6 Untranslatable Spanish Verbs
Some wonderful Spanish words with no English equivalent.
Adjusting to the culture of a new country can be humbling, but few things will make you feel as out of your element as not being able to speak the language. Our first few months in Mexico (if not our first year!) were often spent feeling confused and out of place, largely because it was difficult to have a completely intelligible conversation with anybody who didn’t speak at least some English. But, with time and many lessons, our Spanish has improved alongside our vocabulary.
Spend enough time with any language and you’ll identify words that you come to love. It might be how they sound or the way that they fit into your daily life. Sometimes a word simply manages to embody the way that you’re living at a particular time. Right now my favorite word in Spanish is “aprovechar,” which means “to take advantage of,” although Edgar warned me that it can be used both positively (“Take advantage of the day!” and in a way that’s decidedly more negative (“Take advantage of your gardener.”) But the most magical words I’ve run across are those that, at least in English, are effectively untranslatable.
Vacilar: To wander
The verb vacilar has multiple meanings. Depending on the country of origin of the speaker and the context in which the word is used, it can mean to doubt, dither, or waver; to stutter or stammer; to stagger, sway, or wobble; to make out with someone (in Ecuador); to deceive (in Central America); to brag (in Spain); and many more things besides. However, the definition that I like the best is “to wander,” and the quote that has made the word more popular than some others comes from John Steinbeck.
“In Spanish there is a word for which I can’t find a counterword in English. It is the verb vacilar, present participle vacilando. It does not mean vacillating at all. If one is vacilando, he is going somewhere but doesn’t greatly care whether or not he gets there, although he has direction. My friend Jack Wagner has often, in Mexico, assumed this state of being. Let us say we wanted to walk in the streets of Mexico City but not at random. We would choose some article almost certain not to exist there and then diligently try to find it.”
― John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley: In Search of America
Arrebolar: To redden
Arrebolar means “to redden,” which can refer either to the sky or someone’s cheeks. I think there’s something beautiful about a word that can describe and evoke such specific experiences, and in a way that is more succinct than what English is capable of. This word isn’t common, though, and when I went to look for more information, the dictionary I turn to most frequently informed me it’s used mostly in literary settings.
Madrugar: To get up early
I have a lot of questions about the origins of this word and the circumstances that would lead to it being necessary. Spain is famously hot, and that’s particularly true of the afternoon, a fact seemingly every Spaniard enthusiastically leverages to justify leaving work daily at around 2 pm. It’s conceivable that in the birthplace of Spanish, getting up early to beat the heat was so important that it merited having its own word.
Merendar: To eat an afternoon snack
This verb I like a lot, and it should be useful in Mexico, where people snack enthusiastically. I can’t say, though, that so far I’ve actually heard anyone use this. Maybe I need to be spending more time in snack shops!
Trasnochar: To stay up all night
The frequency with which this verb is used probably depends on the type of life you’re leading. If you’re a student, a shift worker, or perhaps just like to party, having a verb that can express that you never went to bed would probably be very useful. I am currently 41 years old and have a baby who is 5 months old, so I’m in bed by 9 pm every night. Even though I’m not the target audience for this particular kernel of vocabulary, I like it just the same.
Empalagarse: The feeling you get when you taste something so sweet that you can’t possibly eat it.
This verb is used when you’ve tasted something so sweet that you find it physically repellant, and the closest translation we have in English is to describe something as being “sickly sweet.” This isn’t a verb we’ve needed to use so far during our time in Oaxaca but Mexico, and I think more broadly Latin America, does love its sweets.
More to Come
This particular overview only focused on verbs, but there are other types of untranslatable Spanish words as well. I hope to learn more of them (and to incorporate them into my vocabulary), and will share more of the ones that I think will charm you as well.
loved this! there's a few verbs I hadn't heard before but all sooo practical!
A fun list of Spanish verbs! I can't wait to blend some of these in my conversations :-)