I think a great analogy about picking a country is have you ever talked to a toddler and said what the heck did they just say? But their parents understood every word. Same thing - you have to calibrate your ear.
Even though I'm a native English speaker, when I went to New Zealand for a bit, it took me a couple of weeks before I could "fully" comprehend what people were saying. I remember standing somewhere waiting in line and a couple in front of us were conversing for a full 10 minutes. After they left, I turned to my husband and said, "Did you understand what they were discussing?" He said, "Not much." We thought that incident was amazing in many respects. Yeah, even though one may understand Mexican Spanish, it doesn't mean that you will understand Spain Spanish, as well.
Silly but must add: I’m appreciative that you said “fornicating” instead of a derogatory term because I listen to these videos with my 5 year old in the car. Thank you for your integrity!!
It's wrong though. Fornicating means to do it before marriage, and for the word in Spanish, it's the act itself in any context, before and after marriage as well.
Thanks for sharing. I am from New York and we have so many Spanish speakers here. However, I've found Mexicans to be the easiest ones to learn from because they tend to speak slowly. Thanks for the advice to focus on a specific country. That's really good advice. Duo Lingo is a toy and my Spanish comprehension has improved since getting a tutor to speak with at least once a week while practicing with speakers in NYC.
Chatgpt is great for learning to use different word. I was looking at a list and typed in "How do I use the Spanish reflexive verb '-----' in a sentence" and it not only broke it down but it gave me a range of great examples.
I just tried a few prompts. NICE!!!! Thank you for this tip! To Paul’s point, I even asked that my requested translation come from a native Mexican speaker. And added a request to let me know if there were any reusable verb phrases. I am so excited!
I absolutely LOVE chatgpt for language learning! I've been using it since it was out for Spanish, and now I'm using it for icelandic. It's so amazing, it's literally like having a personal free teacher!
Lived in Merida two years. Been in the state of Puebla for 3 days. Never took Spanish classes. I've spoken more Spanish here in 3 days than I did 2 years in Merida. When you're forced to speak the language, you will learn soooo much faster. Plus, when you go somewhere where there are less English speakers, you get the opportunity to help someone wanting to learn your language. I find that very satisfying.
A hugely important part of Spanish for me. I'm constantly working on my listening comprehension. Along with the subjunctive, its the final frontier. I love the longer format videos that you have been putting out lately, my brain runneth over. Great content Paul, keep going!
Gracias por tus consejos. Soy háblate nativo de inglés. Estuve frustrado en mi entender de español. Mucho mi clientes son de países diferentes de latina americana. He sido aprendido español de Mexico. A veces no entiendo gente no donde Mexico. Gente me dice es todo el mismo. Ahora no me siento mal. Estos consejos es muy bien. No me lo dejo.
Y por eso no omito los anuncios, porque RUclipsrs como tu merecen algo por los buenos consejos y el contenido de calidad que brindan. Gracias por subir este video, es muy util.
This video is spot on. I’ve been leaning Spanish the past year. My teacher and business partner are Mexican but my company is all Nicaraguan. I literally told my wife today, it’s so much easier for me to understand Mexicans 😂 This makes much more sense now
Gracias! Soy de Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Despues un año con Duolingo, estoy listo para probar un método diferente de aprendizaje. Disfruta un café de me. 😊☕️🇲🇽🇺🇸
Paul gracias por subir esto, vivo en Trinidad pero soy irlandés. Pero hay mucha gente de Venezuela aquí en Trinidad, incluso mi profesor es de allí. Buenos consejos. Mike write your sentences perfectly. Don't just say what you know.
Excellent Paul!! This is exactly what I've been trying to get my roommate to do. he won't believe me, but he says you (Paul) are the expert. If you say it. It is the gospel. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This is such an insightful video. When I started learning spanish, it was for my patients at work. Most of them were Mexican, but I was learning with a teacher from Colombia. I also had several coworkers from Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and several who were born and raised in the US but came from spanish speaking families. My spanish was all over the place lol. It would definitely help to focus on one particular country. Edit: My coworker from Colombia used the word "coger" with a lot of our patients. She didn't care though because it was a professional setting and she felt like ppl knew that she didn't mean the profane version. As a nonnative speaker, I wouldn't have the confidence to say it lol
And ‘Que mono’ in Spain means ‘how cute’. Another thing, Eord Reference is a great translator too. It only works with info words but it will give you how a word is used in different countries and in different contexts. It’s a fantastic tool.
Nice to know you are someone who understands exactly what people like me feel when learning Spanish (as hobby). Well put video. Cheers from Scotland or Salud de Escotia👍
Great video Paul. Respect. No doubt, Spanish is a diverse language that can change from country to country/region to region. This is why I currently focus solely on Latin American Spanish from Colombia since it's where I've been traveling and living the most. Keep up the great content!👍👍
Got to be one of the best videos I've seen. Thank You. I just got back from Barcelona. I could speak well enough but had no idea what they were saying.
She's a clever woman, that Linda! And teachers TEACH, they present information in an understandable way, and you do that brilliantly. You keep doing whatever the hell you think works best, because in my experience, you know what you're doing, and how best to do it. Te aprecio mucho!
Gracias por haciendo este video. Me ayuda mucho y ahora sé que necesito escuchar a mi país objetivo más! He estado aprendiendo español por 5 meses y veo tú videos muchos. Gracias por compartiendo tú conocimiento!
Oh man. You nailed it with your advice to read more. I started reading en voz alta (out loud) everyday for at least 30 minutes (sometimes an hour if I have time). Wow. What a difference. In a very short period of time I've noticed that my comprehension skills are improving. Thank you!!!
Very good tips. I appreciate especially to focus on one country, you're the first person I heard to say that. Some time ago I met two friends that were from Dominican Republic and Columbia, I found it funny that they said they don't always understand each other with certain words.
