Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

Colacho – Costa Rican version of Santa
esferas – bright colored balls for a Christmas tree
muérdago – mistletoe
oropel – tinsel
adornos – decorations
arbol – tree
corona – Christmas reef
villancico – Christmas carol
reno - reindeer
portal or nacimiento – a nativity scene
Avenidazo – Nightly Christmas celebration held on San Jose’s Avenida Central prior to Christmas
Los Reyes Magos – the wise men
nochebuena or vispera de Navidad – Christmas eve
Navidad - Christmas
El dia de Navidad – Christmas Day
Nochevieja – New Year’s Eve
El día del Año Nuevo – New Year’s Day
Recibir el año nuevo – see in the New Year
propósito – New Year’s resolution
¿Cuál es su propósito para el Año Nuevo? - What’s you New Year’s resolution?

Tiquismo – cumiche is the youngest child in Costa Rica

The following verbs are used to describe actions by different parts of the body.

Arrodillarse - to kneel down….comes from the word rodilla (knee)
Boquear - to gasp for air….comes from the word boca (mouth)
Bracear - to move the arms when swimming…..derived from the word brazo (arm)
Cabecear - to nod ones head…. from the word cabeza (head).
Codear - to elbow someone or “rub elbows” with someone….from the word codo (elbow)
Colear - to wang a tail,wiggle or move tail-first…derived from the word cola(tail).
Desnucar - to break ones neck… from the noun nuca (back of the neck).
Manosear - to handle, touch, fondle or feel….. from the word mano (hand).
Muñequear - to play with the wrist or move it… from muñeca (wrist).
Nalgear - to spank someone…. from the word nalga (butt).
Ojear - to eye, look or stare at…. from the word ojo (eye).
Patear - to kick…comes from the word pata (animal’s foot).
Respaldar - to back or support someone…from the noun espalda (back of the body).

El and un are always used immediately before singular feminine nouns beginning with stressed a- or ha.

Here are some examples:

el agua – water
el/un águila - eagle
el/un alba – dawn
el/un alma – soul
el/un alza – an increase
el/un ancla – anchor
el/un área – area
el/un arpa – harp
el asma – asthma
el/un aula – classroom
el/un hacha – axe
el/un hada – fairy
el/un hambre – hunger
el hampa – underworld (crime)
el haya – beech (tree)

Tiquismo of the week:

Jumas or jumo means drunk in Costa Rica. Jumarse means to get drunk

Here is a list of vocabulary to help you understand the weather in Spanish.

¿Qué tiempo hace? - How’s the weather?
Hace buen tiempo - The weather is good
Hace mal tiempo - The weather is bad
Hace calor - It’s hot
Hace frío - It’s cold
Hace fresco - It’s cool
Hace sol - It’s sunny
Hace viento - It’s windy
Está húmedo - It’s humid
Está bochornoso - It’s muggy
Está lloviendo - It’s raining
Está nevando - It’s snowing
Está helado - it’s freezing
Está despejado - it’s clear
Relampaguea - It’s lightening
Rayo or relámpago - lightening
Trueno - thunder
Está tronando - it’s thundering
Escarcha - frost
Hielo – ice
Llovizna – drizzle
Lloviznar – to drizzle
Granizo - hail
Granizar - to hail
Aguacero - rain storm
Tormenta - storm
Huracán - hurricane
Tornado - tornado
Inundación - flood
La lluvia - rain
La nieve - snow
El clima - climate
El tiempo - weather
El sol - sun
Neblina o niebla - fog
Nublado - cloudy
Brumoso - foggy
Arco iris - rainbow
Meteorólogo - meteorologist
Pronóstico - Weather forecast
Rocío - dew
temperatura - temperature
Termómetro – thermometer
Barómetro - barometer

Tiquismos of the week:

• sereno - drew in Costa Rica

• pelillo de gato - drizzle in Costa Rica

In my last article I discussed how to pronounce the five basic vowel sounds in Spanish correctly so that your Spanish accent would not sound so typically “gringo.”

This week I want to give my readers a few other tips they can use for improving their Spanish accent.

Most consonants, or letters that are not vowels, are pronounced the same in Spanish as they are in English with only a few exceptions listed below.

Here are some unusual consonant sounds that might give English speakers a little trouble.

1. The double “ll” and “y” are pronounced exactly the same in Spanish. Just like, “y’ in the word “yes’ in English.  Try saying these words: lluvia, yunta, yema, llorar.
2. The “ñ” is pronounced like the “ny” in the English word “canyon.” Try saying señor, baño, tiña.
3. The ‘v’ is pronounced just like the letter “b” in the English word ‘book.” Try saying vaca, venir, ventilador, varilla.
4. The “z” is pronounced just like the English “s.” Say: sombrero, soda, silla.
5. The “j” is pronounced as the “h” in English. Try saying “José” this way.
6. The ‘g’ before the vowels “a”, “o”, “u” is pronounced like the “g’ in the word “got” in English. Try pronouncing the word “gafas” this way.
7. The “g” before the vowels “e”, “i” is, pronounced like the “h” in the English word “hat.” Try saying “gente” in Spanish.
8. The double ‘rr’ is trilled or vibrated.  The single “r” at the beginning of a word is pronounced the same way. Try saying these words: burro, rico, cigarro.

This concludes our series on pronunciation.