Real-Life Vocabulary

“Abuela” is the direct Spanish translation of “grandma” or “grandmother.” That’s the word you’ll usually find in Google Translate or a dictionary.

But if your grandma is Latina, or you have Spanish-speaking family members, you’ve probably heard many other words besides just “abuela.”

That reminds me of my friend Trevon.

His grandmother was from Puerto Rico, and she only spoke Spanish. Growing up, he barely talked to her because of the language barrier.

After she passed away, he regretted never making more of an effort to connect with her.

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Imagine this: you’re handing a gift to your partner’s mom.

Or bringing food to his family’s Sunday lunch. Or sending something to someone you love who speaks Spanish at home.

You want to say “this is for you”, but you want it to sound warm. Natural. Like you actually belong in that moment, not like you just ran it through Google Translate.

“Para ti” is the right answer, and you probably already knew that.

But here’s what most people don’t know:

Native Spanish speakers rarely stop at “para ti.”

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The first time you meet him, you want to get it right.

Maybe he’s your partner’s grandfather, the one everyone calls something different at family gatherings.

Maybe he’s the quiet one at the head of the table who lights up when someone makes the effort to speak his language.

You already know “abuelo.” That’s the dictionary answer, and yes, it works.

But in real Latino families, nobody just says “abuelo.” They say welo, abue, lito, papá followed by his name.

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Do you know how to say ‘no’ in Spanish correctly? 

I mean, you could say ‘no’ just like you do it in English and people would understand, but… 

What if you need a different kind of ‘no’? 

Like when you say something to let the other person know that there’s nothing in this world that’s going to make you say ‘yes’? 

A simple ‘no’ wouldn’t work for a situation like that.

That’s why I prepared this blog post so that you can learn:

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What’s the equivalent of saying yes in Spanish?

The answer is ‘Sí’

Simple, right? 

Pronunciation is easy too.

It’s the same sound as the word “see” in English.

However, if you watch a Colombian or a Spanish movie, you’ll notice that people use other expressions to say ‘Yes’ in Spanish.

In this blog post, you’ll learn some of those ways to respond affirmatively to questions in this language.

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Do you know how to say ‘good’ job in Spanish?

Universally, you may say:

Buen Trabajo

That’ll do the job and will work for any situation. 

And if you want to pronounce it correctly, just read the following phrase out loud:

BOO-EHN-TRAH-BAH-HOH

However, In Spanish, we have many other phrases to express this idea.

In fact, depending on who you talk to, you might want to consider using specific phrases over others.

Why?

Well because it’s not the same to say ‘good job’ when you’re playing a sport, as when you want to praise a child after doing something good.

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How do you say ‘okay’ in Spanish?

If you know some Spanish already, you probably would reply to this question with the phrase:

“Está Bien” or simply “Bien”.

And you are 100% right!

This might work universally across all Spanish-speaking countries. 

However, when you closely examine how people from specific countries talk, you’ll notice that they don’t always use these generic expressions to say ‘okay’ in Spanish. 

Colombians for example have their unique style to say it. 

And in this blog post, I want to walk you through all the Colombian ways I know to say Okay in Spanish.

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