Spanish/The Wrong Way To Learn Spanish/Dictionary

This is a mnemonic dictionary. Every word has its pronunciation, meaning, and a little sentence to help you remember the word and its meaning. A mnemonic phrase is worthless without the right connections for your memory, the BEST way to remember what an orange is in Spanish is to get an orange, feel it's peel, smell the skin, listen to the sound when you cut through the peel, feel the resistance give way as the knife penetrates, take in that bright, vibrant, orange color of the flesh, taste the sweet tangy juices, smell the juices, feel rippled, slippery skin all the while connecting the essence of an orange to how Spanish expresses it: naranja The WORST way is to memorize a rhyme connecting a pun on the color orange to the fruit orange. Three unrelated steps: reading a rhyme (something processed in a totally different part of the brain,) the color orange, and then an actual orange. It might work to get an "A" on a test, but you will have a stutter when you are in Mexico. Used correctly, a mnemonic phrase is somewhere in between the two extremes of true understanding and rote memorization. With enough practice, especially in an immersion environment, the brain will make the direct connection to naranja circumventing the mnemonic phrase, but never like our "first" language. In the bullet points under word definitions, leading letters of the Spanish word are italicized, and the English definition is bolded. A abajo (ah-ba-ho) - down, downstairs, below [something] Imagine throwing down a bad cup of joe. Baja California is the area "below" California en inglés. acostarse (a-co-star-say) - v. to put oneself to bed. (Irregular verb: when conjugated the first "o" is replaced with "ue.") Imagine for a costar to say "Put oneself (your arse) to bed." alguno (al-goon-oh) - pron. some, someone By the algebra of some, someone is uno. año (an-yo) - m. year annual organization aquel (ah-kale) - that (over there) Raquel is that lady over there. azul (ah-sool) - blue Azure literally means bright blue en inglés. B bailar (bay-lar) - to dance Imagine it is time to dance around a bale of hay. Lyrics of La Bamba start with "Para bailar la bamba" baile (bī-lay) - m. dance A popular type of performance dance is the ballet. bonito (boh-nee-toh) a. pretty (masculine) That guy Bo is so pretty and I think that's neato. C caballero (cah-bah-yer-oh) - Depending on the country, this means "cowboy" or (less common) "gentleman". Imagine a well dressed gentleman cowboy in a cab. cada (ca-da) - each, every Each and every case, directly approached, should be more than pro forma. cartera (kahr-teh-rah) n. - wallet, purse You should get a cartier purse / wallet! cepillarse (cep-ill-arse) - to brush oneself. E.g., cepillarse los dientes means to brush your teeth. Imagine it takes a caterpillar to brush onself, e.g., your teeth. cerrar (seh-rrahr) - to close Someone needs to tell Sarah R. to close her mouth 😡 cierto (see-air-toe) - adj. certain, sure, true Of course I'm cierto of my spelling, señor! correr (core-air) - v. to run, or go fast Imagine that to run, or go fast your core will not get enough air. creer (cr-ear) - v. to think, to believe Picture a monk yelling "Forget your career! To think, to believe in the Lord is not optional!" Being credulous means to believe too easily, en inglés. cuaderno (Kwan-dare-no) - m. notebook A notebook is a quadrangle (four-sided figure). cuando (cwan-do) - conj. when Consider update and time of. D daiquirí - m. daiquiri, a cocktail of rum, lemon, and sugar Be sure to enjoy a cocktail of rum, lemon, and sugar when visiting namesake Daiquirí, a port city in eastern Cuba. dar (dar) - v. to give Darwin may not have meant to give God a size down. deber (day-ver) - v. should, ought to; to owe Debt encouraged by righteousness. decir (day-seer) - v. to tell, say "Declare IRA!", enthusiastic nest egg incubators may declaim. dejar (day-har) - v. to let, leave (rhetorically). Do enough, just, and retire. despertarse (dais-per-tar-say) - v. to wake up. (Irregular verb: when conjugated the first "e" is replaced with "ie".) Dreaming that pirates are killing you, you're desperate to wake your arse up. descansar (dees-cahn-sar) - v. to rest Descansar (to rest) your disconsolation, may be to disassociate and dissolve it in sleep's soothing salve. dolor (doe-lor) - m. pain. The indolent or lazy avoid pain of