spanishwords ( ** )

• aperitivo, tapas = appetizers 
• cuenta = check 
• queso = cheese 
• galleta = cookie 
• galleta salada = cracker 
• fruta = fruit 
• carne = meat 
• servilleta = napkin
• jarra = pitcher 
• ensalada = salad 
• mantel = tablecloth 
• propina = tip 
• verduras = vegies 
• camarero, mesero = waiter 

2/  HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT  

• asado, al horno = baked 
• fresco = fresh 
• congelado = frozen 
• a la plancha = grilled 
• crudo = raw 
• asado = fried, roasted 
• agrio = sour 
• picante = spicy 
• dulce = sweet 
• bien hecho = well done 

3/   POINTS OF INTEREST 

• galerìa de arte = art gallery 
• peluquerìa = barbershop 
• puente = bridge 
• centro = downtown 
• fuente = fountain 
• jardin = garden 
• carretera = highway 
• lavanderìa = laundry 
• biblioteca = library 
• cine = movie theater 
• museo = museum 
• estadio = stadium 

4/   MISCELLANEOUS 

• campo = countryside 
• gasolinera = gas station 
• !Socorro! = Help! 
• necesito un medico = I need a doctor 
• estoy perdido = I am lost 
• locutorio = phone center 
• postales = postcards 
• estampillas, sellos = stamps 
• toalla = towel 
• semàforo = traffic light 

5/  PACKING ESSENTIALS 

• despertador = alarm clock 
• mochila = backpack 
• tirita, curita = band aid 
• mòvil, celular = cellphone 
• tarjeta de crédito = credit card 
• pasaporte = passport 
• impermeable = raincoat 
• champù = shampoo 
• maleta = suitcase 
• gafas de sol = sunglasses 
• crema solar = sunscreen 
• boletos = tickets 
• cepillo de dientes = toothbrush 
• pasta dentrìfica = toothpaste 
• billetera = wallet 
• botiquìn de primeros auxilios = first aid kit 

6/   HOTELS 

• botones = bellhop 
• conserje = concierge 
• salid de emergencia = emergency exit 
• almohada = pillow 
• caja fuerte = safety deposit box 
• jabòn = soap 
• papel higie’nico = toilet paper 
• toalla = towel 
• servicio despertador = wake-up call 

7/  AIRPORTS, FLIGHTS

• aeropuerto = airport 
• recogida de equipage = baggage claim 
• puerta de embarque = boarding gate 
• barco = boat 
• crucero = cruise ship 
• aduana = customs 
• muelle = dock 
• horario = schedule 
• boleto de ida = one way ticket 
• boleto de ida y vuelta = round trip ticket 

8/  SHOPPING and STORES

• panaderìa = bakery 
• librerìa = bookstore 
• almacenes = department stores 
• floristerìa = florist 
• joyerìa = jewelry store 
• quiosco = newsstand 
• farmacìa = pharmacy 
• supermercado = supermarket 

9/   ACTIVITIES 

• ciclismo = cycling 
• càmping = camping 
• baile = dancing 
• senderismo = hiking 
• motocliclismo = motorcycling 
• navegaciòn a vela = sailing 
• submarinismo = scuba diving 
• patinaje = skating 
• esquì = skiing 

10/ MISCELLANEOUS VOCABULARY WORDS

A – A  – A – A – A – A – A – A

• abanico — fan (especially one that rotates to push air over a semicircular pattern), range or spread (La provincia de Granma ofrece al visitante un verdadero abanico de atractivos. The Granma province offers the visitor a real range of attractions).
• abarcar — embrace, include, contain
• abartar — to cheapen, reduce the value of
• abecedario — the alphabet
• abogado — lawyer, attorney
• aborto (el) — miscarriage, abortion, ugly or freakish person (El aborto espontàneo es la pérdida de un feto durante el embarazo por razones naturales, generalmente debido a muerte fetal. A miscarriage is the loss of a fetus during pregnancy for natural reasons, generally due to fetal death.)
• abrazo — hug, embrace (Besos y abrazos a todos! Hugs and kisses for everyone!)
• abrebotellas (el) — bottle opener
• abrillantar — to polish or shine 
• abrochar — to fasten, zip, snap or similarly make clothing OK to wear; to staple, clip or otherwise fasten things together (La actriz se abrochò su collar de perlas mientras charlaba con unos amigos. The actress fastened her pearl necklace while she was chatting with some friends.)
• acolcar – to pad
• aconsejar — to advise, to counsel (Aconsejamos a los padres que den una prioridad predominante a las vidas de sus hijos.)
• acta (el) –minutes (of a meeting), record (as of an official meeting), certificate, official document, law, act (as in an act of Congress) (Se acordò que el secretario revise la redacciòn del acta de la sesiòn. It was agreed that the secretary go over the editing of the record of the session.
• adicto — addicted, devoted, loyal (Cada dìa, entre 80.000 y 100.000 jòvenes se hacen adictos al tabaco en todo el mundo. Each day, between 80,000 and 100,000 youths worldwide become addicted to tobacco.
• afecciòn (la) — disease, affliction, complaint, affection
• afueras — outskirts
• agotamiento — exhaustion, depletion
• ahumar — smoke meat, make smoke
• ahuyentar — to scare away, to frighten off, to dispel (Màs tarde el cocodrilo ahuyento’ a los dos animales.)
• alcista — trending upward
• alimentar — to feed, to provide nourishment, to fuel (Mis responsabilidades consistìan en mantener limpia la zona y disinfectar y alimentar a 20 ratas blancas.)
• almohada — pillow, cushion, pillowcase (Se acostò en la cama y se cubriò le cabeza con las almohadas. She lay down on the bed and covered her head with the pillows.)
• altiplano — high plateau (often, although not necessarily, one in the Andes) (El norte de Chile ofrece un paisaje de contraste extremo, donde los ambientes del altiplano y el desierto de Atacama se reunen con resultados sorprendentes. Northern Chile offers a landscape of extreme contrasts, where the worlds of the high plains and the Atacama Desert combine for surprising results.
• anciano, anciana — old person, senior citizen (La poblaciòn mundial està envejeciendo a un ritmo tan ràpido que para el año 2050 habrà màs ancianos que niños por primera vez en la historia. The world population is aging at such as fast rate that by the year 2050 there will be more older people than children for the first time in history.)
• ¡anda! – Good heavens!
• andar –  to walk, to ride, to go; to work; to be; to carry, to wear; to go out with.  (?Vamos andando por el parque?  Should we go through the park on foot?)  (Los negocios andan muy bien este año.  Business is going very well this year.) 
• apodo — nickname (Fujimori se ufanaba de su apodo: Chinochet. Fujimori used to brag about his nickname: Chinochet.)
• aportar — to contribute, to provide, to furnish (Suiza aporta unos 500 millones de francos suizos a la ONU cada año. Switzerland contributes some 500 million Swiss francs annually to the U.N.)
• aquejar — to afflict, to cause someone pain or discomfort (Cuando Rafael estudiaba medicina, veìa con dolor co’mo morìan las personas aquejadas de afecciones cardiacas por falta de equipo médico adecuado. When Rafael was studying medicine, he painfully saw how people afflicted by heart diseases died due to lack of adequate medical equipment.)
• arca (el) –ark (either the chest containing the Ten Commandments of the Hebrews, or a large boat) (Y Dios dijo a Nòe; hazte un arca de madera de gofer. And God said to Noah, make yourself an ark of gopher wood.)
• archivo — archive, archives, document, file (document or computer file), record (type of document), filing cabinet, model or example (Las investigaciones comenzaron el año pasado con la confiscaciòn de archivos de computadoras de un hombre de la ciudad alemana. The investigations began last year with the confiscation of computer files belonging to a man from Germany.)
• arrodillarse — to kneel down
• asamblea – congregation, assembly, meeting . Mi madre es socia de las Asambleas de Dios. My mother is a member of the Assemblies of God.
• atardecer — to get dark (especially when talking about the sky at dusk) Y llamo’ Dios a la luz “dìa”, y a la oscuridad la llamò “noche”. Y atardeciò y amaneciò: dìa primero. And God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And evening came, and dawn came: the first day.
• ateo, atea — atheist (También existe un tipo de ateo que no cree en Dios, pero no por una bùsqueda racional de respuestas sino debido a problemas personales que generaron la pérdida de su fe en Dios. There also exists the type of atheist who does not believe in God, not because of a rational search for answers but because of personal problems that created the loss of faith in God.
• atreverse – to dare, to venture (¿Cómo te atreves a pegarle? – How dare you hit her? ¡Anda! Atrévete pedirle bailar. – Go on! I dare you to ask her to dance.
• aula — classroom, lecture hall, palace (poetic use) (Quizàs el aula màs importante sea el hogar. Perhaps the most important classroom is the home.)
• auxiliar – to help, to assist, to aid (Mi coche no arranca; tengo que llamar a mi padre para que me auxilie. – My car won’t start; I have to call my dad so he can help me. Su abuela necesita una enfermera para auxiliarla con su recuperación. – His grandmother needs a nurse to help her with her recovery.)