Hundreds of hours of listening and I can really only make out speech in children's cartoons and campy period novelas. Still pretty good progress. Sometimes I can make out phone conversations. And native speakers don't have to slow down THAT much when talking to me
I've primarily learned "Academic" and Mexican Spanish. I did ok in most of Spain *until* Granada. It was very very difficult to understand many of the speakers there, though they tended to understand me fairly well. My wife is a native Arabic speaker who uses the Levantic dialect. Several of my friends were from Yemen and spoke a very different dialect, to the point letters are pronounced completely differently and common words aren't the same at all. That made for some interesting conversations around the house, like when one of my friends tried to tell me I was saying my wife's name wrong....
estoy nuevo estudiante español tomando los clases para principiantes. a te quiero dar gracias por tu video excelente. tengo 68 años y miedo no puedo aprender. Tu consejo darme esperanza. este mensaje tiene muchos problemas pero estoy intentando. todos correcciones son bienvenido
This is so hard because many videos do not tell you what kind of Spanish they are teaching you. I was using acera for sidewalk when I should have been using the other one, I didn’t know that.
That's a very good tip. I am from Spain and do advise my students to keep that in mind. Also, I tell them where I am from, so that they know what Spanish I will be able to teach them. Afterwards, and once one knows the language well, you can understand everyone, but this happens with time. My children speak Spanish from Spain, and my friend is from Colombia, whose son speaks like you would in Colombia. As we live in the UK, they can also speak English, but use Spanish to talk to each other 🥰 Despite Spain and Colombia using many words the same, some differ. And it is funny to hear them change some words when they speak to each other, to adapt to the others regional changes; like 'carrito' and 'cochecito'. I also think that if someone is learning language, which they try to use with people from one particular country, why fill your mind with words that aren't used in that country, even if the locals will understand you, when you can learn the one that is used by the people you want to communicate to? Enjoy the journey and stay curious 🤓
Hi Qroo! I just want to tell you that I looked up DeepL translator, and I love it! I think it will help me progress, at least somewhat, with my Spanish. Thank you for recommending it.
So glad to happen across this video and your channel today (May 9, 2024). I’ve begun the journey of learning Spanish and I’m hopeful the content in your channel will help. Subscribed!
Buena clase Paul, yo soy latino, de Ecuador, y tienes mucha razón el español difiere pero en lo esencial es el mismo. Solo cambia la entonación y ciertas palabras en su significado. Digo esto para no desanimar a las personas más bien que escuchen otras palabras y acentos, esto lo digo porque trabaje en NY con puertorriqueños y uno aprende de su hablar. Excelente, te doy mi like.
Tricky thing for me is, you’re my favorite RUclips Spanish teacher, and I grew up in NJ then moved to Florida so I practiced and heard a lot of Mexican/puerto rican Spanish. However I’ve just moved to England and now need to completely switch gears and learn peninsular Spanish 🙃
Estoy totalmente de acuerdo con lo que dices aquí. Aprendí a hablar español en Argentina, pero durante los últimos cuarenta años he estado rodeado de personas de otros países de habla hispana, incluidos México, Venezuela, América Central, etc., y he estado enseñando español durante más de treinta años. El español es un idioma de dialectos al igual que el inglés y otros idiomas. ¡Las variaciones regionales lo hacen loco pero divertido!
Also, how important is this region rule when listening to more abstract or technical topics like emotional intelligence or political ideology. I know words very greatly for day-to-day nouns and verbs but does that apply to less “layman” words as well? This seems to not be the case in English (I could be wrong) but wondering if a Spanish podcast episode about emotional intelligence would be useful even without the regional accent focus. I like the way the speaker’s Spanish sounds (very clear with no lisps and she doesn’t drop many consonants like some accents do). P.S if you read this thank you so much for the content. Your channel is hands down the best practical guide to Spanish learning for English speakers in my opinion. You single handily reinvigorated my interest in learning Spanish.
Hi Paul, I live in Spain and have found your videos very helpful indeed. Is there very much difference in the grammar between your country and European Spanish grammar. What you have explained so far is the same as I have learned in the past but not understood. I’m aware of the different vocabulary, it’s just been the grammar that I get confused with. I listen to the news and podcasts etc, but one thing I have found useful is, reading out loud, to get the phrasing and flow. Many thanks for all your hard work. Love it !
There are a few grammatical differences. I would say that the most significant ones are these: 1) The use of LE in parts of Spain as a direct object pronoun for males: Le veo. I see him. It would be "lo veo" in Latin America. 2) The use of the present perfect in Spain for things occurring in the recent past: Hoy me he levantado temprano. Where Latin America will use the preterite in this type of sentence: Hoy me levanté temprano. 3) The use of vosotros in most of Spain. In Latin America, it is not used. You will see vos, which is replaces tú. Sometimes people confuse the two.
Great video Paul. I have these problems even within Mexico- most recently in Guadalajara. There is a style and accent here which might be analogous to something like a New York accent. They cut off the ends of words and talk even faster than I'm used to (hard to believe I know). Shopkeepers also say something when you leave, I think that it ends "que viene"?? It might be some kind of "see you next time" sort of thing?
I agree about learning Spanish from one region. I also think you need to be prepared for those alternative words and phrases. Those are the times I remember most when being in different countries. I also have seen mono used as ¡Qué mono! = How cute (maybe that’s what they were telling you Paul) ; Hacer el mono = to make a fool/fooling around; tener el mono =to be in a drugged state. You will remember those situations where you used the wrong word. I broke up a whole cafe with laughter one time using a vulgar term. Another was when I told the taxi driver in Baja Mexico that the house was next to a piscina and eventually after driving around I remembered alberca. The driver was too polite to tell me he didn’t understand. Mistakes make one learn.
I was hoping they were calling me cute, but I don't think so. One of the people who was calling me mono was Linda's uncle and he would use it to get my attention, "Mono, vamos."...lol
I must have said something wrong. So again. THANK you for this video. So much information that I needed. As always, your videos are well presented and greatly appreciated. Now I just have to stop jumping between all the videosthat are presented on RUclips. Ufff! Got to settle down. It has been too many years.
