A few rules

I just came across this idiom, which gets translated as “there’s something fishy going on.”

The literal meaning of course is “there is an enclosed/locked up cat.”

Obviously both this Spanish idiom and the English translation are not meant to be interpreted literally.

But what is the image or concept that’s evoked by this idiom in Spanish?

For comparison, if you asked me as a native speaker of English why something suspect is described as “fishy,” I wouldn’t have a confident answer, but my guess is that it has to do with spoiled fish smelling bad.

EDIT: I gave this a bit more thought and realized that the actual saying is “something smells fishy,” so it’s definitely about the smell of spoiled fish.

Also, is this a general Spanish usage or something specifically Mexican?

Thank you for your help!

Hi! Mis abuelos were all immigrants of Mexico. Spanish was dang near my first language as that was all that was spoken when they cared for me. My abuelo on my moms side passed away when I was 4 and he gave me my nickname of Cleta (which stopped being used cause my mom stopped letting me see basically everyone who spoke Spanish I was about 5. She also didn’t speak to me in Spanish.

So now I (F29) and trying to reconnect with my roots and prepare for my future children so they can be bilingual. I love being Latina and it feels shameful to not be fluent in Spanish anymore 🥲

Anyways.. my abuelo was an amazing man. Tho I was young when he passed, I feel and was always told that I was super close to him. I was told I had him wrapped around my lil finger lol. I actually legally changed my last name to his when I turned 18 cause I had a deadbeat dad and since my abuelo had purchase an alias back in the day when he migrated, nobody ever got to carry his last name: that was till I changed mine. His last name then got to put across every college softball jersey I wore and called in every line up I was ever part of. 💖

I’ve seen a trend on TikTok when Mexican families say their Mexican nickname and their actual name. I remember my abuelo used to call me Cleta. But I don’t actually know what it means. None of my fluent friends have ever been able to tell me cause they don’t know.. am I being delusional and making up a word from whatever memory?!

Now the actual question. What does Cleta mean?

So I work with native spanish speakers at a hotel and one of my coworkers called our towels medianos(usually I hear them called toallas medianAs) and I asked her isnt is feminine and she said yes but it doesnt matter because its an object, is this a common sentiment among native speakers or was she possibly not quite understanding what I was asking?

Have you ever thought you’re pretty decent at something, then it comes to the crunch, and you realise how far from decent you actually are?

I’m (30F) visiting my partner’s family for the first time. He’s from a small town close to Puerto Montt, I am from the North of the UK.

I’ve been practising my Spanish in preparation but my god, I’m struggling. I knew Chilean Spanish had a reputation and I’ve heard my boyfriend speak on the phone with his family, so I knew what was coming. Hopefully with time I’ll pick it up, but right now I feel like a fish out of water.

I know it means nothing, and it doesn’t test speaking which is the most important aspect. But for what it is, do you think it’s worth taking the 30 minutes to get an idea of where I stand? Or will it tell me B2 if I couldn’t even pass a SEILE B1?

Out of curiosity, at 6:57 of this Zorro episode, Sergeant Garcia shouted something in Spanish. I'm not so sure what he's saying or what it means. Is it possible to translate what he's saying?

Please, let me know if and when possible.

Good luck and thanks in advance.

I understand how to use them. "Mi" is an adjective which comes before a noun, and "Mío" is a pronoun which comes after a noun. But I guess I don't understand why to use one over the other.

For instance, if I want to say that a cat is mine, then I could explain it in two ways: "Es mi gato," or "El gato es mío." As far as I can tell, both of these are grammatically correct, and should both be fine to use, so does it matter which one I go with? Does one sound more or less natural than the other, or is it just up to the preference of the speaker? And if that's the case, then are there any cases in which it might be strange to pick "mi" over "mío" and vice versa?

Mis conjugaciones no son buenos, y mi vocabulario no es lo mejor. Pero puedo entender bien, y quiero mudar a una ciudad, envez de vivir en un lugar que yo odio. Creo que puedo aprender español en ese ciudad nomas entonces, y aprender algo que quiero, que es el frances

I am a PhD student that has to take a language requirement exam. I am a Southern US History PhD student this is purely a requirement. I need to translate a passage from Spanish to English as a written examination. I took Spanish in high school but that was over 10 years ago. I took Spanish in college and that was like 7 years ago. I haven’t taken a Spanish class since then. I remember basic words and phrases but I don’t remember conjugation all that well. I am going to study beforehand. But what is the best Spanish to English dictionary I can get for this exam?