B – B – B – B – B – B – B – B

• babel (la o el) — a place where there is much disorder, a place where there is a lot of talking but little understanding, bedlam, mixture of languages (Entiende ahora el lector las proporciones cabali’sticas de mi confusio’n, la babel comunicativa en que vivo? Does the reader now understand the mysterious proportion of my confusion, the infectious bedlam in which I live?)
• bajada — descent, fall, drop, slope, road or path that goes down somewhere, a drop in blood pressure, a decline in some measurement, a coming down off a drug high (Habri’a pronto una bajada de precio de todos los juegos Xbox?)
• barato — cheap, inexpensive, trashy, of poor quality (Desarrollan una ma’quina que promete producir tabletas y pastillas ma’s baratas, ma’s pequen~as y de mejor calidad que las hechas con los procedimientos. They are developing a machine that promises to make tablets and pills cheaper, smaller and of better quality than those made with earlier machines.)
• bebida — drink, beverage
• beca — scholarship
• belicisto — war supporter
• blando — soft, delicate, indulgent, flabby, lenient, weak (En Holanda se ha establecido una clara distincio’n entre las drogas blandas y duras.)
• brindar — to provide, to offer

C – C – C – C – C – C – C – C

• capi’tulo — chapter, section, subject matter (La muerte es un nuevo capi’tulo de la vida.    Death is a new chapter of life.)
• cerrado — closed (Los restaurantes y las tiendas deben estar cerrados los domingos. Restaurants and shops should be closed on Sundays.)
• cesta – basket; hamper.  (Pon los comestibles en la cesta de la compra.  Put the groceries in the shopping basket.)  (Tráiganos otra cesta de pan, por favor.  Bring us another basket of bread, please.) 
• cobre – copper. (El cobre es un metal rojizo que ocurre naturalmente en el ambiente. Copper is a reddish metal that occurs naturally in the environment.)
• cucaracha – cockroach.  (La cucaracha es un insecto repugnante. – Cockroaches are disgusting insects. ¿Es verdad que las cucarachas pueden sobrevivir una bomba atómica? – Is it true that cockroaches can survive an atomic bomb?)
• cuento – story, tale, short story.  (Es un cuento fácil de leer que contiene muchas palabras que el niño sabe pronunciar o leer.  It is an easy story to read that contains many words that the child can pronounce or read.)
• cuento chino – tall tale.
• cuento de hadas – fairy tale.
• cuento de viejos – old wives’ tale.

D – D – D – D – D – D – D – D

• decena — ten, a group of ten (Decenas de miles de seguidores y adversarios del presidente de Venezuela marcharon por las calles de Caracas. Tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of the president of Venezuela marched through the streets of Caracas.)
• desprecio – disdain, scorn, contempt, disregard; snub, slight.  (No puedo disimular el desprecio que siento hacia su novio. – I can’t hide my contempt for her boyfriend.)  (Para ella sería un desprecio que no aceptaras la invitación. – She would feel slighted if you didn’t accept the invitation.)

E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E

• editar — to publish or release (a book or recording), to edit (La serie de discos llamada “Felicidades” se editaba anualmente como un compilado de lo mejor del repertorio arti’stico de Discos PolyGram. The series of discs called “Felicidades” was released annually as a compilation of the best of the artistic selection of Discos PolyGram.)
• edulcorar — to sweeten (Por ello, se emplean con frecuencia para edulcorar chicles, caramelos y, en general, productos que pueden permanecer mucho tiempo en la boca. They are frequently used to sweeten gum, candies and, in general, products that can stay in the mouth a long time.)
• egoi’smo — selfishness, self-centeredness, egoism (Ni el completo egoi’smo, ni el completo altruismo ofrecen buenos resultados al individuo. Neither total selfishness nor total selflessness provide good results to the individual.
• embrollar — to confuse, to make complicated, to embroil, to muddle, to overly involve (Si te embrollas, pide perdòn y solicita comenzar otra vez, y tòmate tu tiempo.  
• embudo — funnel (Uno de esos objetos era un enorme embudo, del tamaño de los que se emplean para llenar las barricas de vino. One of those objects was a huge funnel, one of the size they use to fill the wine barrels.
• empatar — to result in a tie or draw (as in sports or voting), to link or join together (Mexico y Chile empataron 1-1 en partido amistoso.) 
• encabezar — to head, to lead (El Frente Republicano Guatemalteo està encabezado por el ex dictador. The Republican Guatemalan Front is headed by the former dictator.)
• encrucijada — crossroads (…poner a alguien en una encrucijada… means to put someone on the spot)
• encuesta — survey, questionnaire, opinion poll, inquiry, investigation
• encuentro (el) — meeting, encounter, skirmish, traffic accident, the finding of someone or something (El encuentro en el palacio durò tres horas. The meeting in the palace lasted three hours.)
• encantado — pleased, delighted
• enderezar — to make right, to straighten, to straighten out, to set in an upright position (Manchester United enderezò la li’nea defensiva para ganar. Manchester United straightened out its defensive line in order to win.)
• enjuagar – to rinse, to wash off (La ma’quina enjuaga y aplasta tambores de acero de 55 galones. The machine rinses and flattens 55-gallon steel drums.)
• enojo — anger (La mayorìa de la gente encuentran el enojo de las personas como una emociòn muy desagradable. Most people find people’s anger to be a very disagreeable emotion.)
• enormemente — enormously
• enseres (los) — personal effects, belongings, equipment (Si lo desea, tambie’n puede solicitar la recogida de muebles y enseres a trave’s de Internet desde esta misma pa’gina. If you wish, you also can ask for the collection of furniture and other belongings from this same Web page.)
• ensombrecer – to cast a shadow over (literally or figuratively), to sadden (Recuerdo del tsunami ensombreciò celebraciòn de la Navidad. I remember that the tsunami put a damper on the Christmas celebration.)
• entreabrir — open halfway, leave ajar
• entrenamiento — training (Microsoft ofrece una variedad de cursos para el entrenamiento de los profesionales en informa’tica. Microsoft offers a variety of courses for the training of information technology professionals.)
• entornar — to close halfway, to not close all the way, to leave ajar (Entornaba los ojos como si estuviera imaginando todas las cosas grandiosas que podrìa hacer con ellos. He closed his eyes halfway as if he were imagining all the wondrous things that he could do with them.)
• envolver — to wrap, to cover, to surround, to involve (El tomò el cuerpo y lo envolviò en una sàbana limpia. He took the body and wrapped it in a clean    sheet.)
• esbelto — slim, slender, graceful (Una buena postura es la manera màs fàcil de lucir màs alta y esbelta. A good posture is the easiest way to make yourself look taller and slender.)
• escalinata — staircase, stair step (La escalinata fue construida por Silverio Gonza’lez, en 1926, con un marcado estilo romano. The staircase was built by Silverio Gonzalez in 1926 in a marked Roman style.)
• Escocia — Scotland (Desde la costa sur de Inglatera hasta el punto extreme norte de Escocia son casi 620 millas. From the southern coast of England to the extreme northern point of Scotland are almost 620 miles.)
• espinilla — shin, shinbone, tibia (Un zapato demasiado rìgido puede empeororar el dolor de espinillas. A shoe that is too rigid can make shin pain worse.)
• esquema (el) — diagram, chart, outline, plan, scheme (Empresas Polar adoptò un nuevo esquema de organizaciòn.)
• estornudar — to sneeze (Los trabaja- dores eran ale’rgicos a la cosecha (harvest), tambièn estornudaron sobre ella.)
• evitar — avoid
• escape (el) — leak (as of a liquid, gas or radiation), automobile exhaust, escape (especially from an oppressive situation) El sistema de escape de su vehìculo tiene tres funciones principales: reducir el sonido, la velocidad y la temperatura de las emisiones de gas.
• escatimar — to be stingy with, to skimp on, to use very sparingly (Muchos gobiernos escatimaron los recursos por tratarse de una enfermedad mayoritariamente de gays, travestis, prostitutas, adictos, marginales. Many governments skimped on resources for treating illness that mostly affected gays, transvestites, prostitutes, addicts and those on the margins of society.)
• escurrir — to drain, to remove the water from (as by wringing or spin-drying), to drip, to seep (Cuando llueve intensamente el agua escurre por las paredes. When it rains hard the water seeps through the walls.)
• estimable — worthy of esteem, worthy of appreciation, esteemed, considerable (in quantity or amount), dear (as an adjective) (Las circunstancias nacionales y las sugerencias e interrogantes de algunos estimables lectores me han decidido a escribir un nuevo arti’culo. The national circumstances and the advice and questions of some dear readers have made me decide to write a new article.)
• etapa (la) — phase or step of a process (Ahora comienza una etapa neuva de mi vida.)
• e’xtasis — ecstasy (the feeling or the drug) (El éxtasis es definido como un estado psicològico que se caracteriza por un sentimiento absorbente de admiraciòn, de alegrìa, de arrobamiento. Ecstasy is defined as a psychological state characterized by a dominant feeling of admiration, of happiness, of rapture.)
• exigencia — demand, requirement (Castro desestimò las exigencias de Estados Unidos de permitir elecciones libres en Cuba. Castro rejected the United States’ demands to permit free elections in Cuba.)
• e’xito (el) — success, excellent result, best-selling book, recording, movie or other work (a hit) (La Pasiòn del Cristo fue éxito de taquilla. The Passion of The Christ was a box-office hit.)
• extasiarse — to become ecstatic (Algunas veces me extasié con los olores de los àrboles y de las flores y con los sabores de esas frutas. Sometimes I became ecstatic over the smells of the trees and of the flowers and with the flavor of those fruits.
• extralimitarse — to go beyond the limits, to go too far, to abuse one’s authority (Si tomas medidas apropriadas y no te extralimitas en tus actividades diarias, lograràs reponer tus energi’as y mantener un nivel de salud aceptable. If you take appropriate    steps and not overdo your daily activities, you will successfully bring back your energy and maintain an acceptable level of health.)
• extremar — to go to extremes with (El periodista extremarà su celo profesion- al en el respeto a los derechos de los màs débiles y los discriminados. The journalist will go overboard with his professional zeal with respect to the rights of the weakest and those most discriminated against.)