I really like the way you explain Spanish language to us in the end I have a question regarding one of estuvo or estaba I heard when you use estaba you have to complete the sentence like Estaba en la biblioteca cuando llovía when we use estuvo we don’t have to explain like estuvo en la biblioteca a las 10:00
More good information and techniques, working on it! PS, figured out what the problem was with buying you a cup of coffee, bank thought it was fraudulent. Will try again. Have a great weekend.
I can definitely relate I learn Spanish from multiple different countries growing up so asking for a plastic bag in Dominican Republic is different from asking for a plastic bag in a different country. I was at a fried chicken spot in Dominican Republic and I asked for a plastic bag in Spanish and the older woman looked disgusted and offended when I said it did my birth father who is now a expat of Dominican Republic explained that that's not how I asked for a plastic bag then I later found out that the word I used was offensive in DR 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic. Between me being 16 and now almost near 40 I know three different ways to say car in Spanish. Because of all these differences
Great tips! Regarding your tip about picking a region or country, can you share what language focus you would put Telemundo. I watch their news programming with subtitles but I think my high school Spanish is Spain/European.
Great advice. I look like a Mexican because I’m a little indian. How! My wife is Mexican from El Grullo, Jalisco so I should learn Spanish. I’m trying so thanks! I wish I could have talked to my in laws but I couldn’t. Rick from Salt Lake
I picked up a lot of Arabic from simply having worked in the Middle East region during the conflict with Iraq, even still, there can be different dialects spoken within the same country depending on the region a person is from.
Mexican Spanish and Spain Spanish is everywhere. There are so many teachers and videos who teaches that. It's a lot harder just trying to find good, efficient, programs or teachers who teach puerto rican or Dominican Spanish, but I do think if you learn Spanish in general, it would be easier to pick up or transition to any dialect.
I definitely need to focus on one dialect/region. I’m a super beginner though and what I found is that the content I learn from comes from a lot of different creators who have diverse backgrounds, and are from all over the Spanish-speaking world. Maybe I’m not looking hard enough to be able to find all the content I need in Dominican Spanish. Also, I have a hard time choosing one dialect because I also love Colombian and Argentinian and Spain Spanish too lol
I have family and business in Honduras, and when I listen to radio or TV, or go to store or restaurant, I can comprehend fairly well, but when family and friends are just talking at home, forget it, the constanants are throw out the window, and they use words differently than literal translation, and I cannot understand them very well at all, and vice versa when I talk with new people, I have to have a Spanish translator, I am saying things correctly, but with my American accent and using 'proper' Spanish, until they get used to my Spanish, they do not understand me, after several encounters, then we can talk easily, also my employees here in States are primarily from Mexico, and it might as well be another language they speak among themselves...so thanks for the tips
Even in Mexico, I've encountered strong regional accents, which can throw you. An individuals education level, too, can make a difference to their word choice, diction, and so on. It's a moving target at times!
Very helpful advice. I am moving to Spain later this year, so I am particularly focus on improving my Spanish the way it is spoken there. Yet aside from watching the 24 hour news channel from Spain that I follow on RUclips, I have trouble finding any language aids or resources that focus exclusively on one region. There are many, many channels on RUclips to teach you Spanish, but unless they happen to drop some sort of clue, I find I can rarely tell if they are using Spanish as it is spoken in Spain, or Mexico, or somewhere in Central or South America. Any advice on how to find resources that are specifically focused on how Spanish is spoken in Spain?
Congratulations! I´ll be visiting Málaga for the first time in late August so, sharing that similarity between us, I wish you well and may you have a safe and happy move! There are several GREAT RUclips channels from Spain natives. Here are a few that I listen to. @laduchafriaoficial @CenandoconPablo @SecretosdelaVida @matematicaconjuan @pabloromeroluis @TheWildProject @JSLinares @elpais @josemillanastrologohumanista @AprendemosJuntos @JamesVanderLust @marc_vidal @DWDocumental and I have about 100 more so, if you give me a topic, a region, I can most likely match it with Spanish from Spain or as I refer to it, Castellano de Iberia. Also, I have a vocabulary list of 14000+ entries, which is free and fully in-context you´re more than welcome to. I´m not a Spanish teacher and have no interest in being such but, we can learn together. ¡Que Viva España!
@@wolverine1440 You got Paul and he's fluent. I mean, the accent thing? Look, when you listen to Antonio Banderas or David Tesch or Jordi Wild, those are some leg parting Spaniards!! When you listen to young RUclipsrs today, pretending to be a Mexican, they sound like a cross between Speedy Gonzalez and Tattoo. So, be careful what you ask for. In my opinion, and I have thousands open to everyone, the consensus is Columbian women's voice is something hard-on invoking to nearly all latinos, like a drug. For the males, it's Spaniards, and just coming back from Spain today, I agree. Mexicans seem to love exotic accents and, they will welcome you and your accent as you are. The accent you should practice behind every word, every syllable is the accent of respect. Show dignity and respect of the people and listen. You'll make a voice with whom they want eagerly to speak.
Couldn't agree more about picking a country. I live in Colombia, so though surrounded by the native speakers I still can't understand much. The problem I have is that listening material on the web, for learning comprehension, from Colombia, is very rare. And just watching the news on TV is still too advanced, they talk so fast LOL!
I’m more attuned to Latin American Spanish. But because I’m now used to Spanish as I’m learning the language if it’s say from Spain, when they say certain letters I covert it to Latin American Spanish. The double L’s I say them in Latin American Spanish. Jahmo for llamo I ignore the j sound. I don’t understand a lot yet as I’m in my toddler stage of the language, it no longer sounds fast because I’m used to hearing the language. Simple sentences seem normal speed to me now. I listen to Spanish while falling asleep with vocabulary words, dialogues, songs, mostly children’s songs in Spanish. I try to find rr words so I can roll them.