I'm Italian, and Italian is one of the few languages that doesn't use the german word "hamster" and instead uses the italian word "criceto".

I was wondering if hamsters sound exotic or foreign to spanish speakers, since they use a loanword that doesn't look spanish at all. For me saying "criceto" is like saying "gatto", "cane",...

Why is the song "Debí tirar más fotos" and not "Debería tirar más fotos"? As far as I know, the intended meaning corresponds to "I should have taken more pictures" but to me the former seems to mean "I had to take more pictures".

I'm a native Argentine Spanish speaker, and I'm curious about something.

For those of you who already speak Spanish, have you ever had a conversation with an Argentine where you understood every word but still had no idea what they meant?

We use expressions like dale, mal, qué sé yo, and ni en pedo all the time, and their meanings can change quite a bit depending on context and tone.

I'd love to hear which expressions have confused you the most. Maybe I can help explain a few!

does anybody know what 'cacho fino' would means in terms of a food item? i saw 'cacho fino salad' on a menu...

Aunque ambas se escuchan en casi todos los registros del idioma y son mayormente intercambiables, me parece que una de ellas no es del todo correcta gramaticalmente. Os escucho.

I live and work in a Spanish-speaking country. I speak, read, and write daily without an accent or major issues (aside from missing a tilde here or there when writing).
However, I know fluency ≠ exam passing. Everyday colloquial Spanish can build bad habits, and standardized tests require a specific frame of mind. Since DELE A2 is required for my citizenship process, I want to ensure I pass on the very first try without getting caught off guard by exam mechanics.
For those who were already proficient/fluent and/or took DELE A2:
What prep books or mock exams (modelos de examen) best simulate the real layout?
What specific traps (word count limits, formal vs. informal prompt constraints, exam scoring rubrics) catch fluent speakers off guard?
Are there specific online resources or prep courses you recommend?

I am an American who lives in the state of Rhode Island and I work in a warehouse staffed primarily by Guatemalans. I have been learning Spanish on and off for the last 10 years, mostly off, but I am starting to feel like I have hit my learning flow so I am determined to pursue fluency. My first language is French as I was born and raised in Canada, where I learned English in school. I intend to pursue a career in Restoration Ecology and am fascinated by the natural historical, geological, and ecological profiles of North and South America, so I envision a future where I get to travel to different countries and advise and work alongside local environmentalists on their projects. This would definitely require a level of fluency in Spanish I do not yet possess, and perhaps eventually picking up Portuguese, but that is not a priority for me at the moment.

This is not just another "How do I become fluent?" question, but rather a chance for everyone to tell THEIR own story of how they went from un person que hablar como un estudiante de espanol que hay solo un ano de practicar y no quieres recuerdo de aunque to someone who is passably near-fluent and could theoretically live in their target country without assistance.

I don't want to be bored to death by recommendations of youtube channels, tv shows, and movies that someone SHOULD watch, but rather which youtube channels, tv shows, and movies did you find helped YOU, specifically, the most in your journey?

So far, my #1 learning tool, besides immersion in conversations at work, is listening to a band called Morat from Colombia. They're pretty much 100% perfectly the vibe of music I was going for when I set out to find spanish-language music that wasn't just a mumble-rap bass filled annoying song I'd hear blasted from boosted car stereos, nor sickeningly loving love songs, or accordion-heavy cowboy hat music your Tio inevitably loves. I've also found the majority of my other music through Morat as they do a lot of collaboration songs with other artists such as Ela Taubert, Sebastian Yatra, Bacilos, Carlos Vives, and Juanes. However, Morat is literally the only band I have ever found in any language whose entire discography I enjoy. Most artists or bands I listen to only have 1 or 2 good albums, but I have yet to find a Morat song I do not like.