F – F – F – F – F – F – F – F

• fabular — to tell or make up a fable, to imagine, to make things up (Desde que los hombres fabularon el relato de Icaro hasta que el ser humano pudo surcar los aires pasaron muchos siglos. Many centuries passed from the time people made up the story of Icarus until the human being could slice through the air.)
• fagot (el) — bassoon (El fagot es un instrumento musical de viento madera.    The bassoon is a musical woodwind instrument. The term el fagot or la fagot can also refer to a bassoonist.)
• fehaciente — reliable, irrefutable, dependable, verified (A veces pienso que la prueba ma’s fehaciente de que existe vida inteligente en el universo es que nadie ha intentado contactar con nosotros. Sometimes I think that the most reliable proof that there exists intelligent life in the universe is that no one has tried to contact us.)
• ficha — token (such as one representing money), file card, index card, ticket or receipt such as one given at a parking lot, chess piece, poker chip, sports contract, data card, technical specification, domino (Puede cambiar por dinero las fichas que posea en cualquier momento. At any time you can exchange the tokens you have for money.)
• filtro — filter (Los filtros para agua Brita On Tap te dan toda la frescura y limpieza que este’s buscando. Brita On Tap water filters give you all the freshness and cleanness you’re looking for.)
• foca — seal (animal) (La caza noruega de la foca se concentra en dos especies: la foca de Groenlandia y la foca de casco. Norwegian seal hunting focuses on two species: the Greenland seal and the hooded seal.)
• fontanero — plumber (Soy fontanero con 10 an`os de experiencia en fontaneri’a y calefaccio’n. I am a plumber with 10 years of experience in plumbing and heating.)
• foro — court of law, forum, back area of a stage, computer bulletin board (La Fundacio’n Foro Nacional por Colombia es una organizacio’n no gubernamental, de cara’cter descentralizado, creada en 1982 en la ciudad de Bogota’. The National Forum Foundation for Colomb- ia is a decentralized nongovernmental organization created in 1982 in Bogota.
• foso — ditch, moat (as around a castle), trench, hole, garage pit, orchestra pit, opera pit (Trajeron a Daniel y le echaron en el foso de los leones. They brought Daniel and threw him in the lions’ pit.)
• frenar — to brake, to slow down, to halt, to stop, to restrain oneself (Las reformas legales no frenaron la inmigracio’n. The legal reforms did not halt immigration.)
• fresa — strawberry; a tool that is shaped like a strawberry or has a tip shaped like a strawberry, such as certain dentists’ drills (Limpiar bien las fresas y dejarlas macerar durante un par de horas con azu’car y un poquito de ron. Clean the strawberries well and let them soak for a couple of hours with sugar and a little bit of rum.)
• fruncir — frown, purse the lips
• fulano, fulana — what’s-his-name, what’s-her-name, so-and-so (terms used to replace the name of a person whose name isn’t known); a nameless person or a nobody (La sen`ora fulana me dijo que no es importante. Mrs. So-and-so told me it isn’t important.

G – G – G – G – G – G – G – G

• gancho — hook (literal or figurative), something shaped like a hook (such as    a hairpin), something that acts as a lure (En pocos an`os sera’ posible probarse ropa sin quitarla del gancho. In a few years it will be possible to try on clothes without removing them from the hook.)
• galardonar — to award a prize to (someone) (El ha sido galardonado por su interpretaciòn de la lucha de John Nash contra la esquizofrenia. He has received awards for his portrayal of John Nash’s fight against schizophrenia.)
• garbeo — stroll, pleasant walk, walking tour (Me he dado un garbeo esta tarde por el bosque. I have taken a walk this afternoon through the forest.)
• gastado — worn, worn out, well- used, old, stale, hackneyed, broken (No espere hasta un di’a lluvioso para cambiar unas escobillas ya gastadas. Don’t wait until a rainy day to change worn-out windshield wipers.)
• gatear — crawl
• gemelo (a) — twin (Mi hermana y yo somos gemelas.)
• gen (el) — gene (Un gen que diferencia a los humanos de los primates y otros animales desapareciòde los homi’nidos hace unos tres millones de an`os, casi exactamente antes de que estos comenzaran a caminar erguidos. A gene that differentiates humans from primates and other animals disappeared from hominids some three million years ago, almost exactly when the latter began to walk upright.
• generar — to create, to generate (electricity), to generate (jobs, wealth, employment, etc.), to cause (En el 2002, los internautas de todo el mundo generaron informaciòn para llenar 500.000 Bibliotecas del Congreso estadounidense, segu’n un estudio de la facultad y estudiantes de la universidad. In 2002, Internet users worldwide generated enough information to fill 500,000 U.S. Libraries of Congress, according to a study by faculty and students of the university.)
• girar — to revolve, to turn, to concern, to draw cash (Luisa giro’ sobre su costado. Luisa turned over on her side.
• golpear — to hit, to strike, to punch, to beat or beat up, to bang on, to knock (El polici’a golpeò a una joven en una protesta contra la guerra. The policeman struck a youth during an antiwar protest.)
• gorro – cap for the head
• gota — drop, drip (Un chorro de sabor, por una gota de dinero. A gush of flavor for a drop of money. )
• gravedad — seriousness, gravity
• griego — Greek (as either a noun or adjective) (Las islas Jònicas son las ma’s verdes y fe’rtiles de todas las islas griegas. The Ionic Islands are the greenest and most fertile of all the Greek islands.)
• guardar — to keep, to guard, to save, to keep in a safe place (La informaciòn se guarda en una tarjeta inteligente. The information is saved on a smart card.)
• guisante (el) — pea (La reina se fue al cuarto donde dormiri’a la chica y puso tres guisantes debajo del colchòn. The queen went to where the young woman was sleeping and put three peas under the mattress.)

