Dec 2022 12:01:53 +0100 why-spanish-has-question-and-exclamation-marks-at-the-start-of-sentences How do you know when you've really mastered the Spanish language? If you can tick off most of the points on this list, then you're well on your way. https://www.thelocal.es/20200117/12-signs-you-have-cracked-the-spanish-language Fri, 17 Jan 2020 13:28:07 +0100 12-signs-you-have-cracked-the-spanish-language They’re used to denote that something is small, of less importance or to express affection, but diminutives are used differently depending on where you are in Spain. Here's how to incorporate them into your Spanish. https://www.thelocal.es/20240308/how-using-diminutives-in-spain-will-make-you-sound-more-fluent Fri, 08 Mar 2024 14:00:50 +0100 how-using-diminutives-in-spain-will-make-you-sound-more-fluent Have you ever wondered why the Spanish language is usually called Castilian or 'castellano' in Spain and not Spanish? The answer is down to geography, history and culture. https://www.thelocal.es/20250519/why-is-spanish-called-castellano-in-spain Mon, 19 May 2025 13:43:46 +0200 why-is-spanish-called-castellano-in-spain In Spain, every region, province, city and island has its own word for its inhabitants. https://www.thelocal.es/20190716/what-to-call-the-locals-in-spain Tue, 16 Jul 2019 12:49:12 +0200 what-to-call-the-locals-in-spain They say the eyes never lie, and when it comes to the use of ‘ojo’ (eye) in Spanish there are plenty of everyday expressions which will help you become a true native speaker. https://www.thelocal.es/20240401/ojo-14-very-useful-spanish-expressions-with-the-word-eye Mon, 01 Apr 2024 14:28:29 +0200 ojo-14-very-useful-spanish-expressions-with-the-word-eye David Beckham may have struggled to string a sentence together in Spanish after four years in Madrid, but other famous faces have reached almost native levels in the language after spending time in España or with Spanish people. https://www.thelocal.es/20230418/six-celebrities-who-are-fluent-in-spanish Tue, 18 Apr 2023 16:10:39 +0200 six-celebrities-who-are-fluent-in-spanish Are you a fatty, half an orange or just somebody's darling? The Local gives you the most affectionate romantic names to call your Valentine (with some exceptions), from the classic to the hilarious terms of endearment. https://www.thelocal.es/20241012/ten-spanish-romantic-nicknames-for-lovers Sat, 12 Oct 2024 13:25:35 +0200 ten-spanish-romantic-nicknames-for-lovers Spain’s 'Real Academia Española' has added hundreds of new words and made over 4000 modifications to the Spanish dictionary this year. Here are some of the best, whether words adopted from English or reflecting life in Spain in 2024. https://www.thelocal.es/20241211/the-new-words-added-to-the-spanish-dictionary-in-2024 Wed, 11 Dec 2024 14:09:47 +0100 the-new-words-added-to-the-spanish-dictionary-in-2024