**PIMSLEURS SPEAK AND READ ESSENTIAL SPANISH I**
NOT PERFECT BUT CLOSE ENOUGH!
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CHANGE ANY MISTAKES YOU FIND.
NUMBERS WERE OMITTED FROM EACH LESSON HIGHLIGHT BECAUSE THE FULL LIST IS NEAR THE TOP OF THESE NOTES, UNDER THE ALPHABET.
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SPANISH ALPHABET
Concentrate mostly on memorizing the vowels. Unlike English, in Spanish they only make 1 sound, even if they have marks above them.
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A, a (makes the "ah" sound from car)
B, b (mostly normal "b" but sometimes makes a "v" sound)
C, c (always makes a "k" sound or the "c" in cat unless it comes before an e or i. Then it makes a "s" sound.
Ch, ch (you say [chay] for words ending with ch, so branch is
[bran-chay])
D, d
E, e (e from bed)
F, f
G, g
H, h (always silent)
I, i (makes a upper case "E" sound like in the word Bee)
J, j (makes a "h" sound, but not as pronounced)
K, k
L, l
Ll, ll (becomes a "y" sound) (Castellano sounds like Casteyano)
M, m
N, n
ñ, ñ (sounds like a "y" is added after the "n")
(cañon would sound like "canyon")
O, o (makes a upper case "O" sound) (o from bone)
P, p
Q, q (makes a "k" sound, same as in English)
R, r (makes kind of a "d" sound and sometimes a "dl" sound)
R, rr (R that starts a word or double "rr" in middle of word is the famous r-r-r-rroll sound called trill.
S, s
T, t
U, u (makes a "ooh" sound) (take the "y" off "you" = ooh)
V, v (sounds like a low case "b", but not always as clear as a "b")
W, w
X, x
Y, y
Z, z (makes a "s" sound)
SPANISH NUMBERS
Concentrate on 1-19, know them by heart, and the rest come easy.
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0 cero [see-doe]
1 uno [ooh-no]
2 dos [dose]
3 tres [t'dace], said fast.
4 cuatro [qua-t'doe]
5 cinco [seen-ko]
6 seis [say-ss]
7 siete [sea-et-E]
8 ocho [oh-choe]
9 nueve [new-wevey]
10 diez [dee-S]
11 once [own-see]
12 doce [doe-see]
13 trece [t'day-see]
14 catorce [cuh-tore-see]
15 quince [keen-say]
16 diecisies [dee-S-E-say-ss]
(meaning 10 and 6, the E means "and" - See lesson 3)
17 diecisiete [dee-S-E-sea-etty]
18 dieciocho [dee-S-E-oh-choe]
19 diecinueve [dee-S-E-new-wevey]
20 veinte [ben-tay]
22 [ben-tee-dose]
Note that the 20s are the only ones thru 100 that you say "tee" in the middle of the number, the rest will sound like "tie")
30 treinta [t'denta]
32 [t'den-tie-dose]
40 cuarenta [qua-denta]
42 [qua-den-tie-dose]
50 cincuenta [seen-quenta]
52 [seen-quen-tie-dose]
60 sesenta [se-sen-tah]
62 [sesen-tie-dose]
70 setenta [se-ten-tah]
72 [se-ten-tie-dose]
80 ochenta [oh-chen-tah]
82 [oh-chen-tie-dose]
90 noventa [no-ven-tah]
92 [no-ven-tie-dose]
100 cien [see-N] only for 100 exactly.
101 cientouno [see-N-toe ooh-no] and ciento for all others.
200 doscientos [dose see-N-tose] the rest are obvious.
300 trescientos
400 cuatrocientos
500 quinientos
600 seiscientos
700 sietecientos
800 ochocientos
900 nuevecientos, etc etc
1,000 mil [meel]
(not quite like the word "meal", but shorter and faster)
2,000 dos mil
3,000 tres mil, etc etc
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LESSON NOTES:
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A capitol letter = in the brackets means you actually say that letter.
IT IS NOT TELLING YOU TO ACCENT OR PLACE STRESS ON THE WORD.
ah = Whenever you see ah together in [brackets], it is ahhh, like the sound you make when you learn something new or you are impressed, same as the a in car, NOT the a in cat. Say caaaaar and caaaaaat very slow and youll notice a big difference.
o = whenever you see the letter o in a spanish word, it always makes a upper case O sound, like saying "Oh, I see", same as in the word "bone".
' = Seeing a ' on a word in brackets means (to me) to use a sort of studdered sound which leads to the next letter. Hard to explain but lets say, for the very common spanish word "gracious", meaning Thanks, which you should know and have heard pronounced before, youll see [g'dah-see-us]. Practice on that and where I placed the ' to learn this way of pronouncing some of the words. It should be said fast, so in using [g'dah-see-us] you go from the "g" to the "d" quickly so that it DOES NOT sound like you are saying [*GUH*-dah-see-us] or
[G'*DAH*-see -us]. Learn to say things with the ' kind of fast and listen to the speaker. You almost combine the two letters into one. This always appears when there is a "r" in the middle of a word. IT IS NOT TELLING YOU TO PLACE STRESS ON THAT PART OF THE WORD.
Im also too lazy to add ' on English words like I'm, don't, can't etc.. Its a pet peeve of mine. But this way you wont see so many of them that you pass the important ones. :)
fem is short for feminine.
masc is short for masculine.
