Month: October 2023

Categories
Spanish as a language

22 Different Ways to Say Sorry in Spanish

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22 Formas de Disculparse en Español Correctamente | iScribo

Making mistakes is natural among humans and there are many ways to apologise in Spanish. Apologising or asking for forgiveness makes us better people and can make a big difference to others.

No matter what has happened, sometimes we think we are too smart. In any case, we need to be able to express ourselves in any situation if we want to master a language. Whether you wonder how to apologise in Spanish in a formal context or among friends, learn today with iScribo other ways to say sorry in Spanish.

Expressions to Apologise in Spanish

To apologise in Spanish, remember that you must always do it with respect and be truly sorry, only in this way will you be able to settle the matter of concern.

1. Perdón

With all its variants: perdona, perdone.

Perdón, me he equivocado y no volverá a pasar. (Sorry, I made a mistake and it won’t happen again.)

Perdona que te haya molestado, no me he dado cuenta. (I’m sorry I bothered you, I didn’t realise.)

Perdone, me he saltado la cola sin saber. (Excuse me, I jumped the queue without realizing.)

If you notice, what differentiates these phrases is the register, it is not the same to apologise to a friend as to a stranger.

2. Disculpa o disculpe

Disculpa, Mateo, pero es que de verdad que necesito pasar. (Excuse me, Mateo, but I really need to get through.)

Oiga, disculpe, creo que me he llevado su bolsa de la compra por error. (Excuse me, I think I took your shopping bag by mistake.)

3. Lo lamento

Lo lamento sinceramente, era una persona excelente. (I am sincerely sorry, he was an excellent person.)

We can add other words as in this example above to emphasise the seriousness of the apology or the feeling we are concerned about.

4. Te pido disculpas

Te pido disculpas si he herido tus sentimientos. (I apologise if I have hurt your feelings.)

5. Siento lo ocurrido

Siento lo ocurrido, no tenía que haberle hablado así. (I’m sorry for what happened, I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.)

6. Mil disculpas

Mil disculpas, la próxima vez actuaré de otra manera. (I’m so sorry, next time I will act differently.)

7. Lo lamento mucho

Lo lamento mucho pero no podemos darle ninguna cita. (I am very sorry but we cannot give you any appointments.)

8. No sé si podrás perdonarme

No sé si podrás perdonarme, espero que haya algo dentro de ti que diga que sí. (I don’t know if you can forgive me, I hope there is something inside you that says yes.)

9. Lo siento

He llegado muy tarde, lo siento. (I am very late, I am sorry.)

10. Te debo una disculpa

Te debo una disculpa por haberme ido sin despedirme de ti. (I owe you an apology for leaving without saying goodbye.)

Ways to Apologise Without Saying Sorry

Many Spanish-speaking artists have written about forgiveness. The following phrases are related to apologising and are more creative than the previous ones. You can use them to apologise in a more original way.

11. Poco bueno habrá hecho en su vida el que no sepa de ingratitudes (Who doesn’t know about ingratitude must haven’t done little good in their life) by Jacinto Benavente.

12. Destruimos al otro cuando somos incapaces de imaginarlo (We destroy the other when we are incapable of imagining it), by Carlos Fuentes.

13. Quizá haya enemigos de mis opiniones, pero yo mismo, si espero un rato, puedo ser también enemigo de mis opiniones (There may be enemies of my opinions, but I myself, if I wait a while, can also be an enemy of my opinions) by Jorge Luis Borges.

14. El llanto es a veces el modo de expresar las cosas que no pueden decirse con palabras (Crying is sometimes a way of expressing things that cannot be said in words) by Concepción Arenal.

15. Al bien hacer jamás le falta premio (Good work never lacks a prize) by Miguel de Cervantes.

16. A perdonar solo se aprende en la vida cuando a nuestra vez hemos necesitado que nos perdonen mucho (Forgiveness is only learned in life when we have needed a lot of forgiveness ourselves) by Jacinto Benavente.

17. El malvado descansa algunas veces; el necio jamás (The wicked sometimes rests; the foolish never rests) by José Ortega y Gasset.

18. Los humoristas y los filósofos dicen muchas tonterías, pero los filósofos son más ingenuos y las dicen sin querer (Humourists and philosophers say a lot of stupid things, but philosophers are naiver and say them unintentionally) by Noel Carrasó.

19. Cuando la culpa es de todos, la culpa no es de nadie (When it’s everybody’s fault, it’s nobody’s fault) by Concepción Arenal.

