Generally, when we say goodbye we say adiós. But there is another more formal term, despedirse which means to take leave or to say goodbye.

Without the reflexive se, despedir just means to dismiss.

Anyone who has learned some Spanish knows that gato is cat. But did you know it has other meanings?

One of the strangest is that a car jack is called a gato. On certain types of jacks they look similar to a cat when arching its back. This action pushes the car up. That is the only explanation I can see for calling it a gato.

Gato is also the kid’s game that we call tic-tac-toe in the US. I am not sure if it is because the grid looks like cat scratches, or that if no one wins we say the cat wins.

Then there are idiomatic usages of the word. One is, aquí hay gato encerrado which means there is something fishy going on here.

Ramo is a bouquet or a branch. The word can also mean a cluster or bunch which is why it is used for bouquet.

When used for branch it can mean a branch of a tree or a branch of science. When talking about a branch of science it could further be translated with the word industry.

The feminine form of the word, rama, is used as well to refer to a branch.

Llevar and traer are similar words in that they involve the transportation of an object. But which is used depends on how it is used.

Llevar means to take and traer means to bring.

A package that is to be transported to a place other than where you are, no matter by whom, is llevar or to take.

But if you or someone else is transporting the package to where you are then it is traer or to bring.

A side note: Traer is an irregular verb if you would like to see a quick chart on how it is conjugated try the verb conjugator in the sidebar.

We just got home from the state fair. Something we always eat there are called churros. They are a deep fried batter covered with sugar and cinnamon. Something like a donut. Sometimes they are shaped into circles and sometimes they are just straight like sticks.

I read that they are a popular breakfast food in Spain and Mexico. We have never eaten them for breakfast, but they are always present at any crowded event. They are very cheap and easy to make.

The fact that they are easy to make lends itself to a common idiom. Hacer como churros means to do easily. Kind of the idea that something is quick and easy to do. Maybe like our English expression, like a piece of cake.

I am curious as to which other countries eat churros.

Besides being something we drink cola has a lot of uses in Spanish. Interestingly, when talking about a drink I don’t think I have heard it referred to as just cola. They are generically called refrescos where we live.

When first hearing the word cola I immediately think of an animal’s tail. From there it can be used as a pony tail.

The second definition I think of has to do with standing in line. In our part of Mexico I hear the word fila used more often for a line, but in Peru we used cola all the time.

On a ladies wedding dress the train is also called a cola.

The reason I was thinking about this word was that I saw it used on a package of glue. While the word pegamento is more common here, the word cola also means glue. It seems that these two words, cola and pegamento, would have slightly different meanings. But as far as I have been able to tell, they are synonymous. Anyone know if they mean a certain type of glue?

When reading about local events on handbills and posters, they often refer to a croquis. They are talking about a map or drawing to help you arrive at the right location.

Croquis is a sketch or drawing.