*SOME WORDS DURING THE LESSONS THAT ARE NOT EXPLAINED*
escuche = [es-skoo-chae] = Listen
escuche la = [es-skoo-chee-lah] = Listen to it
(actually la OR el depending on fem/masc subject)
repeata = [re-peat-ah] = repeat
dice = [dee-say] = you say
diga = [dee-gah] = say
Cómo usted dice? = [Coe-moe-steh dee-say?] = How do you say?
contesta = [cone-tess-tay] = answer
palabra = [pah-lah-b'dah] = word
pregunte = [p'dey-goon-tae] = ask (actually means "question")
The conversations at the start of each lesson are sometimes worded the way it is being said instead of the way we would say it in English. Sometimes I put the way it was worded in (parenthesis) if I felt it was confusing.
The end of lessons 10, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 26, and 28 have a prep and recap section. Try to fill in the blanks in English if you can. You will notice in the first few that you cannot fill all of them in because some words have not been taught yet. Thats why it has "prepping" in the title. It is easiest to go back and do these excercises after finishing all 30 lessons.
Lesson 1
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Pardon me miss. Do you understand English?
No sir, I dont understand.
I speak Spanish a little.
Are you North American?
Yes miss.
perdón = [pell-done] = pardon me, excuse me (remember long "O" only so done rhymes with bone, and NOT with bun)
señor = [seen-your] = sir
señorita = [seen-your-E-tuh] = miss or unmarried woman
sí = [see] = yes
no = no, negative, i dont, not, etc..
(covers most negative words and starts most negative sentences)
entiendo = [intiendo] = I understand
entiende = [intienday] = do you understand?, you understand
Ingleses = [een-gliss] = English
Castellano = [castayano] = Spanish
Hablo = [ah-blow] = I speak (can also sound like "ahv-low", the spanish b/v is confusing, see alphabet)
habla = [ah-blah] = you speak, do you speak? (or ahv-lah)
hablamos = [Ah-blah-mose] = we speak (from lesson 17)
poco = little
es = [S] = are
usted = [oosted] = You
[oosted es] = you are
está usted = [es oosted] = are you
[es stou sted] = are you (for some reason it sounds this way sometimes at the end of a question like "how are you?")
Norteamerican = [Nor-tee Ah-meh-dee-cah-no] = North American
Americana = [ah-meh-dee-cah-nah] = american woman (and speaking to fem)
Americano = [ah-meh-dee-cah-no] = american man (and speaking to masc)
"you" - usted, is not always used in sentences when talking to someone directly. Its optional.
Lesson 2
Sir, sir!
Yes?
Do you speak spanish sir?
no miss, excuse me, i dont speak spanish.
Do you understand Spanish a little?
Yes, a little.
Do you speak English?
Yes I speak English.
Ahh you are from North America.
señora = [senyo'da] = maam, madam (married woman)
buenos días = good day, good morning, (actually good days)
día = [diah] = day
¿cómo? = how?, hows that?, etc (a famous question starter)
[comb-wes stou sted?] = how are you feeling?
[comb-es-sta?] = how are you? (most famous greeting question, very formal)
gracias = [g'dah-see-us] = thank you (said fast, g'dahseeus)
muy = [moo-E] = very
bein = [be-in] = well, fine, good, etc..
Lesson 3
Good morning sir.
Good Morning.
How are you? Well?
No maam, not very well. I dont understand spanish.
Yes, yes you understand well sir. You speak very well.
Thank you maam.
y = [E] = and
soy = [soyee] = I am
de = [dey] = from
donde = [done-dey] = where (remember long "o" sound only, so "done" rhymes with "bone", and does NOT rhyme with "bun".)
bueno = good, alright, ok, etc..
buenos tarde = [buenos tardace] = good afternoon (actually good afternoons)
buenos noche = [buenos no-chess] = good evening, good night (actually good nights)
la = the (feminine)
el = the (masculine)
las = the (feminine plural)
los = the (masculine plural)
[dey done-dey es oosted?] = Where are you from? (but asked, "from where are you?")
Lesson 4
Good evening miss. How are you? Miss? Do you understand? I am a north american, but I speak spanish a little. I am Mr Jones from Chicago. Do you understand?
No I dont understand. I am a north American from Los Angeles. Goodbye sir.
Good night miss
encantado = [in-con-tah-doe] = glad to meet you (masc)
MEANS "DELIGHTED"
encantada = [in-con-tah-dah] = glad to meet you (fem)
(OK, for the last time, ah together is always ahhh like the a in car and tardy, and NOT the a from cat or master. Say them slow to understand better and remember it)
pero = [pey-doh] = but
done-day stou sted = where are you? (OK, for the last time... DONE RHYMES WITH "BONE"!!!!!)
aquí = [ah-kee] = here, it's here
allí = [ah-yee] = there, it's there
está aquí = [estah-kee] = its here, its over here
está allí = [estah-yee] = its there, its over there
Lesson 5
Excuse/pardon me maam.
Yes sir?
Where is the Hotel Colone? (actually "Hotel Columbus" but it sounds too different so its Colone to me, haha)
The Hotel Colone is over here sir.
And the Boliva Restaurant, where is it?
Its over there.
where?
Over there, over there.
Ahhh yes, I understand. Thank you maam.
Goodbye sir.
¿sabe? = [sah-vey] = do you know?
sabemos = [sah-vey-mose] = we know (from lesson 17)
[no sah-vey-mose] = we dont know (from lesson 17)
Sé [say] = know, I know
[no say] = I dont know
por favor = [poor-fahvor] = please
tiene = you have, do you have, has (sounds like TNA)
tengo - I have, got, own
tenemos = [day-nay=mose] = we have, we own (from lesson 16)
dólare = [dough-la] = dollar
dólares = [dough-la-diss] = dollars
Lesson 6
Hi Juan.
Ahh good afternoon Maria. How are you?
Not very well Juan. Please. Do you have a peso?
No I dont have. (any)
But you have dollars, no?...
wiedza