20. Hay dos maneras de conseguir la felicidad, una hacerse el idiota; otra serlo (There are two ways to achieve happiness, one is to be taken as an idiot; the other is to be an idiot) by Enrique Jardiel Poncela.

21. Sustituir el amor propio con el amor de los demás, es cambiar un insufrible tirano por un buen amigo (To replace self-love with the love of others is to exchange an insufferable tyrant for a good friend) by Concepción Arenal.

22. Donde haya un árbol que plantar, plántalo tú. Donde haya un error que enmendar, enmiéndalo tú. Donde haya un esfuerzo que todos esquivan, hazlo tú. Sé tú el que aparta la piedra del camino (Where there is a tree to plant, you plant it. Where there is a wrong to be righted, you make it right. Where there is an effort that everyone else shirks, you do it. Be the one who moves the stone out of the way) by Gabriela Mistral.

iScribo & Arts

The way in which we express ourselves is very important when learning a language. iScribo professes grammar and spelling following the norm, that’s why our spelling and grammar checker is here to help you with your written Spanish. It doesn’t matter if you have a good level, the suggestions of our tool will help you to improve the style of your document. Have you already tried it? If not, you can do it here.

Categories
Culture around Spanish language

11 Typical & Delicious Spanish Food Specialties

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11 Platos Típicos de la Gastronomía Española | iScribo

Authentic Spanish food goes beyond paella and churros. However, these dishes are the standard bearers in terms of the influence of Spanish food specialties in the world.

We could focus on Spanish traditional food by region, but instead, we are going to present you with a list of typical dishes that you cannot miss if you visit Spain or any Spanish restaurant in the world. Some of them are difficult to find outside Spain’s borders, but others are internationally renowned as the best Spanish food. Sit back, relax and have a refreshing drink while you work up an appetite.

Famous Spanish Tapas

1. Tortilla: In many foreign places it is known as tortilla española (Spanish omelette) to differentiate it from Mexican one. Be that as it may, you will love this delicacy made with potatoes and eggs. It is very common to make it with onion, which is a never-ending debate among Spaniards. There are many varieties, some people add peppers and others chorizo, you can even make tortillas with any vegetable you have at home, or with prawns. Your possibilities are endless.

2. Gazpacho: Indulge in summer with this starter made of tomato, pepper, garlic and cucumber. Let yourself be carried away by this cold soup, as they call it abroad, typical of Andalusia. There are other varieties with watermelon, avocado or beetroot.

3. Salmorejo: Another typical Andalusian starter, with almost the same ingredients as gazpacho (salmorejo does not have peppers or cucumber) but a little more consistent with the addition of bread. Add a hard-boiled egg at the end to decorate it – amazing!

4. Pulpo a feria: The difficulty of cooking octopus makes Galician people culinary masters. The paprika and coarse salt give it a special touch that makes it a star dish in many Spanish restaurants. Serve it with a bed of boiled potato, let us know what you think!

Spanish Typical Dishes

5. Paella: This Spanish dish needs no introduction. The rice base and the infinite number of ingredients with which you can combine it make it a delicacy for the enjoyment of the most exquisite palates. Our favourite is the original, Valencian paella, although we won’t turn down any variant.

6. Cocido: A typical Madrilenian dish that is very widespread throughout the country, in a multitude of delicious variations. This dish, highly recommended on a cold winter’s day, will fill your stomach for the whole day. It is made with chickpeas, chicken and beef, and sometimes noodles. Anyway, it would take up this entire blog post just to list the ingredients.

7. Migas: can be made with bread or with a special flour. Also typical of the south, this dish is prepared with fried garlic, peppers, bacon and melon. There are, of course, different variations of this dish, but whatever you put in it, it is still delicious and typical for a weekend in family.

8. Fabada: Asturian gastronomy is made up of very complete and dense dishes like this one. Based on white beans and pork, there is nothing better to combat the cold northern winter.

9. Bacalao al pilpil: we could not ignore fish, which is so important in our Mediterranean diet. This traditional Basque dish combines garlic, chilli and cod. Undoubtedly delicious and special in our culture.

Traditional Spanish Breakfast Foods

10. Torrijas: This dessert, or breakfast treat, is made with bread soaked in milk, or wine for the more daring, and then fried. Some people serve it with vanilla ice cream, an ideal tandem.