H – H – H – H – H – H – H – H

• habitualmente — usually, regularly, habitually (El vicepresidente habitualmente se sienta al lado del presidente.)
• hacha (el) — ax, hatchet (El hacha de    piedra fue la primera utensilio del hombre. The stone ax was man’s first tool.)
• hallarse — to find oneself, to be in a situation
• hastiar – to bore (somebody), to tire out (somebody), to be repulsive (to somebody) (A veces los filo’logos nos hastiamos de leer obras monogra’ficas sobre un tema muy pequen`o. Some- times we linguistics experts bore ourselves by reading scholarly works on a very narrow subject.
• hedor (el) — stink, stench (Por inversio’n de la temperatura surge un hedor nau’seabundo. A nauseating stench arose due to the temperature inversion.)
• hecatombe (la) — catastrophe, carnage, disaster (Y no fue Dios el responsable de esta hecatombe. And it wasn’t God who was responsible for this catastrophe.
• helada — frost (La helada es causada por un descenso de la temperatura por debajo de su punto de congelacio’n. Frost is caused by a drop in the temp- erature below the freezing point.)
• hender, hendir — to split, to cleave, to cut open (Las maderas se hienden naturalmente, a medida que se van secando. The wood splits apart naturally as it becomes dry.)
• hierro — iron (the metal), an iron or steel object such as a knife blade (El hierro es un metal muy importante en la nutricio’n del ser humano. Iron is a very important metal for human nutrition.)
• hígado – liver (A mí no me gusta el sabor del hígado. – I do not like the taste of liver. El hígado es uno de los órganos más afectados por el consumo constante de alcohol. – The liver is one of the organs most affected by the constant consumption of alcohol. IDIOMS Echar los hígados – To nearly kill oneself/To be fatigued Tener hígados – To have guts/heart
• hilo — thread, wire, linen, trickle (as of water) (Se empieza a ver un pequen`o hilo de luz al final del tu’nel. A tiny sliver of light at the end of the tunnel is beginning to be seen.)
• hogar (el) — home, hearth, fireplace, family life (Muchos sin hogar viven en Nueva York. Many homeless people live in New York.)
• homònimo — homonymous, having the same name (Sesenta an`os antes de Tiburon, el filme basado en la novela homònima por Peter Benchley, un tiburòn ataque un pueblo de Nueva Jersey. Sixty years before Jaws, a film based on the novel of the same name by Peter Benchley, a shark devastated a New Jersey town.
• horno — oven, furnace, kiln (Sacar del horno, y servir acompan`ado de papas y ensalada. Remove from the oven and serve accompanied with potatoes and salad.)
• hortera — in bad taste, tacky, vulgar, crude, yucky (Este cenicero es ma’s hortera que un ata’d con pegatinas. This ashtray is tackier than a coffin with stickers.)
• hostal (el) — guesthouse, inexpensive hotel, hostel (Nuestro hostal se encuentra ubicado en una de las mejores calles de Madrid, la calle Fuencarral.)
• huelga — strike (a walkout in a labor disagreement) (Los me’dicos que esta’n en huelga desde septiembre propusieron al gobierno de El Salvador     la mediacio’n de un experto internacional para solucionar la crisis. Doctors on strike since September proposed to the El Salvardoran government mediation by an international expert in order to solve the crisis.)
• huevo — egg (Dos huevos proporcionan 140 calori’as, lo cual equivale a unos 350 g de leche y 50 g de carne. Two eggs provide 140 calories, the equivalent of some 350 grams of milk and 50 grams of meat.)
• hurtar — to steal (Hurtaron cinco motos y varios vehi’culos quedaron sin radios. They stole five motorcycles and left some vehicles without radios.) 

I – I – I – I – I – I – I – I

• ictericia — jaundice (La ictericia es una coloración amarillenta de la piel ocasionada por la bilirrubina.  Jaundice is a yellowish discoloration of the skin caused by bilirubin.)
• ikastola — a primary school in the Basque region (which includes parts of Spain and France) where instruction is given entirely in Euskera, the Basque language (La primera ikastola broto’ en Donostia.  The first Basque-language school was started in Donostia in 1914.)
• imparable — unstoppable (Una batería de rumores corre imparable desde las selvas de Chiapas hasta la   capital mexicana. A flurry of rumors is spreading unstoppably from the jungles of Chiapas to the Mexican   capital.)
• impedir — to impede, to obstruct, to prevent (Karina nació sin brazos, pero no le impide escribir y dibujar.)
• imponerse — to command respect, to prevail, to impose, to take on (a duty), to be necessary.  (Se impuso la voluntad del pueblo. The will of the people prevailed.)
• infravalorar — to underestimate, to undervalue (Los mapas infravaloran el taman`o del palacio. The maps understated the size of the palace.
• invidente (adjective), el/la invidente (noun) — blind; blind person, blind animal (El invidente siente a través del arnés los movimientos que haga el perro-guía. The blind person feels the movements the guide dog makes through the harness.)
• intercambio — exchange, trade, swap (Importante: No hacemos intercambio de enlaces con sitios que tengan material porno o enlaces directos a sitios con material porno. Important: We do not exchange links with sites that have pornographic material or direct links to sites with pornographic material.)
• integral — complete, comprehensive, total, made of a whole grain, entire, integral, built-in (La siguiente tabla compara las propiedades del arroz blanco con las del arroz integral. The following table compares the properties of white rice with those of brown rice.)
• interpelar — to question, especially in a formal manner or as part of an investigation; to ask for an explanation (La policía rusa interpelo’ en Moscúa unos quince manifestantes. The Russian police questioned some 15 protesters in Moscow.)
• intoxicar — to poison (Debieron retirar el producto del mercado, ya que decenas de personas se intoxicaron con el. They ought to take the product off the market, since dozens of people have gotten poisoned with it.)
• intratable — difficult to get along with, untreatable, unbeatable (Conoces a alguna persona intratable, alguien que se encoleriza fa’cilmente, alguien con quien resulta doloroso convivir? Do you know a difficult person, someone who gets angry easily, someone who is painful to live with?
• invierno — winter, rainy season (in the tropics where there are typically two seaons, a wet season and a dry one) (El secreto para estar co’modo en cualquier actividad al aire libre durante el invierno es el estar seco y caliente. The secret to being comfortable in any outdoor activity during the winter is to be dry and warm.
• irrebatible — indisputable, irrefutable (El es de cara’cter irrebatible. No hay la menor duda! He is of unimpeachable character. There can be no doubt!)
• IVA (impuesto sobre el valor an`adido) — VAT (value-added tax, a type of sales tax) (Prepa’rate a pagar el IVA en tus compras online. Prepare to pay the VAT for your online purchases.)

J – J – J – J – J – J – J – J

• jactancioso — boastful (El amor es paciente, es bondadoso. El amor no es envidioso, jactancioso ni orgulloso. Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not envious, boastful nor proud.)
• jaula (la) — cage or crate for animals, large vented container used for transporting large animals such as horses and bulls, jail (Un di’a encontre’ tres ratas muertas    en una jaula. One day I found three dead rats in a cage.)
• jerga — jargon, slang (La jerga marinera constituye una de las tradiciones ma’s ricas del arte de navegar. Marine jargon makes up one of the richest traditions of the art of sailing.)
• jeringuilla — syringe (Si te inyectas, usa una jeringuilla nueva cada vez. If you inject yourself, use a new syringe each time.)
• jornada — the hours of work, the workday (Ocho me’dicos y una enfermera iniciaron hoy una jornada de ayuno en la Ciudad de Santiago de Cuba, acto paci’fico con el que quieren llamar la atencio’n sobre varias demandas. Eight doctors and a nurse today began a workday of fasting in Santiago de Cuba City, an act they want to use to call attention to several demands.)
• jugo — juice, sap, something of substance or the essential nature of something (Las azu’cares que    posee la manzana son una fuente inmediata de energi’a y el jugo de manzana provee fluidos esenciales para el cuerpo. The sugars that apples have are an immediate source of energy, and apple juice provides fluids essential for the body.)
• juicio — judgement, good sense
• judas (el) — traitor, betrayer (Como en la peli’cula ‘Alien’, tambie’n hay un judas, esta vez un presunto amigo que trabaja para la CIA. As in the film ‘Alien’, there is also a traitor, this time a presumed friend who works for the CIA.)
• jurar — to judge

