{"id":1892,"date":"2015-02-12T15:14:45","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T15:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/?p=1892"},"modified":"2026-06-15T14:38:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T14:38:22","slug":"8-untranslatable-spanish-phrases-to-know-and-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/8-untranslatable-spanish-phrases-to-know-and-use\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Untranslatable Spanish Phrases to Know and Use"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spanish is a truly wonderful language. Not only is it beautiful to both speak and listen to, but it is a practical language with a global impact. There are nearly 500 million Spanish speakers around the world and although in the U.S. Spanish has long been considered an important language<\/a> to know, it seems that even Europe is catching the Spanish speaking bug<\/a>, further pushing this fascinating tongue into a prominent global position. Of course, Spanish also has aspects which can make learning it a challenge to anyone trying to study the language. Untranslatable terms fall under this criteria and are some of the most difficult to learn but also extremely vital if you hope to conquer the Spanish tongue. So take a pause in your language journey to peruse these 8 untranslatable Spanish phrases and make sure to add them to your vocab bank ASAP:<\/p>\n

1. Estrenar<\/b><\/p>\n

The word \u2018estrenar\u2019 should be featured in a sentence when you are talking about an item you are using for the first time.<\/p>\n

E.g.: <\/b>Estoy estrenando mi vestido.<\/i> (I am wearing my new dress for the first time.)<\/p>\n

2. Friolento<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2018Friolento\u2019 (or friolero in some countries) is used when describing someone who is particularly sensitive to the cold \u2013 whether it be cold weather or the freezing water in a swimming pool.<\/p>\n

E.g.: <\/b>Ella no aguanta el frio, es muy friolenta. <\/i>(She can\u2019t handle the cold, she\u2019s very sensitive to it.)<\/p>\n

3. Tener ganas<\/b><\/p>\n

Although you may find this phrase translated as \u2018to want\u2019, this doesn\u2019t really cut it. \u2018Tener ganas\u2019 is essentially to truly desire something, or to want it really badly.<\/p>\n

E.g.: <\/b>Ella tiene ganas de viajar a Europa.<\/i> (She really desires to travel to Europe.)<\/p>\n

\"8UntranslatableSpanishWordsPhrases\"<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Merendar<\/b><\/p>\n

The word \u2018merienda\u2019 means tea or afternoon snack, so to \u2018merendar\u2019 in effect signifies the act of taking a tea break or having a snack.<\/p>\n

E.g. <\/b>\u00bfQuieres venir a merendar a mi casa? <\/i>(Would you like to come to my house to have tea\/an afternoon snack?)<\/p>\n

5. Desvelado<\/b><\/p>\n

This word is a really short, concise way of saying you haven\u2019t slept much or didn\u2019t sleep at all.<\/p>\n

E.g.: <\/b>No dorm\u00ed anoche, estoy muy desvelado.<\/i> (I didn\u2019t sleep all night, I am very sleep deprived.)<\/p>\n

6. Te quiero.<\/b><\/p>\n

This phrase has a tendency to confuse language learners because it floats somewhere in the limbo of meaning more than \u2018I like you\u2019 but less than \u2018I love you\u2019. Perhaps \u2018I really care for you\u2019 is the closest we\u2019re going to come to translating it.<\/p>\n

E.g. <\/b>Te quiero.<\/i> ( I more than like you but don\u2019t quite love you, I really care for you.)<\/p>\n

7. Sobremesa<\/b><\/p>\n

Food is a huge social experience in many Spanish speaking cultures, so it\u2019s no surprise that \u2018sobremesa\u2019 involves just that. When you remain at the table after the food is finished in order to indulge in some good conversation, you are taking part in \u2018sobremesa\u2019.<\/p>\n

E.g. <\/b>La sobremesa se alarg\u00f3 dos horas. <\/i>(The talking after eating went on for another two hours.)<\/p>\n

8. Le da verg\u00fcenza<\/b><\/p>\n

The literal translation for this phrase is \u2018it gives him\/her shame\u2019 but its meaning isn\u2019t quite that dramatic. You can use this to refer to situations where you or someone else feels embarrassment or shyness.<\/p>\n

E.g. <\/b>No quiere bailar enfrente de todo el mundo, le da verg\u00fcenza. <\/i>(She doesn\u2019t want to dance in front of everyone, it makes her embarrassed.)<\/p>\n

Although learning all these phrases and how to apply them may seem daunting at first, before you know it you\u2019ll be impressing all your friends with your \u2018inside\u2019 knowledge of the Spanish tongue. However, remember that a strong foundation is vital in order for you to be able to put terms like these to good use. Don\u2019t forgo signing up for some top-tier language classes<\/a> and be sure to keep an eye on your progress with free online placement tests<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spanish is a truly wonderful language. Not only is it beautiful to both speak and listen to,…","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":4652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[700,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning-resources","category-spanish"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1892"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1892"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1896,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1892\/revisions\/1896"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}