Compás is a word with varied meanings. While it can mean a compass which you use to find North, there is another word that is more commonly used for that, brújula. Musically compás has to do with timing. It can mean rhythm or beat. It can also be used to mean a bar on the […]

Ataúd means coffin or casket. Fortunately I did not have to learn ataúd for any serious reason, but an ataúd played heavily in a joke I read today. I also saw a couple of other phrases that mean a casket. But, I think they would probably be less formal. Pijama de madera and el sobretodo […]

Yesterday at my son’s class, two parents were discussing the weather (the rainy season has started here). One mother was saying her other son’s class was canceled because of rain. But the word she used was chipichipi. Chipichipi, here in Mexico, means a light drizzling rain.

Desafío is a challenge. I saw desafío this weekend on a girl’s shirt and wondered what it could mean. Now knowing it means a challenge it makes sense that she was wearing that shirt at a 10 kilometer race. The shirt must have been promoting some athletic challenge.

Coraje has two distinct meanings. One is the immediately obvious one, courage or bravery. Apparently this is the original meaning of the word from what I have read. More commonly I hear it used to mean anger or wrath. This is a case of where context would have to guide you in what the word […]

Vegetales and verduras are the things your mother is always telling you to eat, your vegetables. Seems like I hear verduras used more with cooked vegetables and vegetales with fresh vegetables.

On Wednesday I was teaching Galatians 3:24 which mentions the word ayo. I explained that it meant a tutor. Even the educated people in the group were not familiar with ayo. Ayo appears in two of my dictionaries but not another one. I don’t think it is a very common word. But, a word I […]