L – L – L – L – L – L – L – L

• labio — lip, edge, rim (Si’mbolo de la sensualidad, los labios son fuente de inspiracio’n de poetas y enamorados.) * ladera — slope, hillside
• laguna — lagoon, gap (as in memory or a piece missing from a collection), loophole (in the law) (La Fiesta Americana Cancu’n esta’ ubicado entre la laguna Nichupte y el mar Caribe. The Fiesta Americana Cancun is located between Nichupte Lagoon and the Caribbean Sea.)
• lanzar — to throw, to fling, to hurl, to drop (a bomb), to fire (a missile), to launch (an endeavor) (CNN en Espan`ol, la primera cadena televisiva de 24 horas de CNN producida en un idioma diferente del ingle’s, lanzo’ el 17 de marzo de 1997.)
• largura — length (La forma de las un^as y su largura es un asunto tan personal que resulta dificil dar consejos.)
• la lectura — reading, reading material (Podemos ayudar a que tus nin`os aprecien la lectura. We can help your children appreciate reading.)
• lentilla — contact lens (La lentilla adsorbe principalmente protei’nas, la mucina y tambie’n li’pidos. The contact lens absorbs mainly proteins, the substance of mucous and also lipids.)
• licuado — drink usually made of pureed fruit with milk or water;    fruit smoothie; fruit milkshake (Tomo’ un vaso grande de licuado de zanahoria, bananas, manzana verde sin ca’scara y leche descremada. He drank a large glass of a blend made with carrots, bananas, peeled green apple and skim milk. The term is more common in parts of Latin America (especially Argentina, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Uruguay) than in Spain. Licuado is also a past participle of licuar, which means to blend or to liquefy.)
• locura — insanity, madness, craziness (Los occidentales con quienes hablo piensan que todo esto es una locura. The Westerners I speak with think all this is craziness.)
• lograr — obtain, get, reach (o-g-r, notice the letters of the word)
• londinense — Londoner
• lucero — bright star, morning star, evening star (Primero se pone el sol, luego se pone Mercurio, y finalmente se pone Venus, el “lucero vespertino”. First the sun sets, then Mercury sets, and finally Venus, the “evening star,” sets.)

M – M – M – M – M – M – M – M

• madrastra — stepmother (La madrastra de Blancanieves teni’a un espejo ma’gico al que todos los di’as preguntaba: “Espejo, espejito, quie’n es la ma’s guapa?”. The stepmother of Snow White had a magic mirror that she asked each day: “Mirror, my dear mirror, who is the most beautiful?”
• magullar — to bruise (A todos los hospitales ingresan pequen`itos magullados, junto con mentiras descaradas de que “se golpeo’ contra la puerta” o “se caye’ de las escaleras”. Little bruised children are checked into all hospitals, together with bold-faced lies that “he ran into the door” or “he fell down the stairs.”)
• malear — to corrupt, to pervert, to make bad (La Suprema Corte afirmo’ que nuestras ca’rceles son instituciones que malean a sus internados. The Supreme Court declared that our jails are institutions that corrupt their inmates.)
• malhablado — foul-mouthed (Es un periodista muy ti’pico: casi siempre de mal humor, antisocial, malhablado, adicto a todo tipo de drogas. He is a very typical journalist: almost always in a bad mood, antisocial, foul-mouthed and addicted to all types of drugs.)
• ma’scara (la) — mask, pretense, put on an act, fancy clothing, person wearing a mask (Aprendemos temprano a usar ma’scaras, que cambiamos con tanta frecuencia, que ya no somos capaces de identificar nuestro rostro en el espejo. We learn early to wear masks that change so often that we are no longer capable of identifying our face in the mirror.)
• mejorar — to improve, to make better, to get better (Los li’deres poli’ticos han discutido maneras de mejorar la situacio’n de los derechos de la minori’a albanesa. The political leaders have discussed ways of improving the situation involving rights for the Albanian minority.)
• menoscabar — to damage, to impair, to harm (Los errores menoscabaron la calidad del especta’culo. The errors diminished the quality of the show.)
• milla — mile
• milla marina — nautical mile
• mina — mine (hole from which minerals are obtained), mine (type of military weapon), pencil lead (Al menos tres personas murieron y otras diez resultaron heridas al estallar una mina al paso de un autobu’s de pasajeros. At least three persons died and another ten were injured when a mine exploded as a passenger bus drove over it.)
• minusvalorar — to underestimate, to underprice (El Consejo concluy’o que la oferta minusvaloraba a PeopleSoft. The Council concluded that the offer understated the value of PeopleSoft.)
• misericordia (la) — mercy, compassion, loving-kindness (Ten misericordia de nosotros. Have mercy on us.)
• mitad –half
• modelo (el o la) — model (as of a car or other object), fashion model (Sera’ el primer bebe’ de la modelo. The baby will be the model’s first.)
• mofarse — to scoff, to mock, to jeer, to make fun of (Lamentablemente, la Convencio’n realizada recientemente por el Partido Republicano en Nueva York se mofo’ de las soluciones multilaterales.)
• moroso — in default (as on a loan), deliberately slow, dilatory
• moto (la) — motorcycle, motorbike (El di’a de la moto llega a Madrid.)
• mudo — dumb, mute
• mueble — furniture
• mundial — world (as an adjective), worldwide
• museo — museum, gallery (El Museo del Oro del Banco de la Repu’blica de Colombia preserva, investiga y da a conocer una magni’fica coleccio’n de 34.000 piezas de orfebreri’a. The Gold Museum of the Bank of the Colombian Republic preserves, studies and imparts knowledge of a magnificent collection of 34,000 pieces of gold items.)

N – N – N – N – N – N – N – N

• naciente — new, incipient, rising (said of the sun), fledgling (Los primeros pasos del naciente estado no podi’an ser sencillos. The first steps of the new state cannot be easy.)
• nadar — to swim (Encuentran el cada’ver del joven que desaparecio’ mientras nadaba en el rio.)
• naipe — playing card (Algunos ejemplos de juegos de naipes son po’quer, bridge, y romy.
• narcotraficante (el o la) — drug dealer, drug trafficker (Capturaron en Me’xico a un importante narcotraficante. They captured an important drug trafficker in Mexico.)
• narrar — to tell, to recount, to narrate (El libro narra la historia del presidente Lincoln. The book tells the story of President Lincoln.)
• nata — cream, whipped cream, the cream of the crop, the “skin” that forms on top of boiled milk (Siempre escoja leche sin la nata y yogurt sin la grasa. Son bajos en grasa. Always choose skim milk and nonfat yogurt. They are low in fat.)
• navaja — penknife, jackknife, razor, razor (Los amenazaron con una navaja y les robaron la ropa. They threatened them with a knife and stole their clothing.)
• neoyorquino (el o la) — New Yorker, someone from New York (Miles de neoyorquinos fueron infectados en 1999 por el virus del oeste del Nilo.)
• nevisca (la) — light snowfall (A 5.100 metros alcanzamos finalmente el glaciar; en este punto el viento se mantiene y la nevisca se torna ma’s fuerte. At 5,100 meters we finally reached the glacier; at that point the wind kept up and the light snowfall became heavier.)
• nimio — trivial, insignificant, inconsequential (Grandes conflictos empiezan por cosas aparentemente nimias.)
• Nochevieja (la) — New Year’s Eve (La cena de Nochevieja en los hoteles de lujo llega a los 500 euros. New Year’s Eve dinner in the deluxe hotels comes to 500 euros.)
• nocturno — night (as an adjective), evening (as an adjective), nocturnal (Segu’n algunos, la vida nocturna en Pari’s ya no teni’a la misma intensidad que a fines del siglo XIX. According to some, night life in Paris still hasn’t had the same intensity that it had at the end of the 19th century.)
• nogal (el) — walnut, walnut tree (El nogal es importante por sus nueces y por su madera. The walnut tree is important for its nuts and its wood.
• nombrar — to name (Thomas Wenrich fue nombrado presidente y editor ejecutivo de la revista Poder.Thomas Wenrich was named president and executive editor of Poder magazine.)
• Noruega – Norway (Noruega es el pai’s de los fiordos, vikingos y trolls, frente al oce’ano atla’ntico, entre Dinamarca y Suecia. Norway is the country of fjords, vikings and trolls, on the Atlantic Ocean between Denmark and Sweden.