@@QrooSpanish I’m very committed. I collect Spanish language videos and listen to them for hours. And I also use an AI language thingy that helps me especially with grammar. My favorite videos I have are listening to children’s songs. I love the language. Thanks!
Oh crap- learning from your teaching style has been a tremendous help… with these tips… I don’t want switch to Puorta Rican Spanish… cause that’s the language of the “majority” of my friends group… ouch..😏😏😊😊
this man made and awesome video! I´m spanish native speaker frome spain, Galicia region,. and I feel like there are some ways to intone english but is basically is the same grammar, that´s what happens with different spanish instonations you can fin jJUST IN SPAIN. There are big differences between the great Sapin and other caountrys wich also can speak this amazing language but all of they are related to vocabulary and a buch of filling words and chunk-expressions like you can fin between north and south english slang vocabulary I dont kow if i made it clear but a I put bring it up as I came to my mind, by the way as spanish viewer I find highly recommend your videos for spanish learners and also for english-spanish learners hehe thanks for time Qroo , you´re crushing it man!
It doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if one doesn't grab the hog by the noise and put their noise to the grind stone and study. Im'ma fixen to watch this here video again as Im'ma hankerin to learn mexican. I was over yonder south of the border a speaking and listening and everything was Cattywampus - made me madder than a wet hen and I was worn slap out. Much obliged for the teachings!!!
"Cajo" as "carro" (car) is Puerto Rican hillbillie (jibaro) stuff. It is said it comes from German farmers who immigrated to Puerto Rico during the 19th century, for it is the way Germans pronounce "R". During this time Puerto Rico was still a Spanish colony but Spain allowed other Europeans to immigrate to the island. It makes sense. Either way, not all Puerto Ricans speak like that.
I will be travelling to equitorial guinea in a couple of months. That's why I'm learning Spanish. Any advice about the accent there, cause I couldn't find resources specific to this version of Spanish
Qroo Paul, you’ve become my favorite maestro. I check your channel first to see if you’ve covered any topic I’m struggling with. I love grammar as a hobby, so you know I love the subjunctive. I drink tequila and let you teach me over and over.
Great advice. Thanks I'm wondering if you've ever done a video on the process of TRYING to understand someone... Like the other day at the gas station (México), I couldn't understand the gas guy. I wanted to convey: So, what you're saying is, that you haven't charged my credit card yet and you want to add up the two fill ups & then charge them together rather than separately... It was VERY confusing because I had 3 receipts and had no idea why he did it that way... My question is: how to say, so, what you're saying is, you've... because. This kind of phrase would help people when interacting... Because saying, ...puedes repetirlo pf, just gets them standing there with that "look"...
I feel like Mexican Spanish is harder to understand due to not being as clearly spoken as other Spanish speaking countries. That is just my experience. I often tell that to my Mexican wife who disagrees with me.
I rather study spanish so I can socialize with people who can't speak English like interpreter. I will keep on working my spanish , my future having my own business , have my own website I want to study spanish more as my goal & daily routines
Even though I'm a native English speaker, when I went to New Zealand for a bit, it took me a couple of weeks before I could "fully" comprehend what people were saying. I remember standing somewhere waiting in line and a couple in front of us were conversing for a full 10 minutes. After they left, I turned to my husband and said, "Did you understand what they were discussing?" He said, "Not much." We thought that incident was amazing in many respects. Yeah, even though one may understand Mexican Spanish, it doesn't mean that you will understand Spain Spanish, as well.
Join the Qroo Crew for More Content
www.skool.com/qroo
Want to thank me? Buy me a coffee
www.buymeacoffee.com/qroo
I think a great analogy about picking a country is have you ever talked to a toddler and said what the heck did they just say? But their parents understood every word. Same thing - you have to calibrate your ear.
Even though I'm a native English speaker, when I went to New Zealand for a bit, it took me a couple of weeks before I could "fully" comprehend what people were saying. I remember standing somewhere waiting in line and a couple in front of us were conversing for a full 10 minutes. After they left, I turned to my husband and said, "Did you understand what they were discussing?" He said, "Not much." We thought that incident was amazing in many respects. Yeah, even though one may understand Mexican Spanish, it doesn't mean that you will understand Spain Spanish, as well.
Silly but must add: I’m appreciative that you said “fornicating” instead of a derogatory term because I listen to these videos with my 5 year old in the car. Thank you for your integrity!!
It's wrong though. Fornicating means to do it before marriage, and for the word in Spanish, it's the act itself in any context, before and after marriage as well.
This is really good advice. I wished RUclipsrs who advertised Spanish lessons would clarify the region.
Yes!! That’s so true
Thanks for sharing. I am from New York and we have so many Spanish speakers here. However, I've found Mexicans to be the easiest ones to learn from because they tend to speak slowly.
Thanks for the advice to focus on a specific country. That's really good advice. Duo Lingo is a toy and my Spanish comprehension has improved since getting a tutor to speak with at least once a week while practicing with speakers in NYC.
Chatgpt is great for learning to use different word. I was looking at a list and typed in "How do I use the Spanish reflexive verb '-----' in a sentence" and it not only broke it down but it gave me a range of great examples.
I just tried a few prompts. NICE!!!! Thank you for this tip! To Paul’s point, I even asked that my requested translation come from a native Mexican speaker. And added a request to let me know if there were any reusable verb phrases. I am so excited!
I absolutely LOVE chatgpt for language learning! I've been using it since it was out for Spanish, and now I'm using it for icelandic. It's so amazing, it's literally like having a personal free teacher!
Lived in Merida two years. Been in the state of Puebla for 3 days. Never took Spanish classes. I've spoken more Spanish here in 3 days than I did 2 years in Merida. When you're forced to speak the language, you will learn soooo much faster. Plus, when you go somewhere where there are less English speakers, you get the opportunity to help someone wanting to learn your language. I find that very satisfying.
Necessity is a great motivator.
The most shocking part of this video is that you're over 50. Dude you barely look mid 30s maybe early 40s. Bravo!
