EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

"Hello, I'm a BACHELOR, and these are for you. You're a girl, right?"   If you think the word in Spanish is BACHILLER, you are right and not. The problem with this term is not the translation but the meaning it has, different in either language.  In English, a BACHELOR (female BACHELORETTE) is a young single man who has never been married. Also, a person with an undergraduate degree from a university is known as a BACHELOR. In Spanish, a BACHILLER is someone who has finished high school and nothing but. Usually, in Ecuador at least, after completing secondary studies a person receives a "Bachelor's Degree" that is really a certificate with no great value for job recruiters.  

Latinos be like ... If only for the direct translation, ¿MANDE? is COMMAND ME or TELL ME, but that is not the real meaning. In Ecuador, Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, it is customary to respond ¿MANDE? when someone of a higher rank, or one of your parents, calls you. Any other response is considered disrespectful, and though as of recent there are people questioning this old tradition, still it will be years before it disappears. In English MANDE? would be YES?   

"Am I being COY? But, of course. Can you not tell?" COY is one of those words that have more than one meaning, and for some mysterious reason, those meanings may seem disconnected.  The most common meaning associated with this word is Flirtatious. The idea is looking reserved, shy or vulnerable, but in a way that reveals is being done on purpose. Then, the right translation is COQUETA. COY also indicates there is a reluctance to show or accept something. You can be COY about sensitive information such as your age. In this case, COY would be RESERVADO in Spanish.

"And that partner of yours in Ecuador, Noboa, is he AFFLUENT?" AFFLUENT is another way to say rich, wealthy, prosperous. When you say that someone has no problems with money, in other words, he or she is rich and prosperous, we say in Spanish that someone has a POSICION ECONMICA HOLGADA. Of course, it's a long expression and saying AFFLUENT may not be enough. TO BE AFFLUENT is a more precise term to express the same idea in English.

I had to say it: I wrote this short entry AT ONCE                                                                                 In Ecuadorian Spanish, we say DE UNA to indicate that something happened really quickly or that there was not any preliminary routine in an event, it just began. That would be Immediately or AT ONCE.  AT ONCE also means Simultaneously, but that is one meaning that DE UNA does not have. Besides, there is a slight connotation in the use of DE UNA since it is considered vulgar or uneducated, not necessarily the same thing in English.

"Hey, you know that guy Ant-man? I'm his daughter!" To BELITTLE means you are being mean to others by saying they are not important or making them feel that way. The way we say BELITTLE in Spanish is MENOSPRECIAR and just as in English is really a bad thing to do. The difference is though that in Spanish we can not "play" with the word and say that those who BELITTLE are being little, but perhaps we could say that "aquellos que MENOSPRECIAN a los demás en realidad a sí mismos se aprecian aún menos." 

  MICHU MICHU? No human, that's not how you call a Gringo cat! Wait. Is that tuna? ¡Ya voy! MICHU MICHU, which is not even real Spanish, is the way people call their cats in Ecuador. It is also the way they call cats in Italy, so perhaps there is a connection. In other Spanish-speaking countries the formula is slightly different, a truth that also applies to English-speaking countries since in the United Kingdom, for instance, they say PUSS-PUSS, but in the United States, they say KITTY-KITTY-KITTY.

"Yes, I study in this COLLEGE to be a dentist. How did you know?"  Yes, they are, and no, they're not. A COLLEGE is by definition a UNIVERSITY, but a UNIVERSITY is not a COLLEGE.  COLLEGES are small universities that commonly receive fewer students and offer undergraduate degrees, that are the very first degrees you can obtain after finishing high school. COLLEGES also tend to be more "focused" and have fewer degree programs that are often related. Typically they do not offer graduate programs or programs leading to master's degrees or Ph D's. Places specialized in training or giving knowledge in one area are also called COLLEGES. There are secretarial colleges or law colleges, for example. UNIVERSITIES are larger institutions, with a lot more students and a more diverse offer of degree programs that can grant you undergraduate and graduate degrees. Because UNIVERSITIES tend to be large and diverse they are divided into faculties, but there ar

(In the middle of a class) Me: Well, in English there are also the Phrasal verbs Student A: Phrasal verbs? What’s that, Mister? Me: See, in Spanish we only have one way to express an action: with one word. In English there are those, but you can also express actions with two words. For instance, RETURNAR. In English you can say RETURN and also COME BACK, a phrasal verb. See? Two possible ways to say the same, in Spanish, we can only say RETORNAR. Student B: Oiga, Mister, pero también se puede decir REGRESAR. ( you can also say REGRESAR ) Me: Yes, well that’s a synonym… Student C: And you can also say VOLVER. Ya son dos ( that makes two ). Me: Yes, class, but remember: there are more options in English… Student D: And let’s not forget ESTAR DE VUELTA! Student E: ¡Y para ese usamos tres palabras! ( and for that we use three words!) Student F: O sea que con ese le ganamos al inglés! ( so, with that one we beat English! ) All students: Yeah! Bien!