O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O

• objetar — to object
• ocurrir — to happen, to occur, to concern someone (Pensé que era algo normal y no se me ocurriò hablarlo con un médico. I thought it was something normal and it didn’t occur to me to talk about it with a doctor.)
• ocasional — accidental, by chance, temporary, occasional, irregularly timed (Satmex es el principal proveedor de servicios ocasionales en México. Satmex is the main provider of temporary services in Mexico.)
• ocio — leisure, free time, idleness (La Costa Blanca te ofrece un sinfin de sitios de ocio. The White Coast offers you countless places for leisure.)
• opuesto — opposite, opposed, conflicting, contrary (Còmo le gustaría ser visto por el sexo opuesto? How would you like to be seen by the opposite sex?)
• ordenar — to arrange, to tidy up, to put in order, to order, to ordain (a person in a religious position) El presidente George Bush, durante una cumbre secreta con los miembros de su Consejo de Guerra, ordenò este fin de semana seguir adelante con el ataque contra Bagdad, cueste lo que cueste. President George Bush, during a secret summit with members of his Joint Chiefs of Staff, this weekend ordered that the attack against Baghdad continue ahead, whatever it may cost.
• oreja — ear 

 P – P – P – P – P – P – P – P

• padrenuestro — the Lord’s Prayer (Este estudio presenta dos versiones antiguas del padrenuestro en la lengua mixteca de la regiòn de Nochixtla’n, Oaxaca, Mèxico. This study introduces two old versions of the Lord’s Prayer in the Mixtec language from the area of Nochixtlan, Oaxaca, Mexico.)
• pago — payment, reward (Podràs hacer tu pago en pesos mexicanos. You will be able to make your payment in Mexican pesos. 
• palabra — Una palabra nos libera de todas las penurias y dolores de la vida: esa palabra es “amor”.
• palador endido — cleft palate
• palillo — toothpick, drumstick (for a drum), chopstick, a very skinny person (El uso de palillos orientales para comer podrìa causar artritis en la mano, dijeron unos investigadores estadounidenses.)
• pantorrilla — calf (of the leg) (El tendòn de Aquiles une los mùsculos de la pantorrilla al hueso del talòn. The Achilles tendon connects the muscles of the calf to the heel bone.)
• paquete — parcel, package, packet, pack, collection of items or services bought as a unit, punishment or scolding (La agencia de viaje y turismo ofrece paquetes turisticos econòmicos.)
• paraguas — umbrella (Llovìa torrencialmente y Marta no tenìa paraguas. It was raining extremely hard and Marta didn’t have an umbrella.)
• parecer — to seem, to appear (like), to look (like) (Parece que ella es pobre. Dos centavos no parece una gran cantidad. It appears that she is poor. Two cents doesn’t seem like a large amount.)
• Pascua — Easter, Passover, Pentecost (En los u’ltimos an`os, la decoraciòn de huevos ya no se limita al Domingo de Pascua. In recent years, the decorating of eggs no longer has been limited to Easter Sunday.)
• pasota — apathetic, indifferent (Los jòvenes de esa escuela son pasotas y poco tolerantes. The youths from that school are apathetic and intolerant.)
• pastilla — pill, tablet, piece of something
• pedestre — on foot, walking (as an adjective), for walking (Si quiere visitar esta playa debe seguir por el mismo camino pedestre que lleva a Puerto Escondido. If you want to visit this beach you ought to follow by the same footpath that goes to Puerto Escondido.) 
• perfil (el) — profile (literal or figurative), silhouette, outline, cross section (El perfil del estudiante de espan`ol de los paìses de Europa Central es una mujer entre 17 y 25 an`os. The profile of a Spanish student in the countries of Central Europe is a woman between 17 and 25 years of age.) 
• picadura — bite, sting, small puncture, cut tobacco (El dengue, infecciòn del mosquito Aedes aegypti cuya picadura transmite el virus, caracterizado por altas fiebres, ha dejado en Cuba dos muertos. The dengue, an infection from the Aedes aegypti mosquito whose bite transmits the virus, characterized by high fevers, has left two dead in Cuba.) 
• pinguino — penguin (Los antecesores de los pinguinos eran aves voladoras que se especializaron en el buceo. The ancestors of penguins were flying birds that specialized in diving.) 
• plancha — iron (used in ironing clothing), the act of ironing, laminated sheet of wood, grill, stupid mistake, surfboard, snowboard. (El invento de la plancha elèctrica se atribuye a Henry W. Seeley de Nueva York en 1882. The invention of the electric iron is attributed to Henry W. Seeley of New York in 1882.) 
• placer (el) — pleasure, desire, wish, enjoyment, delight (Los hobbits disfrutan los placeres de la vida, como comer, beber, estar al aire libre, los dìas soleados y la companìa de otros hobbits.) 
• planeta (el) — planet (Algo terrible estä sucediendo en la Tierra: por razones que nadie conoce, el nu’cleo interior del planeta ya ha dejado de rotar. Something terrible has been happening in the Earth: for reasons nobody knows, the interior core of the planet has quit rotating.
• pluvial — having to do with rain (Actualmente, se realizan estudios dirigidos a mejorar el drenaje pluvial en la ciudad. Currently, they are doing studies directed at improving the rain drainage in the city.) 
• pomo — knob (such as on a door or drawer) (Si se toca un conductor, como el pomo metálico de una puerta, entonces exclzas! If your are touching a conductor, such as the metal doorknob, then, zap! 
• posada — inn, guesthouse, lodging (Debe ser muy agradable dormir en esa posada. It should be very pleasant to sleep in that inn.) 
• posdata, postdata — postscript, afterthought, epilogue (La posdata de la carta decîa: “Te amo.” The postscript of the letter said: “I love you.”) 
• pozo — well (such as one used for obtaining water from under- ground), mine shaft, mining pit (El agua de su pozo puede estar contaminada con venenos u otras cosas. The water from your well can be contaminated by poisons and other things. 
• predilecto — favorite, preferred (Carlos Santana fue condecorado como “hijo predilecto” y recibiò las llaves del pueblo de manos del alcade. Carlos Santana was decorated as a “favorite son” and was handed the keys to the village by the mayor.) 
• premio — award, prize, reward (El premio, una estatuilla dorada que representa un hombre sosteniendo una espada, se llama Oscar. The prize, a golden statuette that represents a man supporting a sword, is called an Oscar.) 
• prender — to arrest, to capture, to fasten, to attach, to take root (especially in the reflexive form (prenderse), to start something on fire (Ellos prendieron al ladròn y le golpearon hasta casi matarlo. They captured the crook and hit him until they almost killed him.) 
• prensa – press; printing press La prensa esperaba afuera para tratar sacar fotos del acusado. – The press waited outside to try to take pictures of the defendant. ¿Has leído las últimas prensas del corazón? – Have you read the latest gossip magazines? 
• probeta (la) — test tube (Cuando Louise Brown naciò el 25 de julio de 1978 en Inglaterra, ella fue el primer bebè de probeta del mundo. When Louise Brown was born July 25, 1978, in England, she was the world’s first test-tube baby.) 
• pronosticar — to predict, to forecast, to prognosticate (Titular: Pronostican caìda del turismo latinoamericano en Florida. Headline: Drop in Latin American tourism in Florida) 
• prontitud (la) — promptness, punctuality (Tienes la opciòn de mejorar la prontitud de tu envìo por un cargo adicional. You have the choice of making your delivery arrive more quickly by paying an additional charge. ) 
• proteger — to protect, to defend, to provide support to (En ese quinquenio toda una serie de beneficios y ventajas legales protegieron al terror, exactamente lo mismo que viene ocurriendo en la actualidad. In that five-year period all of a series of benefits and legal advantages protected terror, exactly the same thing as is happening now. 
• pudor (el) — shame, sense of decency (Esta super modelo no tiene pudor de mostrar su cuerpo. This supermodel feels no shame at showing off her body.) 
• puenting (el) — bungee jumping (El puenting es muy popular entre los amantes de la aventura. Consiste en saltar desde un puente al vaci’o, sujetos a dos cuerdas especialmente diseñadas para los saltos. Bungee-jumping is very popular among adventure-lovers. It consists of jumping from a bridge into the air, connected to two cords designed especially for such jumps.) 
• puercoespi’n — porcupine (En Europa el puercoespìn existe sòlo en Grecia septentrional y en Italia. In Europe, the porcupine exists only in northern -most Greece and in Italy. 
• puja — bidding (in an auction), bid (EBay utiliza un sistema de puja muy pràctico, llamado puja automàtica. EBay uses a very practical system of bidding called the automatic bid.)
• pulir — to polish; to improve or perfect (Con estos diamantes se fabrican muelas para pulir herramientas. With these diamonds they make grindstones for polishing tools.) 
• punto — point (most meanings), dot, spot or place, state or condition, a touch (Un visitante me preguntò: “Què puntos de interès puedo visitar mientras estè en la ciudad?” A visitor asked me, “What points of interest can I visit while I’m in the city?”) 

