http://www.costaricaspanish.net Learn Spanish in Costa Rica! Speak Spanish like a Costa Rican, Costa Rica Spanish schools Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:44:27 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In Costa Rica it is difficult to "keep your bearings" since street signs are few and far between and most houses don't have numbered addresses. Memorize the Spanish survival phrases below and you should be able to find your way around, located addresses and hopefully not get lost. ¿A qué distancia ... http://www.costaricaspanish.net/2008/06/29/finding-your-way-2/ The following expressions are used to express the idea of being tired of or fed up with something or someone. Estar cansado/a de – to be tired of (very common phrase) Estar harto/a – to be fed up with (very common phrase) Estar hasta el copete – to be fed up with Estar hasta ... http://www.costaricaspanish.net/2008/06/11/to-be-fed-up-with/ Below are some phrases which mean to get lost, take a hike, go to hell or even much worse. Be careful NOT use the offense expressions I have pointed out or you may end up in an embarrassing or dangerous life-threatening situation.  ¡Cuidadito! (Be careful!). By the ... http://www.costaricaspanish.net/2008/06/02/telling-someone-to-get-lost-or-even-worse/ In Spanish some  words are shortened in everyday conversations just like we do in English. For example we often use bike instead of bicycle or frig instead of refrigerator. Here is the list of the most common shortened words. El cole – from colegio (high school) El compa – from ... http://www.costaricaspanish.net/2008/05/26/shortened-words-in-spanish/ ¡Un toque! - Very quickly Vacilar – to make fun of someone Vacilón – fun, funny ¡Varas! - Just kidding ¡vaya jalando! - Get the hell out of here! Vibra – vibes ...like a person has good or bad vibes Vieras – You should have seen Vivazo – a smartass or tricky person Vividor – ... http://www.costaricaspanish.net/2008/05/15/pachuquismos-continued/ Rajar – to brag. Jactarse is also used. Rajón – a bragger Ranchar – to vomit. Botar el rancho is also used. Ratada – a bad experience Rayar – to fail a test in school or pass another car on the highway Reventado/reventada – physically attractive Roco – an old geezer Rojo – one ... http://www.costaricaspanish.net/2008/04/16/pachuco-101-continued-2/ ¡Qué color! - What a shame, mess ¡Qué dicha! - How good! ¡Qué madre! - What a disappointment ¿Qué me decís? - How are you?  or ¿Cómo está usted? ¡Qué jeta! - Shut up! ¿Qué tiene? - What’s matter with it? ¡Qué montón – Big deal! Used to discourage someone. ¡Qué si qué? - ... http://www.costaricaspanish.net/2008/04/06/pachuco-101-continued/ ¡Ojo! (Be careful) If you are a beginning Spanish student or haven’t mastered the present tense yet, then save this series of articles for future reference. In the previous two lessons I introduced the subjunctive verb endings and told you to memorize the  verb endings for regular ... http://www.costaricaspanish.net/2008/04/04/the-tricky-subjunctive-part-iii-how-to-use-it/ ***Ojo! (Be careful) If you are a beginning Spanish student or haven't mastered the present tense yet, then save this series of articles for future reference.*** Here is a quick review of last weeks article. We form the present subjunctive of most "ar, - er, and ir " verbs ... http://www.costaricaspanish.net/2008/03/31/the-subjunctive-mood-explained-part-ii/ Perhaps the two most difficult concepts for Spanish students to master are object pronouns and the correct use of the subjunctive tense. I will address the former in future articles. In this series of lessons I am going to try and simplify the subjunctive. When I was a ... http://www.costaricaspanish.net/2008/03/25/the-subjunctive-mood-explained-part-i/