Oct 21
0

Profit Potential – International Expansion Using Marketing Translation

By | Translation, Uncategorized | No Comments

Expanding business to international markets can be both exciting and challenging.  But how can you take your company global?

 

Having a set of clear strategies along with guidance allows the entire organization to properly mitigate the risks before expanding to other markets or countries. Partnering with a language service provider is a major part of doing so and a great way to start. Look for professional translation companies with services and solutions designed to help companies explore new markets.

 

  • According to Hubspot, global B2C eCommerce sales are projected to reach $4.5 trillion by 2021. Companies that sell in different countries and multiple languages can reach more customers, grow faster and have higher profit margins.
  • According to Businesswire, The global market research services industry is valued at $74 billion in 2020

     

 

 

Marketing translation services

Marketing translation can cover many components such as automated email campaigns, websites, brochures, white papers, presentations, social media posts, etc. But before jumping into these components, companies have to take market research translation seriously and have one in place. So, how can you use market research and translation services to explore new markets? If you’re ready to explore the likely profitability of new markets, it’s time to start translating your market research.

Social media is also an excellent place to start. The instant reaction and engagement of social media can be a great test and it can be measured quickly. Additionally, it’s a good way to gain sincere feedback from users who tend to express their opinions openly. Make sure to use professional translation services to create the right tone for your posts and also listen and understand the comments of followers.

Finally, a professional localization company can help you with a market trend analysis. They can provide information about how profitable a new market might be or help you work on a multilingual research project.

 Expanding business to other countries

Marketers that don’t prioritize content translation when the target audience is non-English speaking are at great disadvantage.

Having the right content made by a professional translation company will be to your advantage since they know what works or not for particular cultures and countries. They have the skills and knowledge to render translation works that appeal to the preferences and emotions of target audiences. Some companies utilize marketing text translation to reach and engage with customers who speak other languages even in their own country.

US translation companies have many ways to explore the likely profitability of different markets. A language service provider can assist you in preparing authentic marketing content to understand the culture and what will resonate with your new audience. It will play a huge role in the success of your global expansion.

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Oct 07
0

How can we thrive as leaders and human beings during the COVID-19 pandemic?

By | news, Uncategorized | No Comments

We all have gone through a crisis before, but nothing like the coronavirus pandemic. This one differs in many ways from other crisis – it is a global crisis, with long-term and multifaceted repercussions. The pandemic has already disrupted financial markets, brought to a halt the movement of people and goods around the world, canceled sports seasons and restricted international flights. It is dominating both private discourse and public policy, and the virus still continues to spread with no solution in sight. The COVID-19 is definitely a unique type of crisis. So, how can we thrive as leaders and human beings during these times?

Managing uncertainty in COVID times

 

  • Consider the situation from all perspectives

COVID-19 has affected all aspects of business operations. Leaders have the responsibility to help their teams understand how factors changed so that the company can respond more efficiently. Part of this responsibility is to review the company’s processes with self-criticism and exemption. Adapting to the new corporate management guidelines involves change of plans, modernization and often, digitalization of the means to access and share information.

  • Communicate constantly

During COVID-19, communications should be frequent to keep a clear and effective channel in the entire organization. This allows for collaboration and flexibility as events unfold, making sure people have access to relevant and respectable information sources. A constant flow of communication in your organization helps establishing protocols on who communicates what and by what channels, and also with balancing the need for transparency with the prevention of litigation risks.

  • Meet each group of stakeholders

In crisis, employees need to feel secure about their jobs. Customers want to be sure about the safety of goods and services. Suppliers want to know if they will be paid and the prospect of future orders. Investors want to follow financial trends and patterns closely. With the uncertainty and the situation rapidly changing, companies must monitor how stakeholder sentiment is evolving. Consider how the communication is going and adapt the message if needed. Among tactics and stakeholders, is it essential to communicate in a way that shows empathy and leadership.

  • Act quickly, effectively and empathetically

In such a critical and complex situation as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is easy to feel challenged to determine the right path to follow.A crisis response plan may already be in place for a cyber breach, natural disaster or accident at work, so leaders may be more ready than they think. As the pandemic continues to occur, the most important thing is to keep the situation at the forefront and lead in a timely, thoughtful and empathetic manner. In the words of Betsy Atkins: “What people will remember is how you behave in a crisis”.

 

By Patricia Sobue

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Apr 24
0

San Diego, I miss you!