"This is how I make all my errands. Spiderman would be jealous." When we say in Ecuadorian Spanish that we have to HACER UNA DILIGENCIA, that means we have something to do somewhere. It is usually a small thing: something to buy, a check to cash, or just a bill to pay. The English term for that is TO RUN AN ERRAND, though you may also say TO DO AN ERRAND or TO GO ON AN ERRAND.  

You can only wonder if they ever really need to light those candles on the MANTELPIECE. This is another example of what in English is called a False Cognate or more commonly a False Friend. So, the translation surely is not Mantel. In English, a MANTELPIECE is a ledge, some structure made of wood, stone or sometimes marble that is built over the fireplace. There is not one word in Spanish to serve as the translation of MANTELPIECE, but we can always say REPISA DE LA CHIMENEA.  

"Brave? Well, not right now. I'm mad. I can't find my comb. Darn!" BRAVO is not necessarily the best translation for BRAVE, not at least if you are in Ecuador. Here BRAVO is mad, angry. Un hombre BRAVO is a bad-tempered person. How this came to be is a mystery. Nevertheless, in other Spanish-speaking countries, BRAVO is indeed valiente which is valiant, or BRAVE. So, yes, BRAVE is BRAVO in Spanish, only not in Ecuador

Forests look great during the day, but in the SMALL HOURS... You can't, not at least using one word. MADRUGADA is specifically the time between midnight and sunrise.   Dawn and Sunrise are good alternatives, but they are not necessarily what we know as MADRUGADA in Spanish. A better choice would be EARLY MORNING, or more informally the SMALL HOURS, or the WEE HOURS. 

Einstein was STATELESS from 1896 to 1901. APÁTRIDA is an unusual word in Spanish (but it does exist). It is unusual because the condition it refers to is rarely seen: an APÁTRIDA is someone who lacks of citizenship for one reason or another (there are at least five of them) In English, APATRIDA is STATELESS, This condition is called Statelessness in English and Apatridia in Spanish. Though really Apatridia is even more unusual than APATRIDA in Spanish.

Amazingly, there are people who enjoy eating them. Sad but true. This one refers to a sad thing and that is the illegal trade of wild fauna, specifically African animals. Certainly there is illegal trade of animals from other parts of the world, but for some reason the term BUSHMEAT is  more commonly associated with African fauna. In this specific case wild animals are hunted not for their fur, but for their meat. BUSHMEAT literally means the meat of wild animals. It may also be called Game meat or Wildmeat.  There is not one word for this in Spanish. We only say CARNE DE ANIMALES SILVESTRES.  

"Ready for my SOJOURN! Oooppss, I didn't bring any toilet paper!" SOJOURN and STAY are similar terms with the difference that a SOJOURN is always temporary.  So, you SOJOURN when you stay for a few days in a place. It can be used as both a noun and a verb. The most likely translation in Spanish would be ESTANCIA or ESTADIA if the word is used as a noun. If SOJOURN is used as a verb, the translation is PASAR UNA TEMPORADA.

You  never stop learning a language because languages are like vast ever-changing living ntities.   Once you have achieved a certain English level the worst thing you can do is to attempt to maintain that level. You must never be happy with your English. When you do you stagnate, and when that happens eventually your English "fossilizes" which is the same as going back to basics. That means no English at all. To avoid that you must remember that learning a language is not like learning how to ride a bicycle. If you have achieved an acceptable  level of English you should aim to increase it not maintain it. For that all you need is commitment. Learning English is a life decision, and that is precisely what you have to do: make English part of your life. Thus, you will have the necessity to speak the language on a regular basis, and that will make the difference. 

"Me? I don't do much thinking. I let my muscles do it for me. They're pretty good at it, y`know?" The most common synonym of JOCK is Athlete and as such in Spanish it would be that precisely: ATLETA, especially one who is still in high school or college. The problem is that JOCK is a word that really defines a stereotype, that one about athletes focusing only on their muscles and who do not rank high at any intellectual level, so to speak. So if you know someone who is into developing his body, but not his mind that is certainly a JOCK. I don't really think there is a word for that in Spanish but we do refer to them as QUE SON PURO MUSCULO PERO CON NADA EN EL CEREBRO.

"I wonder where is the rest of this timetable. Now we'll have to make it up!"  Though the expression RECOVERY SCHEDULE  is possible, that is not the same idea as HORARIO DE RECUPERACION when it is used in Spanish. If the situation is someone has been injured and needs to rest, or follow a routine, in order to get better then those hours are usually grouped under the label RECOVERY SCHEDULE.  In Spanish, at least in Ecuador, we use the expression HORARIO DE RECUPERACION in the educational field. If someone has been unable to comply with the regular study hours, still there is this other chance to make up for them. In that case, the most appropriate translation would be MAKE-UP SCHEDULE or MAKE-UP HOURS. 

"PANTING? Oh no, I'm not panting. You just look so delicious." PANT and not Pants is the word here. First of all, it is a verb and it means JADEAR. PANTING is what dogs do when they need lo lower their temperature, to cool their bodies. People also do it, but for different reasons and in different circumstances. PANT  can indeed be a noun and then it means PANTALON, but its use in singular form is uncommon and its plural form is more frequently used.