Antes is a simple basic word which means before. I was reminded this last week about an interesting complexity in the word for English speakers. Because it starts with an ‘a’ newer speakers of Spanish connect it with after. I struggled with this when I was learning. I have heard two other non-native Spanish speakers [...]

Distinto means exactly what it sounds like, distinct. It is very often used in the way we use the word different. In Spanish there is the word diferente too, but it seems distinto is the preferred word. I am sure there are some fine points as to when one would use diferente over distinto, but [...]

Demás is usually seen in the phrase lo demás or los demás which means the others or the rest. It is however also used as por demás to mean something useless. And also as por lo demás meaning otherwise.

We see the word estimado used often when trying to butter up the shoppers in a store. They will say something like, “Estimado cliente…” That means esteemed client. It is used to show respect or value to a person or item. Last night while reading some literature I came across a different use of the [...]

I see the word grosería quite often and it always makes me think of the English word gross which would mean something unpleasant. I always just thought this a coincidence and they meant different things until I started studying exactly what grosería meant. Grosería is a lack of courtesy or respect. It is also a [...]

Real has two meanings and they are very distinct from one another. The first is conveniently a direct correlation to the English word real, meaning something true or actual. The second meaning is royal. Often I will look up words in my dictionary from the Real Academia Española.

Borrador is closely related to bosquejo and croquis that I have mentioned before. It is a rough draft or rough sketch. When a man used the word this last week he was referring to a paper that he had just scribbled some thoughts on. He was going to type it up into something more readable [...]