Q – Q – Q – Q – Q – Q – Q – Q

• quebrantar — to break (a promise or a law), to crack, to weaken, to fail (at fulfilling an obligation) (Ellos eran los que quebrantaban las leyes violando mis derechos civiles. They were the ones breaking the laws, violating my civil rights.)
• quebrar — to break, to crush, to impede, to weaken (Dios dio las nueces, pero no las quiebra ni las pela. God provided walnuts, but he doesn’t crack them or shell them.)
• quehacer (el) — task, something that needs doing (Los quehaceres de la casa son parte de la vida diaria de cada familia, sin embargo tienden a crear conflictos. Housework is a part of daily life for each family, but it creates conflicts.)
• querencia — place someone feels at home, a drawing or attachment for such a place, homing instinct, attachment, something one feels attachment for or at home with, home, nest (Parece, pues, que la precoz querencia de mi hija de siete años por Beckham no es so’lo una manifestaciòn de rebeldi’a contra un padre omnipotente, sino que denota que se esta’ produciendo ya un alejamiento afectivo y una devaluaciòn de mi imagen. It seems than that the early longing of my seven-year-old daughter for Beckham is not only a rebellion against an omnipotent father, but it also shows that there is already a detachment from and devaluation of my image going on.)
•  qui’mica — chemistry (La qui’mica orgànica es la parte de la qui’mica que estudia los compuestos de carbono. Organic chemistry is the branch of chemistry that studies carbon compounds.)
• quincenalmente — every two weeks, twice a month, fortnightly (Suscri’bete a cualquiera de nuestros diarios y obtiene quincenalmente la Revista Cosas. Subscribe to any of our newspapers and obtain Cosas Magazine every other week.)
• quinto — one fifth (Cuatro quintos de la informaciòn que existe en Internet està escrita en ingle’s.)
• quiosco — kiosk, newspaper stand, bandstand (Recuerda la sorpresa de sus colegas franceses ante un fenòmeno eminentemente español: la venta en quioscos de prensa de libros tan elevados como los clàsicos griegos y latinos. He recalls the surprise of his French colleagues toward a particularly Spanish phenomenon: the sale in newsstands of books as highbrow as the Greek and Latin classics.) 

R – R – R – R – R – R – R – R

• ra’quea — epidural
• rascar — to scratch, to scrape (Castro asegurò a los cubanos que se estaba recuperando de una infecciòn que se originò por rascarse una picadura de insecto. Castro assured Cubans that he was recuperating from an infection that got started by scratching an insect bite.)
• rebosante — overflowing (with), brimming (with) (Ningu’n otro se esforzaba màs que e’l. Compensaba las deficiencias atle’ticas con un corazo’n rebosante determinaciòn. Nobody else tried harder than he did. He made up for his athletic deficiencies    with a heart overflowing with determination.
• recluta (el o la) — person recruited or conscripted, especially into the armed forces (Estudios realizados en el eje’rcito estadounidense revelan que los reclutas se enferman menos si toman vitamina C. Studies done in the U.S. Army show that recruits get sick less if they take vitamin C.)
• red — net (En vano se echa la red ante los ojos de los que tienen alas.)
• regañadientes — unwillingly, very reluctantly (A regañadientes, el director del fondo recomendò aprobar el acuerdo. With great reluctance, the director of the fund recommended approving the agreement.)
• reino — kingdom, realm (El reino de Dios es el concepto màs importante en el Evangelio de Mateo. The kingdom of God is the most importance concept in the Gospel of Matthew.)
• relajar — to relax, to weaken, to loosen (Un cienti’fico de Viena ha elaborado dos discos compactos con mu’sica que relaja a los gatos. A Vienna scientist has produced two compact discs with music that relaxes cats.)
• reloj — clock, watch, timepiece (Un reloj de sol, no importa de que’ tipo, consta de dos partes: un estilete, que proyecta la sombra, y un limbo, donde estàn marcadas las li’neas horarias. A sundial, it doesn’t matter what kind, consists of two parts: a gnomon, which forms the shadow, and a face on which are marked the hourly lines.)
• remolque (el) — trailer, towing, being towed
• reno — reindeer (Claro que somos un destino muy atractivo para los turistas del sur de Europa. Les ofrecemos un lindo invierno, nieve, miles de actividades y los renos. Clearly we are a very attractive designation for tourists from southern Europe. We offer them a lovely winter, snow, thousands of activities, and reindeer.)
• reprochar — to reproach, to criticize (El presidente ha reprochado a los manifestantes por su falta de compromiso contra la violencia.)
• resfriado – a cold
• retazo — remnant, fragment, small piece, snippet (Ahi’ tene’is unos retazos de lo que escribi’ mientras fui estudiante. There you have some small samples of what I wrote while I was a student.)
• retraso (con) — delayed
• rincon — corner
• rizo — curl, ripple, loop (De esta manera se consigue un rizo ma’s natural y duradero. In this way you can get a more natural and longer- lasting curl.)
• romper — to break, to smash, to destroy, to tear, to break off (an item or a relationship), to break up (an item or a relationship), to wear out (Las decisiones son como las reglas: estàn hechas para romperse. Decisions are like rules: they are made to be broken.)
• roncha — swelling
• rotundamente — categorically, emphatically, totally (Esta’n rotundamente prohibidas las web-cams con contenidos pornogràficos. Webcams featuring pornographic content are categorically prohibited.
• rotundo — emphatic, definitive, categorical, expressive, forceful, total 

