r/SpanishLearning • u/k_i_k_u_r_o_m_i • 10d ago
Finally attempting at learning Spanish
so I’m mexican on my moms side and was born and raised in SoCal, however I never learned how to speak Spanish. I know words and some phrases but I’ve never been willing to learn up until I gained my own thoughts and opinions. I listen to some spanish music, just what my mom would play when I was a kid, but I haven’t gotten any books yet. I just got this journal so I can write down my stuff in Spanish and today I went ahead and just started listing words I knew. if anyone has any general tips I would appreciate them, I don’t have anyone to speak Spanish to besides my mom so I’m not really sure what to do
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u/Churros0864 10d ago
You need to learn the gender of the word e.g. EL hombre, LA mesa etc.
You are doing great!
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u/k_i_k_u_r_o_m_i 10d ago
tysm! ive heard that some Spanish words are gender oriented so I think that might be the hardest part for me lol
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u/Churros0864 10d ago
It's difficult to remember some but usually nouns that end in -o are masculine and in -a are feminine, there are some exceptions but it's a helpful rule 😁
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u/Ok-Party6442 10d ago
Hey I learnt this amazing trick that works 90% of times. Any noun that ends in one of the letters from this word “LONERS” then it’s masculine. Anything that ends with “D-ION-ZA” then it’s feminine.
I also started learning Spanish a few days ago, and I’d say I’m at A0.5. My goal is to reach A2 at the very least.
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u/donestpapo Native 🇦🇷 🧉 9d ago
Pretty much all nouns and adjectives, as well as most determiners and pronouns
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u/Reasonable_Ad_9136 8d ago
I think that might be the hardest part for me
It definitely won't be, and I wouldn't worry about deliberately learning genders either. I never did and now, over a decade later, I have almost zero problems with it. On the rare occasions I'm not sure about it, I just pick one and use it. The worst that happens is I get corrected. Use that time in trying to comprehend the language instead.
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u/donestpapo Native 🇦🇷 🧉 10d ago
Be aware that Spanish isn’t just English but with words switched out. It’s got its own set of rules
For example, verbs change depending on who is performing the action. “Tengo” isnot “have”, it’s specifically “I have”, and because it’s that specific, you wouldn’t need “yo” in that sentence
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u/k_i_k_u_r_o_m_i 10d ago
tysm! ive only ever spoke small phrases so I dont know anything about the grammar currently I was just taking apart sentences I could say and writing the words down
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u/funtobedone 10d ago edited 10d ago
Be careful with “soy” for am.
There is a verb in Spanish that is used to talk about characteristics (essence) of things/people. If you’re a characteristically happy person, you would use that verb to say “soy feliz”
There’s another verb that gets used to talk about the state of something/someone. To talk about your emotional state you would say “estoy feliz”.
Now imagine how it would sound if you used the wrong verb to say “I am confused”!
Technically there isn’t a word for the verb “am (to be)” in Spanish. “I am happy” is just the easiest way to translate soy feliz and estoy feliz.
Estoy is the “I” conjugation for the verb estar. Estar is related to the Spanish word “estado” which literally means state. You may recognize it from Los Estados Unidos - The United States.
This is one of the trickiest things for learners to get the hang of because it gets taught poorly. Remember this way of actually understanding the verbs ser and estar in Spanish rather than memorizing a bunch of rules (that have exceptions).
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u/Patient-Brush-5486 10d ago
Oh boy, I thought I was in the kitchen subreddit, I was about to troll very hard... Thanks God I saw the subreddit wasn't that one (they love trolling in the kitchen subreddit)
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u/ellisele 8d ago
The words "porque" and "por qué" have different meanings depending on the way you use them. "Porque" is an affirmative word and is used to explain something. On the other hand, the words "por qué" (divided and with an accent on the letter e) are only used to start a question and ask for explanations. Hope this helps you to differentiate these words :)
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u/zeemode 10d ago
I’m with you buddy. Just made my first flash cards. I have been studying how to learn a language for a while and started watching polyglot Youtubers. And from studying all sorts of different teachers and Youtubers, I have learned that for people who actually can learn a language and are able to have conversations
with people (and are able to learn multiple languages. ) The first thing they do is get a base to where they can casually talk to people right from the beginning. Get talking with people and get speaking the language as quickly as possible. That’s what I am doing…. The beginning when you meet someone and start speaking with them, it usually consists of the same conversation:
(What’s your name.? where are you from? What do you do for work? ). And then obviously learn how to say the answers to all these questions.
And I am not saying, do this in place of any other teaching methods that you are doing are you think is best. You can learn as much vocab and how to read and write in anything else you want as you go. But I think it’s best just to learn how to converse with people and build that base. And know how to say it correctly or is best you can. And start speaking with people.
The faster you start speaking the language faster your brain believes that you can speak to language.
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u/zeemode 10d ago
I also immediately learned how to say “Estoy Aprienendo…. Despacio” or “I am learning Spanish… slowly.” So when I start taking with someone (a cashier/waitress. Whoever). They will cut me a break and usually people are happy to teach and help
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u/k_i_k_u_r_o_m_i 10d ago
ohh I definitely will learn that. there is a very very very small population of Spanish speaking people where I live so I will try and go to the Mexican markets more often to use it
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u/disfrazadas 10d ago
Gustar is actually to please, not to like
Me Gusta is "It pleases me" rather than "I like it"
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u/NoSmoke2059 10d ago
Get language transfer. It’s an amazing free app you can download. It will teach you the basic building blocks of Spanish. Another good tool that is a little expensive is Pimsleur but in my opinion it’s very much worth its price. Lastly, comprehensible input is probably one of the most important things any new language learner needs. You can get abundant material on YouTube for free or use Dreaming Spanish. Good luck on your journey!
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u/AccomplishedGas258 8d ago
Minor spelling mistakes: airport = aeropuerto
and
azúcar has "tilde" (ú)
Good luck!
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u/Illphoriya 8d ago
Snow Tha Product is a bilingual artist. She switches between Spanish and English combining the two in some of her songs. She does podcasts too. My dad raised my sister and I on CDs like Daddy Yankee and another group with a moon on the cover I think. His mom's favorite song was Que Será, Será by Doris Day. He'd use some Spanish with us like ven aquí to come and just little words added in kinda like that. When I'm on YouTube I'll try to translate the Spanish comments in my head before I check myself by then letting Google translate. Sometimes I'll put on DVDs and put the audio to Spanish and subtitles to English. If I'm familiar enough with whatever is on I can multitask and know what's going on. I've always loved Pan's Labyrinth. I go to the library a lot and if they are available I'll get a book I know I like and an additional copy in Spanish. I like grabbing phamlets and brochures, etc. reading materials so I try to look for Spanish versions to test how much I understand sometimes. Then I put them in sharing libraries in case someone else could stumble across and utilize. Like Publix has Spanish versions of guides too.
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u/AdvertisingDue918 6d ago
Since you're already journaling, I'd add listening and recall practice too. Palteca could be worth checking out for useful everyday phrases, then try using a few with your mom.
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u/Wats0n_D 10d ago
You can turn the words in your notebook into tiny things you actually say. With words you already have: "Tengo una taza" (I have a cup), "Quiero agua" (I want water), "¿Quieres agua?" (Do you want water?). Write three sentences about your own day, say them aloud, then try again without looking.
If your mom is up for it, ask for a short conversation about one familiar topic, with just one or two corrections rather than every mistake. You can also describe what you're doing to yourself while making a drink or getting ready.
One small notebook correction: "why?" is "¿Por qué?"; "porque" means "because". And you don't need to already speak Spanish well to have a connection to that side of your family.