exertion. E echar (eh-char) - v. to throw, to pour Escucha! I hear charcoal thrown. encontrar (en-cone-trar) - v. to find To find something is to it encounter. enseñar (ehn-seh-nyahr) - v. to teach When you are taught, your knowledge ascends. F fábrica (FAH-bree-kah) - factory A factory fabricates. fácil (FAH-seel) - easy It'd be facile to suggest that this nonsense facilitates Spanish. G gana (gah-nah) - f. desire I'm gonna (gana) wish absence didn't multiply desire. gato (gah-toe) - m. cat A stray cat struts with gaps betwixt toes. gente (hen-tay) - people ladies and gentlemen H haber (ah-ver) - v. to have to have, bear. hacer (ha-ser) - v. to do, make Hackers do, do, ... make. habitación (ah-bee-tah-see-own) - living space A habitation is a living space en inglés. hablar ('ah-blar) - v. to speak, to talk bla, bla: to speak or talk much while saying little. hay (ay) - there is (are) Make hay while there is sunshine. I idioma (Ee-dee-OH-ma) - language "thousands of idioms, occurring frequently in all languages." -- Wikipedia ir (ear) - v. to go To go irretrievably off course to save round trip fare, of course. J K L labios (LA-bee-ohs) - lips Labia ornaments English with Latin (lips). león (ley-own) - lion Leo's symbol is a lion. levantar (leh-bahn-tahr) - v. to raise, to lift up When you levitate, you are raised up off the ground llamar (ya-mar) - v. to call, name Listen, Lamar – manage a ring! llegar (yay-gar) - v. to arrive Land lightly, egress, and row. llevar (yay-var) - v. to take, carry. Lift, leave, evade arrest. lugar (loo-gar) - n. place, position Location using ground-assisted radar. M mayor (ma-your) - adj. larger, older, main The mayor may have won mainly by dint of being larger and older. mariposa - butterfly Marie inventively poses a butterfly pin. mismo (mees-moe) - adj. same She misses Moe the same. Montar (moen-tar) - verb to ride To ride a horse, you'd have to mount your saddle. N nacer (nah-sair) - v. to be born A renaissance certainly means to be reborn. nuestro (new-aye-stro) - our Our notre dame, their nuestra señora, are of dedications made. O P parecer (par-ay-ser) - v. to seem, look like Apparently, not certainly, parecer means apparently. pez (pais) - m. fish Pisces is symbolized by a fish. poder (poe-dair) - v. to be able to, can To be able to self-fulfill prophecy is potent derivation. poner (poe-nair) - v. to put on, get (+ adj.) Put it on, Erwin. primavera (preem-a-ver-a) - f. spring Primera verde, "first green", is a description of spring. probar (proh-bahr) - v. to try, to try on, to test You have to try the new pro bar! Q quedar (kay-dar) - v. to stay, remain Quiescence under every directional arrangement. querer (kay-air) - v. to want, love You do want to love a queerer one...? R ratón (ra-tone) - m. mouse A mouse looks like an old rat once did. S saber (sah-bear) - v. to know To know proper social conduct is to have savoir faire ("know how to do"), the savvy savant demonstrated with his saber. sacar (sa-car) - v. to take out The sacked and newly retired were given more stuff: sacs, to take it all out. seguir (say-goo-ear) - v. to follow Segue is irreducibly both noun and verb meaning to follow in time, en inglés. según (say-goon) - prep. as; according to according to several grunts [insert gif] sentarse (sent-ar-say) - v. to seat yourself. (Irregular verb: when conjugated the first "e" is replaced with "ie.") To seat yourself be sent, arse-first, to seat. ser (sair) - v. to be (permanent condition / essential character) Song title "Que Será Será" literally means "whatever will be, will be". Serves as sobre (so-bray) - prep. on top of, over, about Superimposed or based ‘round, enveloping. T tal (tal) - adj. such Such talisman, much luck. talla (tah-yah) - size Yes, a size tall is a lot larger than small. tanto (tawn-toe) - adv. so much, so many Tantalizing oh so many, so much. tener (ten-air) - v. to have To be tenacious is to have drive and persistence. trabajo (tra-ba-hoe) m. work, job, effort Travail borne at job. U último (OO-tea-mo) - last Penultimate means next to last en inglés. V vacío (bah-SEE-oh) - m. empty Vacuum meaning empty of even gas. ver (vair) - v. to see She averred to have seen it, verily. vez (bais) - f., time (as in number of times), instance Visitations enumerated zealously. W X Y ya (ya) - adv. already; still Yesterday accomplished. Z zorro (zorro) - m. fox Imagine a fox in a Zorro mask.