S – S – S – S – S – S – S – S

• SRAS (el) (si’ndrome respiratario agudo severo) — SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) (Un hombre de 57 años muriò por el SRAS en la regiòn de Toronto, elevando a 30 el nu’mero de decesos relacionados con la enfermedad en Canada’. A 57-year old man died due to SARS in the Toronto area, bringing to 30 the number of deaths connected to the disease in Canada. Because severo is an anglicism, some prefer the acronym SRAG for si’ndrome respiratario agudo y grave.)
• sabueso — bloodhound, detective, private investigator, sleuth (Debido a sus dotes de investigador y de sabueso, fue reclutado para el servicio de inteligencia. Because of his gifts as an investigator and sleuth, he was recruited for the secret service.
• sacacorchos — corkscrew (Un buen sacacorchos es aquel que no requiere mucho esfuerzo y que permite extraer el tapòn entero. A good corkscrew is one that does not require much force and that allows you to remove the entire cork.)
• sacudir — to shake, to beat, to strike, to hit, to belt, to agitate (Una nueva ola de intensos bombardeos sacudiò hoy Bagdad y sus alrededores. A new wave of intense bombings rocked Baghdad and its suburbs today.)
• salida — exit, way out, departure, trip (travel) or outing, vent (literal or figurative), solution (to a problem) (El gobierno y la oposiciòn venezolanos firmaron un acuerdo que abre el camino a una salida electoral a la severa crisis. The Venezuelan government and opposition signed an agreement that opens the door to an electoral solution for the severe crisis.)
• salsa — sauce, gravy, salad dressing,     salsa, salsa music, salsa dance (En un recipiente que pueda ir al horno colocar las papas y bañarlas con la salsa de queso. Place the potatoes in a container that can go in the oven and cover them with the cheese sauce.
• saludable — healthy, healthful, beneficial (Una soluciòn obvia es limitarse a los lugares que ofrecen alimentos saludables. One obvious solution is to limit yourself to those places that offer healthy food.)
• sancionar — to punish, to sanction, to penalize, to fine (Un tribunal de la UE sancionò a España por irrespetar leyes sobre manejo de residuos en granjas porcinas. An EU court punished Spain for not following laws about the management of waste from pig farms.
• sapo — toad (Los sapos tienen la piel seca y de aspecto àspero. Tambie’n son de cuerpo ancho y no dan la apariencia de ser tan a’giles. Toads have dry, rough skin. They also have wide bodies and don’t give appearance of being very agile.)
• semejanza — similarity, likeness, resemblance (Una de las consecuencias de la semejanza divina del hombre es, segu’n la narraciòn biblica, su posiciòn de soberani’a dentro del mundo. One of the consequences of the divine likeness of man is, according to the Biblical narrative, his position of sovereignty over the world.)
• sida (el) — AIDS, the Spanish word is an acronym for si’ndrome de inmunodeficiencia adquirida (Me’xico tiene casi 3,100 nuevos casos de sida por año. Mexico has almost 3,100 new cases of AIDS per year.)
• sobrenadar — to float (Caminaron a trave’s la antigua ciudad de Jerusale’n y sobrenadaron en el Mar Muerto. They traveled through the old city of Jerusalem and floated in the Dead Sea.)
• sencillo — simple, plain
• sobrevenir — to happen suddenly, to happen, to follow or come after, to intervene (Lo que sobrevino despue’s fue indescriptible: derrumbes, ruinas, incendios, inundaciones, una lluvia copiosa y el maremoto. What happened next was indescribable: buildings collapsing, destruction, fires, floods, a heavy rain and the tsunami.)
• sobrino(a) — nephew, niece (La sobrina de bin Laden quiere triunfar como cantante en Nueva York. The niece of bin Laden wants to succeed as a singer in New York.)
• sondeo — nautical sounding; opinion poll; the act of drilling or boring, as in some types of mining (Este estudio es basado en sondeos de opiniòn a usuarios de servicios de salud que se entrevistan a la salida del establecimiento. This study is based on opinion polls of users of health services who are interviewed when leaving the establishment.
• sonrisa — smile (No hay nada mejor que ver tu sonrisa. There is nothing better than seeing your smile.
• sordo — deaf
• suela — sole (of a shoe) (El britànico Richard Reid abordò un vuelo a Miami con explosivos escondidos en la suela de uno de sus zapatos. Briton Richard Reid boarded a flight to Miami with explosives hidden in the sole of one of this shoes.)
• superficie (la) — surface, area (Electrolux afirma que su robot limpia el 95 por ciento de la superficie. Electrolux says that its robot cleans 95 percent of the surface.)

T – T – T – T – T – T – T – T

• tajada (la) — slice, piece of food or bread
• talla — size (especially of clothing), height, stature (literal or figurative), the act of carving or engraving (Coloca la cinta me’trica alrededor del tòrax por debajo del busto, la medida que resulte en centi’metros es tu talla. Place the tape measure around your chest just underneath the bust, and the resulting measurement in centimeters is your size.
• taman`o — size
• tapa — lid, snack, tapa, cover or sleeve or a book, sleeve or cover such as one used for a computer disc, top of a bottle or similar item (Si perdiò la tapa de su botella, ahora puede reponerla. If you lost the top of your Primus bottle, now you can replace it.
• tapia — massive wall
• teclado — keyboard of a computer, piano, organ, or typewriter (El teclado es un componente al que se le da poca importancia, especialmente en los ordenadores clònicos. Si embargo es un componente esencial. The keyboard is a component that is given little importance, especially with clone computers. Nevertheless, it is an essential component.)
• tejas — Siempre caen tejas cuando llueve; es peligroso. Tiles always fall from the roof of that house when it rains. It’s dangerous.
• telefonear — to phone. to call
• terna — A “short list” of three candidates who are finalists for a position or appointment (La comisiòn evaluò los curricula vitae y propuso una terna para ser presentada en la reuniòn. The commission reviewed the     curricula vitae and proposed three finalists to be introduced at the meeting.)
• tiza — chalk, piece of chalk (El carbonato de calcio se encuentra en la tiza y es uno de los principales constituyentes de la càscara de huevos. Calcium carbonate is found in chalk and is one of the main substances in egg shells.)
• tiznar — to blacken
• toalla — towel (Sogni Belli es una empresa brasileña que se dedica a la confecciòn de toallas y accesorios para el baño. Sogni Belli is a Brazilian business dedicated to the making of towels and bathroom accessories.)
• tobillo — ankle (Farfàn se torci’a el tobillo a los 24 de minutos de juego. Farfan twisted his ankle 24 minutes into the game.)
• tortuga — turtle, tortoise (La tortuga de orejas rojas es omni’vora, por lo que come casi de todo. The red-eared turtle is omnivorous, for it eats just about everything.)
• trabajo — El trabajo ma’s productivo es el que sale de las manos de un hombre contento.
• trabar — to fasten, to join, to initiate (a conversation or relationship), to hinder, to thicken (when cooking) (Quisiera trabar amistad con los estudiantes de mi clase. I would like to strike up a friendship with the students in my class.)
• travesura — prank, mischief (“Travesura o premio” es el lema de Halloween para los niños en Estados Unidos. “Trick or treat” is the Halloween motto for children in the United States.)
• trato — treatment, dealings, agreement or contract (Si quieres un trato amable recuerda no utilizar groseri’as y ser paciente. If you want to be treated well remember not to be rude and be patient.)
• trillizo, trilliza — triplet (generally referring to a person) (Las trillizas madrileñas nacieron el 17 de octubre de 2001, despue’s de un embarazo de 35 semanas. The Madrid    triplets were born Oct. 17, 2001, after a 35-week pregnancy.
• trucha — trout (Los estudios realizados en trucha arco iris han demostrado que la masculinizaciòn se obtiene de una manera relativamente fàcil. Studies done on rainbow trout have shown that masculinization is accomplished in a relatively easy manner.)
• tumefacto — swollen (Teni’a la cara tumefacta, grotescamente picada, como si hubiera metido la cabeza en un colmenar. He had a swollen face, grotesquely picked at, as if he had put his head into a bee house.) 

U – U – U – U – U – U – U – U

• ubicaciòn — location
• unidad — unity 

V – V – V – V – V – V – V – V

• venenoso — poisonous, venemous (El viento feroz habi’a arremolinado la nieve que cai’a y que cubriò la chimenea, haciendo que los gases del venenoso monòxido de carbono invadieran toda la casa. The ferocious wind had massed the snow that fell and covered the chimney, making the poisonous carbon monoxide gas invade the whole house.
• ventoso — windy (A finales del 1963 el gran Sonny deja el ventoso Chicago por el desapacible Londres. At the end of 1963 the great Sonny leaves windy Chicago for unpleasant London.
• verdecer — to turn green, to make green (Los àrboles verdecieron desde principios de marzo. The trees have been green since the beginning of March.)
• vislumbrar — to glimpse or begin to glimpse, to discern, to have an inkling of (Como podemos vislumbrar, el futuro es sumamente prometedor.)
• volcar — to knock over, overturn, to tip up or tip over, to capsize, to empty out (Pedro redujo la velocidad y vio que un vehi’culo se habi’a volcado sobre la oscura playa. Pedro slowed down and saw that a vehicle had overturned onto the dark beach.

Y – Y – Y – Y – Y – Y – Y – Y

• yerno — son-in-law (Tengo una hijita y un yerno que valen su peso en oro. I have a dear daughter and a son-in- law who are worth their weight in gold.)
• yo (el yo) — the self, ego

Z – Z – Z – Z – Z – Z – Z – Z 

• zambullir — to dip, to submerge, to plunge into (Cuando el agua le llegò al pecho, se zambullò de cabeza. When the water reached chest height, he dipped his head in it.) 
• zarpa — claw, paw, hand (Un di’a un gran leòn dormi’a al sol. Un pequeño ratòn tropezò con su zarpa y lo despertò. One day a big lion was sleeping in the sun. A tiny mouse tripped over his paw and woke him up.)
• zozobra — worry, anxiety (Yo pasaba por una e’poca de zozobra y confusiòn. I was going through a time of anxiety and confusion.)