Thanks!
A hugely important part of Spanish for me. I'm constantly working on my listening comprehension. Along with the subjunctive, its the final frontier. I love the longer format videos that you have been putting out lately, my brain runneth over. Great content Paul, keep going!
Gracias por tus consejos. Soy háblate nativo de inglés. Estuve frustrado en mi entender de español. Mucho mi clientes son de países diferentes de latina americana. He sido aprendido español de Mexico. A veces no entiendo gente no donde Mexico. Gente me dice es todo el mismo. Ahora no me siento mal. Estos consejos es muy bien. No me lo dejo.
Y por eso no omito los anuncios, porque RUclipsrs como tu merecen algo por los buenos consejos y el contenido de calidad que brindan.
Gracias por subir este video, es muy util.
Thanks. I appreciate that.
This video is spot on. I’ve been leaning Spanish the past year. My teacher and business partner are Mexican but my company is all Nicaraguan. I literally told my wife today, it’s so much easier for me to understand Mexicans 😂
This makes much more sense now
Great video Paul. I'm happy to see you have committed a bit more time to your Spanish instruction. Much appreciated.
Gracias! Soy de Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Despues un año con Duolingo, estoy listo para probar un método diferente de aprendizaje. Disfruta un café de me. 😊☕️🇲🇽🇺🇸
¡Muchas gracias!
Gracias por su ayuda. Me encanta tu videos de español.
Gracias Paul intento esta, vivo in Trinidad, soy irlandés pero mucho gente en Trinidad desde Venezuela, me profesor es desde allá. Bien consejo.
Paul gracias por subir esto, vivo en Trinidad pero soy irlandés. Pero hay mucha gente de Venezuela aquí en Trinidad, incluso mi profesor es de allí. Buenos consejos.
Mike write your sentences perfectly. Don't just say what you know.
Excellent Paul!! This is exactly what I've been trying to get my roommate to do. he won't believe me, but he says you (Paul) are the expert. If you say it. It is the gospel. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Your roommate sounds like a wise man...lol.
This is such an insightful video. When I started learning spanish, it was for my patients at work. Most of them were Mexican, but I was learning with a teacher from Colombia. I also had several coworkers from Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and several who were born and raised in the US but came from spanish speaking families. My spanish was all over the place lol. It would definitely help to focus on one particular country.
Edit: My coworker from Colombia used the word "coger" with a lot of our patients. She didn't care though because it was a professional setting and she felt like ppl knew that she didn't mean the profane version. As a nonnative speaker, I wouldn't have the confidence to say it lol
And ‘Que mono’ in Spain means ‘how cute’.
Another thing, Eord Reference is a great translator too. It only works with info words but it will give you how a word is used in different countries and in different contexts. It’s a fantastic tool.
Nice to know you are someone who understands exactly what people like me feel when learning Spanish (as hobby). Well put video. Cheers from Scotland or Salud de Escotia👍
You nailed it! This is SO true.
Dude, love your style, look, name! Thank you for all of your help, living in MX for a year now, I’m ready for my next level in language comprehension.
Great video Paul. Respect. No doubt, Spanish is a diverse language that can change from country to country/region to region. This is why I currently focus solely on Latin American Spanish from Colombia since it's where I've been traveling and living the most.
Keep up the great content!👍👍
Got to be one of the best videos I've seen. Thank You. I just got back from Barcelona. I could speak well enough but had no idea what they were saying.
Thanks. :)
She's a clever woman, that Linda! And teachers TEACH, they present information in an understandable way, and you do that brilliantly. You keep doing whatever the hell you think works best, because in my experience, you know what you're doing, and how best to do it. Te aprecio mucho!
Linda says: "Mil gracias" :-) Thank you so much for the positive feedback. Sigue practicando y aprendiendo!
Dont be afraid of making mistakes and just put it out there. The motivation i need.
Gracias por haciendo este video. Me ayuda mucho y ahora sé que necesito escuchar a mi país objetivo más! He estado aprendiendo español por 5 meses y veo tú videos muchos. Gracias por compartiendo tú conocimiento!
Oh man. You nailed it with your advice to read more. I started reading en voz alta (out loud) everyday for at least 30 minutes (sometimes an hour if I have time). Wow. What a difference. In a very short period of time I've noticed that my comprehension skills are improving. Thank you!!!
Very good tips. I appreciate especially to focus on one country, you're the first person I heard to say that. Some time ago I met two friends that were from Dominican Republic and Columbia, I found it funny that they said they don't always understand each other with certain words.
Hundreds of hours of listening and I can really only make out speech in children's cartoons and campy period novelas. Still pretty good progress. Sometimes I can make out phone conversations. And native speakers don't have to slow down THAT much when talking to me
Thats great, well done!
Ok I do spend about 2 hours daily with you learning Spanish., Starting now I will apply these suggestions.
I've primarily learned "Academic" and Mexican Spanish. I did ok in most of Spain *until* Granada. It was very very difficult to understand many of the speakers there, though they tended to understand me fairly well. My wife is a native Arabic speaker who uses the Levantic dialect. Several of my friends were from Yemen and spoke a very different dialect, to the point letters are pronounced completely differently and common words aren't the same at all. That made for some interesting conversations around the house, like when one of my friends tried to tell me I was saying my wife's name wrong....
Haha, I can just imagine the look on your face when you were accused of saying your wife's name wrong.
thanks q too you i often use google translate but you gave me a new idea….to translate or narrate my day in spanish….me gusta
estoy nuevo estudiante español tomando los clases para principiantes. a te quiero dar gracias por tu video excelente. tengo 68 años y miedo no puedo aprender. Tu consejo darme esperanza. este mensaje tiene muchos problemas pero estoy intentando. todos correcciones son bienvenido
This is so hard because many videos do not tell you what kind of Spanish they are teaching you. I was using acera for sidewalk when I should have been using the other one, I didn’t know that.