11. Churros: worldwide famous, this star product in Spanish breakfasts and afternoon snacks is made with flour and water. Typical in traditional Spanish cafés.

iScribo & the Meaningful Spanish Gastronomy

Typical Spanish dishes are cooked with our star product, olive oil. As the basis of the Mediterranean diet, olive oil not only gives flavour, but is also beneficial for our health. Have you tried any of these dishes? Do you know any Spanish recipe that you like and we have not mentioned? You can write it in our tool, iScribo’s Spanish spelling and grammar checker, have you tried it yet? Tell us about it in the comments.

Categories
Spanish as a language

Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers in Spanish

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Los Números Ordinales y Cardinales en Español | iScribo

Do you know the cardinal and ordinal numbers in Spanish? Learning Spanish numbers is one of the first steps in mastering the language well. To determine which number to use, you will need to ask yourself first ‘what is ordinal numbers and cardinal numbers?’

With this iScribo post you will learn ordinal and cardinal numbers in Spanish. Read on to learn more about this topic.

Cardinal Numbers in Spanish

Cardinal numbers are a type of natural numbers that we use to count the elements that exist in a group or set. Among the characteristics of cardinal numbers, we can mention that they represent the number of things in a total.

For example: uno (one), dos (two), tres (three), quinientos cincuenta y siete (five hundred and fifty-seven), cinco mil cuatrocientos noventa y dos (five thousand four hundred and ninety-two), and so on.

Nos compramos un coche la semana pasada. (We bought a -one- car last week.)

En el frutero hay quince peras, veintidós fresas y cuatro manzanas. (In the fruit bowl there are fifteen pears, twenty-two strawberries and four apples.)

Cardinal numbers are divided into odd and even numbers.

Even numbers: cero (zero), dos (two), cuatro (four), seis (six) and so on.

Odd: uno (one), tres (three), cinco (five), siete (seven) and so on.

List of Ordinal Numbers in Spanish

Ordinal numbers express order or succession within the natural numbers and indicate the place they occupy within a series. In other words, they are used to indicate position. Note that ordinal numbers vary in gender and number depending on the context and the word they accompany.

For example: primero (first), segunda (second), vigésimos (twentieth), quincuagésimo segundo (fifty-second), and so on.

Remember that the suffix -avo is considered incorrect as an ordinal number and is only used with fractional numbers, so we would say decimoquinto (fifteenth) and not quinceavo.

Quedó octavo en la carrera. (He came eighth in the race.)

Vivimos en el trigésimo segundo piso de la torre norte. (We live on the thirty-second floor of the north tower.)

iScribo Teaches and Helps You

The higher the number, the more difficult it is to write it, and we are aware that ordinal numbers are also more difficult to write than cardinals.

Don’t be discouraged, once you learn how to write the natural numbers and become familiar with the suffixes, you will see that they are all written in the same way.

A trick to make sure you never make a mistake is to use a spelling and grammar checker to help you clarify and learn them well from the very first moment. Have you tried iScribo yet? Tell us about it in the comments.

Categories
Spanish as a language

40 Most Commonly Used Adverbs in Spanish

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Los 40 Adverbios Más Comunes del Idioma Español | iScribo

Adverbs in Spanish are invariable words, that is, they don’t change their gender and number; they modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. While there are different types of adverbs in Spanish, today we are going to discover some common adverbial phrases in Spanish.

It should be noted that when an adverb is composed by several words, it is called adverbial locution, and they are included in our list.

In terms of their function, adverbs provide circumstantial information, whether it’s their mood, time, place, etcetera. If you’ve ever wondered what the most commonly used adverbs in Spanish are, don’t miss out this article by iScribo. We help you to master grammar while learning the culture of the Spanish-speaking countries.

Most Common Informal Adverbs

Learn today the most frequently adverbs used in Spanish. To do so, we are going to classify them depending on their register. Do you know these informal adverbs? They are used in common and daily context, which means that they are colloquial.

1. Superiormente (superiorly): Tiene tallos erectos, algo ramificados superiormente. (Stems erect, somewhat branched at the top.)

2. A tope (all out): Vamos a ir a tope desde el principio. (We are going all out since the beginning.)

3. A lo loco (without thinking): Estás haciendo los deberes a lo loco. (You are doing your homework without thinking.)

4. Chido (awesome): ¡Qué chido! El plan es muy divertido. (Awesome! This plan is so funny.)

5. Allí (there): Has llegado allí muy rápido, ¿no había tráfico? (You got there so fast, wasn’t there traffic?)

6. Rápido (fast): Pablo acabará rápido y se despedirá de todos. (Pablo will finish quickly and say goodbye to everyone.)

7. Guay (cool): Qué guay está tu camiseta nueva, me encanta el color. (How cool is your new shirt, I love its colour.)

8. Pronto (early): Los niños llegaron pronto de las actividades. (The kids arrived early from their activities.)

9. Bien (good): Ha estado muy bien que hayas defendido a tu amiga. (It was very good of you to stand up for your friend.)

