Bateria has been a fascinating word because it means many things and there are several ways to talk about what we call batteries in English. If you are talking about a car battery you could call it a batería, but more commonly it is called an acumulador in Mexico. A flashlight battery has the name […]

This word means rubber. Goma is used as well. Hule is a word that I associate more with the rubber that is used in cars. This association comes because when I needed some rubber and felt window seals for my car, I was sent to a casa de hule. There are many of them around […]

There are many ways to say gift in Spanish. Regalo  Dádiva Obsequio Presente Memoria Recuerdo Gratificación Each one has its own nuances, but they all can be used to mean a present or gift. In my research, I found other words that I had never heard before, such as: agasajo and legado. It will be […]

A common way to say accident would be accidente. Another way to say it, with an emphasis on the negative nature of it, is percance. It carries with it the idea of a mishap or misfortune. The dictionary defines mishap as an unfortunate accident. That very much rings true with the meaning of percance. I […]

When I started running for exercise a while back I was surprised at the odd use of the word atletismo (atleta, atlético). As a US American, I have always heard the word used to mean sports in general. But through learning Spanish I have found out that the word specifically is used to mean track […]

This is patrol or police car. Patrullar is to patrol. This can also mean a band or a group of people. There is a singing group in Mexico called Patrulla 81. There is also the famous Patrulla Águila from Spain. Recently on a Spanish discussion forum there was a question about what the lights on […]

In continuation of the post costumbre, let’s look at the word costume. What Spanish word you use for costume really depends on what kind you mean. One type of costume is traje, this would be a suit or outfit for a specific purpose. Such as, a traje de baño is a bathing suit. A traje […]