Agree. I’m American. When I watch British TV shows I have to use subtitles. 😂 Great video and suggestions.
You find British hard to understand? Try listening to Australian. You'll realize British is easy 🤣(No insult to anyone)
That's a very good tip.
I am from Spain and do advise my students to keep that in mind. Also, I tell them where I am from, so that they know what Spanish I will be able to teach them.
Afterwards, and once one knows the language well, you can understand everyone, but this happens with time.
My children speak Spanish from Spain, and my friend is from Colombia, whose son speaks like you would in Colombia.
As we live in the UK, they can also speak English, but use Spanish to talk to each other 🥰
Despite Spain and Colombia using many words the same, some differ. And it is funny to hear them change some words when they speak to each other, to adapt to the others regional changes; like 'carrito' and 'cochecito'.
I also think that if someone is learning language, which they try to use with people from one particular country, why fill your mind with words that aren't used in that country, even if the locals will understand you, when you can learn the one that is used by the people you want to communicate to?
Enjoy the journey and stay curious 🤓
Hi Qroo! I just want to tell you that I looked up DeepL translator, and I love it! I think it will help me progress, at least somewhat, with my Spanish. Thank you for recommending it.
Deepl os a great translator.
So glad to happen across this video and your channel today (May 9, 2024). I’ve begun the journey of learning Spanish and I’m hopeful the content in your channel will help.
Subscribed!
Welcome aboard!
Buena clase Paul, yo soy latino, de Ecuador, y tienes mucha razón el español difiere pero en lo esencial es el mismo. Solo cambia la entonación y ciertas palabras en su significado. Digo esto para no desanimar a las personas más bien que escuchen otras palabras y acentos, esto lo digo porque trabaje en NY con puertorriqueños y uno aprende de su hablar. Excelente, te doy mi like.
Thank you this was really helpful. I've been stuck as a beginner for 15 years
Glad it was helpful!
Tricky thing for me is, you’re my favorite RUclips Spanish teacher, and I grew up in NJ then moved to Florida so I practiced and heard a lot of Mexican/puerto rican Spanish. However I’ve just moved to England and now need to completely switch gears and learn peninsular Spanish 🙃
That is a pretty big change.
Estoy totalmente de acuerdo con lo que dices aquí. Aprendí a hablar español en Argentina, pero durante los últimos cuarenta años he estado rodeado de personas de otros países de habla hispana, incluidos México, Venezuela, América Central, etc., y he estado enseñando español durante más de treinta años. El español es un idioma de dialectos al igual que el inglés y otros idiomas. ¡Las variaciones regionales lo hacen loco pero divertido!
Good ideas, and this helps answer the question I sent you yesterday.
I love these tips! Especially #1.
Gran video! Estoy aprendiendo español y me siento mi español es más mejor porque de input comprensible.
Me alegra que te gustara. Un saludo.
Great tips-I have encountered the same situations and found your tips to be very helpful-keep the lessons coming!!!!
Great advice, listen to this man.
Thanks!
Also, how important is this region rule when listening to more abstract or technical topics like emotional intelligence or political ideology. I know words very greatly for day-to-day nouns and verbs but does that apply to less “layman” words as well? This seems to not be the case in English (I could be wrong) but wondering if a Spanish podcast episode about emotional intelligence would be useful even without the regional accent focus. I like the way the speaker’s Spanish sounds (very clear with no lisps and she doesn’t drop many consonants like some accents do). P.S if you read this thank you so much for the content. Your channel is hands down the best practical guide to Spanish learning for English speakers in my opinion. You single handily reinvigorated my interest in learning Spanish.
There is no lisp in Spanish. When yousay THink is it a lisp?
In Ecuador "sidewalk" is vereda. And "straw" is sorbete :)
En Argentina también es vereda aunque a straw le decimos bombilla
Y a la bombilla foquito de luz xd
@@rataV7517 Serio? Bombilla es el sorbete jeje. Esa no me la sabia. Al bulb le decimos foco no más. Foquito cuando es un foco pequeño
@@vetcyvee861 bueno también le decimos focos jaja
I’ve watched Paul acting out the story with “Mi Cow” fifty times. So much fun.
Hi Paul, I live in Spain and have found your videos very helpful indeed. Is there very much difference in the grammar between your country and European Spanish grammar. What you have explained so far is the same as I have learned in the past but not understood. I’m aware of the different vocabulary, it’s just been the grammar that I get confused with. I listen to the news and podcasts etc, but one thing I have found useful is, reading out loud, to get the phrasing and flow. Many thanks for all your hard work. Love it !
There are a few grammatical differences. I would say that the most significant ones are these:
1) The use of LE in parts of Spain as a direct object pronoun for males: Le veo. I see him. It would be "lo veo" in Latin America.
2) The use of the present perfect in Spain for things occurring in the recent past:
Hoy me he levantado temprano.
Where Latin America will use the preterite in this type of sentence:
Hoy me levanté temprano.
3) The use of vosotros in most of Spain. In Latin America, it is not used. You will see vos, which is replaces tú. Sometimes people confuse the two.
Excelente consejo para mejorar mi Inglés. Escoger un pais.
I now have that translation app. It works good. Thanks
Thanks!
Thank you very much!
You have very...very good advice. Thanks a lot for your hard work
Thank you.
Great video Paul. I have these problems even within Mexico- most recently in Guadalajara. There is a style and accent here which might be analogous to something like a New York accent. They cut off the ends of words and talk even faster than I'm used to (hard to believe I know). Shopkeepers also say something when you leave, I think that it ends "que viene"?? It might be some kind of "see you next time" sort of thing?
Yes, there are regional differences within Mexico too. Such a diverse language. I haven't heard the que viene thing.
Here in Michoacán, when you leave they tell you “que te vaya bien” (fare thee well)
@@cordellvanhart8668 they say that in Oaxaca too so it might be Mexican
@@truestory923 que te vaya bien is pretty common in the Spanish speaking world, not only in Mexico.
