New Words Learned Today

1. Siempre
   • Language: Spanish
   • Meaning: always
   • Derived from the Latin word “semper” which means “always”. The Latin phrase “semper fi” which means “always loyal” is the motto of the US Marine Corps
   • Part of speech: adverb
2. Sempre
   • Language: Portuguese
   • Same meaning and derivation as the Spanish word “siempre”
3. Placer
   • Language: Spanish
   • Meaning: pleasure
   • Derived from the Latin word “placere” which means “to please”
   • English words “pleasure” and “placate” also derives from the same Latin root.
4. Qué
   • Language: Spanish
   • Meaning: It mostly means what. But in certain circumstances, it can be used as a replacement for “which”
   • Derived from the Latin word “quid” which means “what”. The English word “what” derives from a slightly derived form of “quid” known as “quod”. “quod” became “hwat” in Old English and became “what” eventually
   • Note: The accent mark is super important. If there was no accent mark on “e”, then the meaning shifts to “that”
5. tal
   • Language: Spanish
   • Meaning: The word means “such”. But it is used very commonly with the word “Qué tal?” to ask how someone is doing.
   • Derived from the Latin word “talis” which means “such”
   • Related to the French word “tel” which also derives from the same Latin root.
6. cómo
   • Language: Spanish
   • Part of speech: Adverb or interjection
   • Meaning: how. Also colloquially used as a replacement for the interjections “sorry?” or “what?”
   • Derived from the Latin phrase “quomodo”. “quo” in Latin means “what” and “modo” means “manner”. So, putting it together, it forms the question “In what manner?” or aka “how?”. “quomodo” eventually turned into the short form “cōmō̆” which led to the Spanish word “cómo”
7. Estar
   • Language: Spanish & Portuguese
   • Part of speech: Verb
   • Meaning: to be
   • Derived from the Latin word “sto” which meant “to stand” originally. But later in Medieval Latin, it was used as the verb for “to be”. The English word “state” derives from the same Latin root. The verb is used to the current state of things.
8. Usted
   • Language: Spanish
   • Part of speech: Pronoun
   • Meaning: you (formal)
   • Derives from the Spanish phrase “vuestra merced” which means “your mercy” or “your grace”. This was often used to greet royalty. The two words got squished together eventually and formed “usted”.
9. casa
   • Language: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian & Romansch
   • Part of speech: Noun
   • Meaning: house
   • Exact origins of this word are unknown. Most likely a wonderwort from an another language.
   • “casa” in Spanish has two diminutive forms – casita and casilla. “casita” means a “small house” while “casilla” means “a box”.
10. tapa
    • Language: Spanish
    • Part of speech: Noun
    • Meaning: lid, cap, cover
    • Derives from the Gothic word “tappa” which means “lid”
    • tapa looks very much like the English word “tap” but has a completely different meaning. So, this is why we call “tapa” and “tap” false friends.
11. ¡hola!
    • Language: Spanish
    • Part of speech: Interjection
    • Meaning: hi, hello
    • Exact origins are unknown. But it is possibly related to the French word “holà ” which means “to stop”.
12. elefante
    • Language: Spanish
    • Part of speech: Noun
    • Meaning: Elephant
    • Derived from the Latin word “elephantis” which itself derives from the Ancient Greek word “elephas”. Both of these mean “elephant”

New sentences learned

1. Qué tal?
   • Meaning: What’s up?
   • A very informal greeting
2. ¿Cómo estás?
   • Meaning: How are you?
   • A very informal greeting
3. ¿Cómo está usted?
   • Meaning: How are you?
   • Because of the use of “usted”, this become a formal greeting

Cultural notes

In Spanish culture, the type of greeting you use very much depends on your relationship with that person. If this is someone you know, you can use informal greetings. If you don’t know this person or this person is an older person or person of authority, you greet them with formal greetings.