10. Mal (bad): La tarde ha empezado mal, a ver cómo termina. (The evening has started badly, let’s see how it ends.)

11. Muy (very): La cena estaba muy buena, tenemos que volver. (Dinner was very good, we have to come back.)

12. También (also): También ha venido Paco, que es de agradecer. (Paco has also come, which is good.)

13. Poco (a little): He venido un poco antes por si te podía ayudar. (I came a little earlier in case I could help you.)

14. Mucho (a lot): Hemos comprado mucho, va a sobrar comida. (We have bought a lot of stuff, there will be food left over.)

15. Siempre (always): Siempre llegas tarde, no tienes remedio. (You are always late, what are we going to do with you?)

16. Nunca (never): Nunca te apetece salir y yo me aburro. (You never want to go out and I get bored.)

17. Ahora (now): Ahora me tienen que llamar, no puedo salir. (I’m waiting for a call now, I cannot go out.)

18. Después (after): Iremos al cine después de cenar. (We Will go to the cinema after dinner.)

19. Casi (almost): Casi me caigo de la moto, debo tener cuidado. (I almost fell off the bike, I have to be careful.)

20. Aquí (here): Aquí hace mucho frío, me voy a cambiar de sitio. (It is very cold here, I’m going to swap places.)

Most Common Formal Adverbs

Remember to spot the –mente termination in a word to identify adverbs faster.

You can find here a list f the most frequently used adverbs in formal context so you can improve your Spanish communication with a more elevated grammar:

21. Asimismo (additionally): Asimismo, el cambio climático producirá más problemas. (Additionally, global warming will bring more problems.)

22. Por ende (consequently): Por ende, no iremos a cenar esta noche a tu casa. (Consequently, we will not go to your place for dinner.)

23. Ergo: Ergo, el examen sorpresa no fue una casualidad. (Ergo, the surprise exam was not a coincidence.)

24. Indudablemente (undoubtedly): Indudablemente, suspenderá el examen. (Undoubtedly, they will fail the exam.)

25. Cierto (true): Es cierto que haya más paro. (It is true that there is more unemployment.)

26. Acaso (perhaps): La literatura es acaso lo mejor para curar el alma. (Literature is perhaps the best way to heal the soul.)

27. Ni siquiera (not even): Ni siquiera se ha despedido al irse. (He did not even say goodbye when he left.)

28. Acuciantemente (urgently): Necesito que vengas acuciantemente. (I need you to come urgently.)

29. Cuán (how much):  Se indica cuán de acuerdo se está con el resultado. (Indicate how much you agree with the result.)

30. Entretanto/Entre tanto (meanwhile): Entretanto, ve haciendo la lista. (Meanwhile, start making the list.)

31. Alrededor (around): Alrededor del estanque, crece el césped impecable. (Around the pond, impeccable lawns grow.)

32. Adonde (where): Estas personas no tienen otro lugar adonde ir. (These people do not have a place -where- to go.)

33. Amigable (friendly): Los semáforos amigables con todos son inclusivos. (Everyone-friendly traffic lights are inclusive.)

34.  Cuanto más (the more): Cuanto más llores, menos vas a conseguir. (The more you cry, the less you will get.)

35. Inclusive: Las páginas 20 a 25, ambas inclusive. (Pages 20 to 25 inclusive.)

36. Sin duda (certainly): Sin duda alguna, te esperaremos. (We will certainly be waiting for you.)

37. Incluso (even): Todos me han dado la enhorabuena, incluso tu padre. (Everyone is congratulating me, even your father.)

38. Adelante (forward): El enemigo nos cierra el paso; no podemos ir adelante. (The enemy is blocking our way; we cannot go forward.)

39. Profusamente (profusely): El sacro recinto fue profusamente engalanado con flores y luces.(The sacred enclosure was profusely decorated with flowers and lights.)

40. Antaño (in the past): Antaño, todo esto era campo. (In the past, all this was countryside.)

iScribo & Spanish Grammar

Spanish grammar can be complicated if you have it wrong from the beginning. Having a proper basic grammar will help you to develop the main grounds of the language. But not only grammar, writing correctly speaks about us and our level of Spanish. iScribo spelling and grammar checker helps you to write without mistakes and with impeccable writing, have you tried it yet? If not, you can do it here.

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