EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

  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

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.

"C'mon Batman pick me! I'll become your best Robin ever!" ROBIN in Spanish is PETIRROJO, a small-sized bird mostly found in North America and Europe. It is easily distinguishable because of its red-feathered breast and face. As we know, ROBIN is also the name of Batman's famous sidekick. So, the question is: why do we say in Spanish Batman y ROBIN and not Batman y PETIRROJO? Well, perhaps the answer is that for a hero's name, ROBIN just sounds better than PETIRROJO, even in Spanish. Also, it's easier to remember.  It is the same with Batman: it sounds better than Hombre Murciélago.

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. 

So many  HASHTAGS! They could easily take over the world! Well, these days the answer is HASHTAG,  a term made popular by Twitter. However, that is not the only name it has. Before HASHTAG became universal, other names were more common for this symbol such as POUND SIGN, NUMBER SIGN, and even HASH CHARACTER can be used.

"I'm the British equivalent to your Chavo del Ocho. Please, like me." This is a word taken from British culture.  It's an adjective used  as an informal derogatory that usually describes a lower-class youngster who displays anti-social behaviour, and has a  preference to wear either real or imitation designer clothes. In a more general sense,   this word  can be applied, a bit loosely perhaps, to pretty much every culture with a similar nasty element.  In Spanish, the word ÑENGOSO is probably the closest in meaning to what a CHAV is. There is a female version of the word, as well, CHAVETTE.

"Oh no! Not another power blackout!"             NACIMIENTO NAVIDEÑO or PESEBRE NAVIDEÑO is a tradition which consists in recreating the moment of Jesus Christ's birth with small figures representing Joseph, Mary, the shepherds and the Wise Kings. Baby Jesus is set on December 25th of course, while the other figures are placed before, usually at the beginning of December.       The translation is NATIVITY SCENE, though some people only say CHRISTMAS SCENE. This last term is a bit broad -- even an image of Santa Claus riding his sleigh falls under that description. Saying CHRISTMAS NATIVITY SCENE would be perhaps more appropriate.                                                                                        Merry Christmas!     

"Ahoy, Monty! Are you there? Say something, dammit!"  We are supposed to say something when we answer a phone call since remaining silent is not a smart option. It is also logical to say HELLO because as an item HELLO is conveniently short and not too formal or informal. Therefore HELLO is perfect in that sense, otherwise it would not have endured for so long. Still, the question remains: Why HELLO precisely? Who came up with that idea? Amazingly enough, it was not the inventor of the Telephone, Alexander Graham Bell. For him the best option was "Ahoy!" How did he come up with that idea? AHOY is the way sailors greet each other, and HELLO was not at the time (the 1870s) a standard greeting yet. HELLO was used the way we use HEY in our days. It was none other thanThomas Alva Edison, the inventor of the Lightbulb, who suggested to use HELLO instead of AHOY, and that was the beginning. In fact, the use of HELLO became so popular afterwards that people began u

"Very funny! Just your index fingers won't hold the chart!" Most Earthquakes (Terremotos in Spanish) do not come alone, so to speak. An area that has experienced a quake recently is likely to experience several more the following days or the same day until the moment earth stops shaking and stabilizes completely and things go back to normal again. The good news, if we can call it good news, is that usually those successive quakes are of a lesser magnitude. Those "less intense" quakes are called AFTERSHOCKS or MINOR SHOCKS whereas in Spanish they are called REPLICAS.

This is one bird that won't be flying to the South. Not Badminton Ball for sure.  In English it is not called a Ball because it is not one. In Spanish we call this object a PELOTA (ball) perhaps for lack of a better term. It is obvious to us, Spanish speakers, that it is not a Ball but, then again Badminton is not that popular in our countries.  The name is BADMINTON BIRD. Standard BADMINTON BIRDS include feathers as part of their structure (that section is called Skirt) which helps the object move through the air differently from regular balls of racket sports. The use of feathers explains why the object is called a BIRD or BIRDIE. A more professional name is SHUTTLECOCK.These days the skirts of SHUTTLECOCKS are no longer made of feathers which are perhaps harder to obtain and also more fragile and other light materials, such as plastic, are preferred.

  Does it look like a Skeleton to you? A SKELETON KEY is basically a master key, one that has been modified or created to grant its possessor passage to all the rooms in a dwelling. The reason why it  is called a "SKELETON" KEY is due to its shape that somewhat resembles that of a skeleton. Well, at least it resembled a skeleton to those who used those keys.  In Spanish there is not an equivalent to SKELETON KEY, or Passkey as it is also called. But a Master Key is called LLAVE MAESTRA.