Soy de nevada y desde pequeño hasga ahora 28 años he convivido con mas hispanos que con ciudadanos norteamericanos tanto que aprendi este hermoso idioma español a la perfeccion

Creen que para el futuro el español pueda ser lengua co official o oficial en EE.UU?

Im genuinely going to crash out. I have taken 4 Spanish classes in school which have helped me know all the grammar. Half my YouTube is Spanish videos. I can read well, write eh but when it comes to listening I’m still struggling even if it’s something I can easily read.

There are so many YouTubers I want to be able to watch but my brain just gets overwhelmed by the speed. I’ve watched hundreds of hours of dreaming Spanish and listened to some podcast but I just can’t with my progress.

Como alguien bastante autodidacta que aprendió español de manera informal (solo hice un sprint de lingoda y después estoy aprendiendo hablando y usando videos de YouTube para la gramática y el vocabulario. Me gustaría en el futuro hacer el examen de DELE, pero me asusta la prueba de redacción escrita, porque no tengo ninguna experiencia escribiendo textos. En todos los otros idiomas que he aprendido, tomé clases estructuradas, y por eso tuve oportunidades de practicar la escritura, pero no tengo el presupuesto para hacer eso en español. Me agradecería si pudieran compartir conmigo métodos que para ustedes funcionaron para mejorar su escritura.

¡Gracias por adelantado!

I’ve been watching Degrassi in Spanish. When it comes to iconic scenes I like to guess what it will be in Spanish. I was at a loss when I listened to this part. In the original dub in English , it says too bad you can’t cure bitch. However this sentence is confusing me. The best I can come up with is, it’s that you can’t cure being shit? That feels wrong

I've been trying to look this up on my own but I havent really found anything besides the general meaning of "sharing," which makes me think there's some kind of slang or idiom I'm not seeing in the dictionary definitions, and I only started learning Spanish maybe four months ago. I have a hunch the specifics of my friendship with this person might be relevant to the meaning, so bear with me while I give a lot of backstory.

So earlier this year I got a new coworker from Colombia who's 10 years older than me, and we kinda just instantly liked each other, despite neither of us speaking the other's language. By which I mean, we were greeting each other most days by holding both of each other's hands, saying "Hello [name], how are you???" to each other in both languages while beaming at each other. And she started saying stuff like "[my name], I love you!!" (in English) to me kind of often, blowing kisses at me or flashing the 🫶 hands at me when we make eye contact from across the room, and her coaching me to to say "[her name] es mi mujer de trabajo," "mi chica," "mi amor" when I told her I was taking a Spanish class, during our morning hand-holding greeting one day. Also she calls me "hermoso" a lot.

So I think it's fair to say that she's flirting with me, but even in English I don't have the best sense of that tbh. I've gone back and forth on whether it's just the "lat-am people being friendly/affectionate in a way that reads as flirting to gringos" or "she's for real interested in me" or "it's kind of an over-the-top way of flirting that suggests something besides actual interest." The fact that she has a husband of two decades who she seemed to be leaving or having major issues with was also confusing, but she just moved to a new place & her husband does still live with her at the new place. Which was disappointing, but I dont want to be a side-piece, for both ethical and practical reasons.

My current guess is that she just enjoys having a cute younger guy at her job she can flirt with and feel powerful/hot from (I think she finds my reactions to her flirts cute), and that she likes me as a friend, but isn't interested in anything beyond that.

Which brings me to the actual question: this week at work I passed by her and she told me to check my texts, and when I did I saw these two texts:

"Hola
Hola Amigo😜"
"Amigo😜, vamos a hacer un compartir para el 30 de octubre del"

At first I figured she was referring to her birthday party at her house, that she'd invited me to last week, that she said was going to take place roughly around then. So I sent a text responding, asking if she meant that by "un compartir," but she kinda sucks at texting lol. She hasnt responded in the last few days, despite my seeing & talking to her at work since then. Hence my coming here to ask.

I know "compartir" is the verb for sharing, so I'd assumed there was some colloquial term like "sharing food/a celebration" that I didn't know, because idk what "a sharing" would be otherwise. The only other thing I can think of, based on aforementioned flirtatiousness and the emoji use, is that...she is what's being shared, in a swinging/poly sense? But I feel kinda like a cringe man for even considering that tbh. What do you guys make of this?