“¿Entiendes?” the Spaniard asked me.
Spain, 1983. I had taken a year of high school Spanish and a year of college Spanish, yet I had no clue what this fellow was saying at the end of his sentences.
Maybe I “learned” the verb entender but forgot what it meant. Or maybe it wasn’t in the Spanish books we used—like Foundation Course in Spanish (image source).
There are so many words I learned to say and that native speakers would understand, yet so many words they could say that I didn’t learn until many years later.
Trabajar (tuh-dah-bah-HAHD): to work
Sure, and sometimes you’ll hear laborar (la-bode-ODD).
Comprar (kohm-PROD): to buy
Keep your ears open and you’ll hear adquirir (odd-key-DEED).
Hablar (ah-BLOD): to talk
You’ll also hear conversar (cone-bess-SOD) or platicar (plot-tee-COD)
You follow?¿Entiendes? (En-tee-YEN-thess) Do you understand?
Overwhelmed by the word choices, learning resources and pronunciation?
Not sure what you want or need to speak, hear, read or write Spanish with confidence?
I’m he👂 to listen.