I agree about learning Spanish from one region. I also think you need to be prepared for those alternative words and phrases. Those are the times I remember most when being in different countries. I also have seen mono used as ¡Qué mono! = How cute (maybe that’s what they were telling you Paul) ; Hacer el mono = to make a fool/fooling around; tener el mono =to be in a drugged state. You will remember those situations where you used the wrong word. I broke up a whole cafe with laughter one time using a vulgar term. Another was when I told the taxi driver in Baja Mexico that the house was next to a piscina and eventually after driving around I remembered alberca. The driver was too polite to tell me he didn’t understand. Mistakes make one learn.
I was hoping they were calling me cute, but I don't think so. One of the people who was calling me mono was Linda's uncle and he would use it to get my attention, "Mono, vamos."...lol
I must have said something wrong. So again. THANK you for this video. So much information that I needed. As always, your videos are well presented and greatly appreciated. Now I just have to stop jumping between all the videosthat are presented on RUclips. Ufff! Got to settle down. It has been too many years.
I really like the way you explain Spanish language to us in the end I have a question regarding one of estuvo or estaba I heard when you use estaba you have to complete the sentence like Estaba en la biblioteca cuando llovía when we use estuvo we don’t have to explain like estuvo en la biblioteca a las 10:00
Excellent explanation and it cleared up some things for me. Thank you
Happy to help. :)
Great video!
Thank you
Glad you liked it!
Wow Thanks for the advice!!!!
Thanks for this great video.
More good information and techniques, working on it!
PS, figured out what the problem was with buying you a cup of coffee, bank thought it was fraudulent. Will try again. Have a great weekend.
You have good fraud protection on that card. That's a good thing. Have a great weekend.
I understand next to no Spanish but when I read what they are saying I understand a lot.
I can definitely relate I learn Spanish from multiple different countries growing up so asking for a plastic bag in Dominican Republic is different from asking for a plastic bag in a different country. I was at a fried chicken spot in Dominican Republic and I asked for a plastic bag in Spanish and the older woman looked disgusted and offended when I said it did my birth father who is now a expat of Dominican Republic explained that that's not how I asked for a plastic bag then I later found out that the word I used was offensive in DR 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic. Between me being 16 and now almost near 40 I know three different ways to say car in Spanish. Because of all these differences
Great tips! Regarding your tip about picking a region or country, can you share what language focus you would put Telemundo. I watch their news programming with subtitles but I think my high school Spanish is Spain/European.
Great advice. I look like a Mexican because I’m a little indian. How! My wife is Mexican from El Grullo, Jalisco so I should learn Spanish. I’m trying so thanks! I wish I could have talked to my in laws but I couldn’t. Rick from Salt Lake
I picked up a lot of Arabic from simply having worked in the Middle East region during the conflict with Iraq, even still, there can be different dialects spoken within the same country depending on the region a person is from.
Mexican Spanish and Spain Spanish is everywhere. There are so many teachers and videos who teaches that. It's a lot harder just trying to find good, efficient, programs or teachers who teach puerto rican or Dominican Spanish, but I do think if you learn Spanish in general, it would be easier to pick up or transition to any dialect.
I definitely need to focus on one dialect/region. I’m a super beginner though and what I found is that the content I learn from comes from a lot of different creators who have diverse backgrounds, and are from all over the Spanish-speaking world. Maybe I’m not looking hard enough to be able to find all the content I need in Dominican Spanish. Also, I have a hard time choosing one dialect because I also love Colombian and Argentinian and Spain Spanish too lol
Great tips, thank you!!
You're welcome.
Love this video
Great advice which I will be taking
Muy bien gracias 😊🙏🏻
thank you. great tips
You are so welcome!
Gracias Paul, como siempre, excelente video y consejos.
I have family and business in Honduras, and when I listen to radio or TV, or go to store or restaurant, I can comprehend fairly well, but when family and friends are just talking at home, forget it, the constanants are throw out the window, and they use words differently than literal translation, and I cannot understand them very well at all, and vice versa when I talk with new people, I have to have a Spanish translator, I am saying things correctly, but with my American accent and using 'proper' Spanish, until they get used to my Spanish, they do not understand me, after several encounters, then we can talk easily, also my employees here in States are primarily from Mexico, and it might as well be another language they speak among themselves...so thanks for the tips
The casual conversations are always full of slang. You add a little alcohol and things can get even harder to understand.
Even in Mexico, I've encountered strong regional accents, which can throw you. An individuals education level, too, can make a difference to their word choice, diction, and so on. It's a moving target at times!
Very true.
Very helpful advice. I am moving to Spain later this year, so I am particularly focus on improving my Spanish the way it is spoken there. Yet aside from watching the 24 hour news channel from Spain that I follow on RUclips, I have trouble finding any language aids or resources that focus exclusively on one region. There are many, many channels on RUclips to teach you Spanish, but unless they happen to drop some sort of clue, I find I can rarely tell if they are using Spanish as it is spoken in Spain, or Mexico, or somewhere in Central or South America. Any advice on how to find resources that are specifically focused on how Spanish is spoken in Spain?
Congratulations! I´ll be visiting Málaga for the first time in late August so, sharing that similarity between us, I wish you well and may you have a safe and happy move!
There are several GREAT RUclips channels from Spain natives. Here are a few that I listen to. @laduchafriaoficial @CenandoconPablo @SecretosdelaVida @matematicaconjuan @pabloromeroluis @TheWildProject @JSLinares @elpais @josemillanastrologohumanista @AprendemosJuntos @JamesVanderLust @marc_vidal @DWDocumental and I have about 100 more so, if you give me a topic, a region, I can most likely match it with Spanish from Spain or as I refer to it, Castellano de Iberia. Also, I have a vocabulary list of 14000+ entries, which is free and fully in-context you´re more than welcome to. I´m not a Spanish teacher and have no interest in being such but, we can learn together.
¡Que Viva España!
