Admirar can mean admire, but it also has a surprising meaning. It is to astonish or amaze. But it is with the idea of to startle.

This last week I had my bicycle worked on and I heard the word chicote for the second time. The first time was a couple of weeks ago a man was talking about the accelerator cable on his car. On my bicycle the mechanic was talking about the brake and gear cables.
When I looked up […]

Culto is a word that has a few different meanings.
Cultured or educated. This would refer to someone who is learned or knowledgeable about many different subjects.
Service. Culto can be a service as in a church service, or it can be someone’s service to a cause.
Cult. The obvious use of the word culto is that it […]

Tocar means to touch.
One would say tocar la puerta to indicate knock on the door.
Also when you play an instrument you tocar el instrumento.

Today when my son and I were playing in the rain he told me that he has heard several parents telling their kids “vas a encoger” when they are in the rain. He laughed and said that was just silly. I would have laughed too, but I did not know what it meant. He had […]

Carpeta is not what you put on your floor to cover up the 1970’s linoleum. A carpeta is a folder, as in something to hold paper. Typically it is a folder with pockets in it. Not a file folder. A file folder is an archivador.
The stuff you put on your floor is an alfombra.

I saw camarero the other day and knew by it’s usage that it meant a waiter. But, I don’t think I have ever heard it used. We use the word mesero for waiter here in our part of Mexico.

Morar is not a commonly used word but it is found often in the Spanish Bible. Morar is to live or reside in a place.

Vencer has two main meanings that don’t seem at all connected. One is to defeat or conquer and the other is to expire.
When vencer is used to mean defeat or overcome it is used in a straight forward manner. “Bill overcame the temptation” would become “Bill venció la tentación.” It is a transitive verb meaning […]

As opposed to diving into a swimming pool, clavar, bucear is scuba diving. It is not just scuba diving, but any swimming under water. When you dive while snorkeling it is also called bucear.
The sport is called buceo.