The word FÚLMINE used here is actually a name. FÚLMINE is a character created by Guillermo Divito (1914-1969), an Argentinian cartoonist. FÚLMINE was a bad-luck bringer though nothing bad happened to him but to those he talked to. If something good happened to one character it was bad news if FÚLMINE was around. Whatever good happened the opposite was bound to occur once FÚLMINE left. The character became somewhat popular in Latin America and in Ecuador the character's name is commonly associated to those who are believed to bring bad luck. Public figures are favorite targets of this misplaced action. Not long ago the current Ecuadorian president attended a soccer match to see his favorite soccer team play. Needless to say his team lost as it happened the last time the president attended a previous match. This team's fans "figured out" that the president was a FÚLMINE,  a belief that with good humor the president himself decided to share so he stopped attending

A Portmanteau is not a port and it is not a word, but a combination of words and their meanings into one. One good example of that is the word Info mercial which is the result of the blending of the words Information and  Commercial . A Portmanteau takes from the meanings of the words that were used to make it up and at the same time it does not because it is created to refer to a new concept. Here is another example:  Br unch , a term that results from the combination of the words Breakfast and  Lunch. It is neither but that quick meal that you take in the mid-morning, too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. What is the translation of Portmanteau in Spanish? There is none for the meaning used here, but Portmanteau may also refer to what in Spanish is called BAUL DE VIAJE. The name Guayaquil would be another example of a portmanteau.

"Ok, then. eleven more days to go!" Apparently, there are eleven more.  This may be a bit difficult to understand since we are said there is only one Christmas Day and that is December 25th, but really this is a longer celebration. This all happens because of the different meanings of the  words we use in both languages: in Spanish we call December 25th , Navidad which is the same as Natividad or Birth in English. Christmas comes from the expression Christ's Mass indicating that there is more to this holiday than only Christ's Birth. His birth is, of course, important but is only the first day of a long period that begins with December 25th and finishes on January 5th. These Twelve Days are called Christmastide and in a way, each one is also a Christmas Day. This is referred to in the famous Christmas carol called "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

This article is not about the meaning of Christmas per se. About that a lot has already been said and done .  It is the real meaning of the word and not the tradition what we will see here, and of course that means consulting the Etymology of that term.  Unlike the Spanish word which is NAVIDAD or NATIVIDAD (Birth in English), in English they call this holiday  Christ's Mass . Mass in this case means Celebration. In other words, CHRISTMAS really means THE CELEBRATION OF CHRIST (The Messiah).  It makes sense since the coming of a saviour must always be cause of celebration and of course that celebration begins with his birth.

The North Pole, home to Santa Claus A somewhat difficult question to answer considering the fact that the North Pole as such does not exist in terra firma but on a large portion of mostly frozen water. That means there is no land where to build a permanent base for poor Santa Claus to live and create toys for those kids who have been good since the North Pole is in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. The South Pole is another story entirely because there is a continent called Antarctica where several countries keep scientific bases all year round. If Santa Claus actually existed it would be more convenient for him  to live there just because the South Pole is not in the middle of a frozen ocean but in land.  Of course the question still stands, doesn´t it? I would say that indeed it is more convenient that Santa lives in the North Pole because it is closer to those who created Santa. This character was born in Europe and as time passed Santa evolved by incorporating diverse elemen

The Gringh is a literary creation by the famous Dr. Seuss (the same American writer and cartoonist who created The Lorax ) and first appeared back in 1957 in a book entitled How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Depicted as a thin and tall green humanoid being with a rather large mouth and a cynical smile, the Grinch is what in literature is called an antihero. In fact he tries to sabotage his neighbors' Christmas by taking away their Christmas present but eventually he will experience a change of heart and return the presents to his neighbors. His name has become popular in some countries and is used to refer tom people with little or no Christmas spirit at all. So when in Guayaquil during Christmas time someone calls you "Grinch!" probably you need to show a kinder and more joyous Christmas spirit or stop showing the opposite.

Dexterity is a special skill that allows our hands to move gracefully and more importantly to be able to perform tasks that require using your hands and be good at it such as solving certain puzzles or being able to pass a coin from one finger to the next.  Dexterity is specially useful to doctors but also to pianists or painters. Now this is another word that is not easily put into Spanish. Best I could find is HABILIDAD but it made no mention to the use of hands, an important omission considering the word DEXTERITY alludes to that precisely.  

A DEERSTALKER is not a person and is definitely not a dangerous thing even though the word stalker is in there.  As you can see in the picture, a DEERSTALKER is a type of hat, one that is used in rural areas during hunting, deer hunting so it does represent some threat not to humans but to poor deer. Why is this hat so famous? Though never stated clearly in any of his books, Sherlock Holmes is the one who wore it whenever he was investigating a case. So close it is the association that popularly a DEERSTALKER is a symbol of detectives not hunters.