I recommend you listen to light speed spanish, español con Juan, notes in spanish. They only use Spanish spoken in Spain 🇪🇸
@@Asieslaputavida hey any Mexican RUclipsrs u could reccomend?
@@wolverine1440 You got Paul and he's fluent. I mean, the accent thing? Look, when you listen to Antonio Banderas or David Tesch or Jordi Wild, those are some leg parting Spaniards!! When you listen to young RUclipsrs today, pretending to be a Mexican, they sound like a cross between Speedy Gonzalez and Tattoo. So, be careful what you ask for.
In my opinion, and I have thousands open to everyone, the consensus is Columbian women's voice is something hard-on invoking to nearly all latinos, like a drug. For the males, it's Spaniards, and just coming back from Spain today, I agree. Mexicans seem to love exotic accents and, they will welcome you and your accent as you are. The accent you should practice behind every word, every syllable is the accent of respect. Show dignity and respect of the people and listen. You'll make a voice with whom they want eagerly to speak.
Couldn't agree more about picking a country. I live in Colombia, so though surrounded by the native speakers I still can't understand much. The problem I have is that listening material on the web, for learning comprehension, from Colombia, is very rare. And just watching the news on TV is still too advanced, they talk so fast LOL!
I’m more attuned to Latin American Spanish. But because I’m now used to Spanish as I’m learning the language if it’s say from Spain, when they say certain letters I covert it to Latin American Spanish. The double L’s I say them in Latin American Spanish. Jahmo for llamo I ignore the j sound. I don’t understand a lot yet as I’m in my toddler stage of the language, it no longer sounds fast because I’m used to hearing the language. Simple sentences seem normal speed to me now. I listen to Spanish while falling asleep with vocabulary words, dialogues, songs, mostly children’s songs in Spanish. I try to find rr words so I can roll them.
You sound like a very committed student of the language. Nice job! :)
@@QrooSpanish I’m very committed. I collect Spanish language videos and listen to them for hours. And I also use an AI language thingy that helps me especially with grammar. My favorite videos I have are listening to children’s songs. I love the language. Thanks!
Oh crap- learning from your teaching style has been a tremendous help… with these tips… I don’t want switch to Puorta Rican Spanish… cause that’s the language of the “majority” of my friends group… ouch..😏😏😊😊
You can always keep your Spanish fairly neutral and then just pepper it with some Puerto Rican expressions. ;)
…. nuetral..???? … Castilian..????
Ty 4 this❤
Yw.
It is very usful!
this man made and awesome video!
I´m spanish native speaker frome spain, Galicia region,. and I feel like there are some ways to intone english but is basically is the same grammar, that´s what happens with different spanish instonations you can fin jJUST IN SPAIN.
There are big differences between the great Sapin and other caountrys wich also can speak this amazing language but all of they are related to vocabulary and a buch of filling words and chunk-expressions like you can fin between north and south english slang vocabulary
I dont kow if i made it clear but a I put bring it up as I came to my mind, by the way as spanish viewer I find highly recommend your videos for spanish learners and also for english-spanish learners hehe
thanks for time Qroo , you´re crushing it man!
The only problem for me in SW Florida, we have spanish speakers from everywhere. I center on Mexican Spanish. I will be visiting Spain this summer.
It doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if one doesn't grab the hog by the noise
and put their noise to the grind stone and study.
Im'ma fixen to watch this here video again as Im'ma hankerin to learn mexican.
I was over yonder south of the border a speaking and listening and everything
was Cattywampus - made me madder than a wet hen and I was worn slap out. Much
obliged for the teachings!!!
"Cajo" as "carro" (car) is Puerto Rican hillbillie (jibaro) stuff. It is said it comes from German farmers who immigrated to Puerto Rico during the 19th century, for it is the way Germans pronounce "R". During this time Puerto Rico was still a Spanish colony but Spain allowed other Europeans to immigrate to the island. It makes sense. Either way, not all Puerto Ricans speak like that.
I will be travelling to equitorial guinea in a couple of months. That's why I'm learning Spanish. Any advice about the accent there, cause I couldn't find resources specific to this version of Spanish
Qroo Paul, you’ve become my favorite maestro. I check your channel first to see if you’ve covered any topic I’m struggling with. I love grammar as a hobby, so you know I love the subjunctive. I drink tequila and let you teach me over and over.
That's awesome! :)
Great advice. Thanks
I'm wondering if you've ever done a video on the process of TRYING to understand someone... Like the other day at the gas station (México), I couldn't understand the gas guy. I wanted to convey: So, what you're saying is, that you haven't charged my credit card yet and you want to add up the two fill ups & then charge them together rather than separately... It was VERY confusing because I had 3 receipts and had no idea why he did it that way...
My question is: how to say, so, what you're saying is, you've... because.
This kind of phrase would help people when interacting... Because saying, ...puedes repetirlo pf, just gets them standing there with that "look"...
gracias😍
Mexican Spanish is not only more common in America, it's also clearer and slower.
I feel like Mexican Spanish is harder to understand due to not being as clearly spoken as other Spanish speaking countries. That is just my experience. I often tell that to my Mexican wife who disagrees with me.
Yes, I decided to focus on Puerto Rican Spanish. I gave up so many times for this reason.
That's a good decision to focus on one dialect.
I rather study spanish so I can socialize with people who can't speak English like interpreter. I will keep on working my spanish , my future having my own business , have my own website I want to study spanish more as my goal & daily routines
Gracias
De nada.
Even though I'm a native English speaker, when I went to New Zealand for a bit, it took me a couple of weeks before I could "fully" comprehend what people were saying. I remember standing somewhere waiting in line and a couple in front of us were conversing for a full 10 minutes. After they left, I turned to my husband and said, "Did you understand what they were discussing?" He said, "Not much." We thought that incident was amazing in many respects. Yeah, even though one may understand Mexican Spanish, it doesn't mean that you will understand Spain Spanish, as well.
How do I find someone to speak with to practice my Spanish?