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 There
are many ways on how to learn Spanish words. You can
buy a dictionary and look up the term you want to learn.
But if you manage to use the word in context, you will
probably have more chances to fix its meaning in your
mind. This can be done by thinking and writing sentences
that include the word. You may also want to search newspapers
and magazines articles to find out the term in a significant
context. An Internet search could be a very helpful
way to find a word used in an appropriate context.
Another method to increase vocabulary
is to work with family words. You pick up one term and
work with a dictionary trying to find out those that
share the same root and the same writing and meaning
characteristics. For example: campo (countryside); campesino
(peasant); campaña (field); campiña (open
country); campestre (rural) and campamento (camping).
As soon as you have a group of connected words, you
can find written examples on the web or you can start
writing sentences that include them.
A good entertaining way of on how to
learn Spanish words is to work with pictures full of
objects or images with people doing different activities.
Using a dictionary, you can start labeling objects and
actions. Then, you can begin an oral or written description
of the picture using the new words. Always remember
to put the words in context to promote a better memorization
of the terms. You can look for interactive activities
in Internet to test your memory and revise your learning.
Try to look for different sources and types of texts
to enrich your background.
Fortunately, there are thousand of
words in English that are similarly or identically spelt
in Spanish (they are called “cognates”).
Sharing language common origins is an advantage that
American students have before beginning any learning
course. There are some relevant differences, but —as
they follow regular patterns— acquiring vocabulary
seems to be an easy task.
Here are some tips on how to learn Spanish words to
increase vocabulary from cognates. One of the differences
you could probably notice is the use of -ción
ending, instead of the English way –tion, when
talking about cognates. There are thousands of words
that fit this pattern: promotion/ promoción;
Constitution/ Constitución; revolution/ revolución.
In general, Spanish words don’t use double letters.
The exceptions are rr, cc and words from a foreign origin.
Following this pattern, you will be able to find out
the Spanish term for “attention” —also
taking into account the precedent pattern about endings—
(atención), “cabbala” (cábala)
and “tunnel” (túnel). Accidente and
arrogante are exceptions of this pattern.
Another point to highlight is the substitution of k
with c or qu (the first one is for ca, co and cu; the
second one, for que and qui). Marca for mark; banquero
for banker and Corea for Korea, etc.
Spanish words follows the same rule
as English to make plurals: an s is added at the end
of the word. They can usually come with a vowel —mainly
with e—, as often happens in English too. When
the Spanish word ends in an unstressed vowel, you have
to add an s: el auto/ los autos (the cars); la calle/
las calles (the streets); el mapa/ los mapas (the maps),
etc. If the word ends in a stressed vowel, es must be
added: el tabú/ los tabúes (taboos); el
hindú/ los hindúes (the Hindus). The same
happens with the words ending with a consonant: el cantor/
los cantores (the singers); el club/ los clubes (the
clubs); el mantel/ los manteles (the tablecloths). When
the words end in s preceded with an unstressed vowel,
it remains the same in the plural form: la caries/ las
caries (the caries); el martes/ los martes (Tuesdays).
This just a few tips on how to learn Spanish words.
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