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20 Spanish Words We Use In English

20 Spanish Words We Use In English

20 Spanish Words We Use In English

20 Spanish Words We Use In English

As an Englishman living in Spain, I often hear Spanish people telling me that they don’t speak any English at all. “Nada”… “Cero”…”Cero Zapatero”…

However, this could not be further from the truth, as English is full of words which originate from Spanish, and there are many words which are directly taken from the Spanish language.

In this lesson with Greg from Online Language Academy, you are going to learn 20 loan words that English has adopted from the Spanish language. 

It seems the Spanish speak more English than they actually realise,… and vice versa!

20 English Words That Are Actually Spanish

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Lesson Notes

  1. Aficionado
    A fan. E.g. Jonny is a true aficionado of cars.
     
  2. Albino
    A person with pale skin, white hair, and pink eyes
     
  3. Armada
    The Spanish Armada was a Spanish fleet of ships that sailed from A Coruña.
     
  4. Chilli con carne
    A Mexican dish with meat, onions, beans and chilli powder, which, in English, we call chilli con carne.
     
  5. Chorizo
    Chorizo is a type of pork sausage, popular in Spain.
     
  6. Fiesta
    A party or festival. E.g. we’re going to have a big fiesta at my house on Friday.
     
  7. Iguana
    A type of giant lizard. I saw a huge iguana while on holiday in Mexico.
     
  8. Incomunicado
    Unable to contact other people, and unable to be contacted. E.g. I’m going to be staying in a rural area this weekend, so I’ll be bit incomunicado.
     
  9. Macho
    I don’t know what she sees in that macho man.
     
  10. Matador
    A matador is another name for a bullfighter – the person who kills the bull in a bull fight.
     
  11. Mosquito
    A mosquito in English refers to the small flies that bite you and suck your blood.
     
  12. Nachos
    Nachos are the Mexican triangular crisps, which we like to eat with “guacamole” or “salsa” – two more words we borrow from Spanish.
     
  13. Paella
    Pronounced in English as if there were only one ‘L’, this is a common Spanish seafood and rice dish we like to eat on our holidays to Spain.
     
  14. Patio
    This is a paved area outside a house that we put chairs on to relax in the summer.
     
  15. Parasol
    A type of umbrella used to protect us from the sun
     
  16. Plaza
    This can either be a square in a town, or a shopping centre
     
  17. Poncho
    A waterproof piece of clothing that covers our body to protect us from the rain.
     
  18. Siesta
    Otherwise know in English as a nap
     
  19. Tapas
    You will often find a Tapas Bar in city centres in England, where you can eat Spanish tapas (at about twice the price they are in Spain!)
     
  20. Tornado
    The word for this meteorological phenomenon is taken directly from the Spanish language.

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Practicar inglés avanzado con Greg Pioli

Gregory Stephen Pioli

Owner of OLA Online Language Academy

★Degree in French (University of Kent at Canterbury)
★DELE Superior (Spanish) (Instituto Cervantes, Leeds)
★TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) (i-to-i.com)

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