By | blogpost, Culture | No Comments

San Diego, you are America’s finest city. Your weather continues to be at a perfect shorts-and-t-shirt temperature. Your 70 miles of beaches spread out uninterruptedly. You are an integral part of thousands of surfers’ lives, who now dream about you, as they are only allowed to enjoy you from afar. The never-ending dispute between the local La Jollans about human rights and the rights of the seals is a moot issue. Funny, though, the seals keep peeking over to get a glimpse of any human activity on the beach. I miss the runners, the bikers, the hikers, and the kayakers. I miss the traffic. Yes, the traffic. It proves that we are all enjoying San Diego. The Naval aircrafts are receiving no attention. Downtown at night, a normally bustling fun and happy-go-lucky place sits empty with the ghostly sound of silence. Our skyline lights up an empty bay. Oh, how much I want all of this to end; I will cherish you more than ever then.

If you’re thinking about moving to San Diego, all of the above is a fat Lie. Cost of living is second to none, and you need to spend a minimum of $100 per year on sunscreen.

 

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Apr 07
0

Confronting the Coronavirus from a Cultural Perspective

By | Culture | No Comments

The coronavirus is affecting people on a global level. However, the way each country has been treating it says a lot about their culture.

Let’s start with China, where, as we know, COVID-19 got its start. Chinese government both controls and censors the media. In 1975, Typhoon Nina claimed the lives of close to a quartermillion people. There was no mention anywhere in the press about this tragedy. It was as though nothing had happened. The government silencing anything that may destabilize the community has happened again, but this time, at the center of it is the coronavirus.

It took Beijing weeks to acknowledge this virus even existed. Once the Chinese masses realized that, in fact, a virus existed, officials had to decide what to say. They could admit to the government mismanagement and blame their superiors, or they could stay silent. The decision is obvious: choosing political loyalty over people’s safety. After all, Chinese culture is all about saving face.

The second major country to be affected by the coronavirus was South Korea. In contrast to most other cultures, South Koreans did not rush to the store to stock up on essentials, including toilet paper. They remained calm. Travel was only restricted to people coming from the epicenter of the virus in China, the Hubei region.

The South Korean government had a well-planned strategy for fighting this invisible virus: testing, closely monitoring the affected, and daily press conferences from the disease control and prevention agency. Citizens avoided crowds, closed businesses, and postponed unnecessary meetings without needing the government to force it upon them. Plus, masks are already part of daily life for many South Koreans.

So, what does this say about South Korean culture? It reinforces the idea that its citizens are prepared for sacrifice and self-discipline without government intervention.

And then there’s Italy. What cultural uniqueness can we find about the Italians that has made them more vulnerable? According to the University of Oxford, Italy has the second oldest population in the world, and the young tend to be close to the elderly, like their grandparents. It is not uncommon for younger generations to live with their parents, grandparents, or both.

The qualities that make Italians stand out from many other cultures is the love for affection, kissing on the cheeks, touching, the desire to be in close proximity to each other, and the desire to always be out socializing. These cultural traits have helped the virus cross-contaminate more than it has, for example, in China, or the US.

In Spain, the prime minister’s wife tested positive for coronavirus. Anyone would expect both he and his wife would not leave their house during a self-quarantine, right? Pues no. He went to congress as if no virus existed at all.

The Spanish culture is similar to that of Italy. Both tend to maintain closer distances with whomever they are talking with. They also tend to include the elder in their daily lives as well. While in the US your home is your castle, Spaniards love to be out and about for most of the day.

If you walk through most Spanish cities just before lunch or dinner, you have to navigate through thousands of people marching as they had a purpose, somewhere to be, when in reality, they are just enjoying walking. No wonder Spain had to enforce a government imposed lockdown so the coronavirus would not infect Spaniards on the streets.

Originally, Spaniards were not prepared to change their ways for the greater good. Why? Because cultures like the Italian and Spanish base their identity collectively. They identify by being part of a group. Spaniards are also obsessed with their finances. Even before the coronavirus, Spain’s unemployment numbers were one of the highest in Europe.

What is in the mindsets of Spaniards now? The number of unemployed in Spain rose to 3.5 million in March. This figure does not include temporary layoffs or laid off workers who have not yet filed for unemployment. A study conducted by Funcas between March 16 and March 20 shows a 9.1 point importance out of 10 regarding concern about the economy, compared to an 8.9 rating regarding concern of having been infected by the virus.

Finally, let’s praise Americans for following social distancing protocols. Compared to Italians and Spaniards, Americans were following social distancing before this phrase even existed. The other day I saw a lady carrying a yard stick just to make sure no one got within 6 feet of her.

However, while China, Italy, and Spain proved they were dealing with a pandemic, the US first dismissed coronavirus. Days later, the US decided an extreme situation called for extreme measures. Flights to and from Europe were to be halted. Lockdown has now been mandated for almost every city. For sure, high density cities like New York and San Francisco would benefit from this action. Others where people live far from each other and no one walks or comes into regular contact with others may not benefit as much from this measure.

Americans are entrepreneurial by nature. They maintain an individualistic and have an “I’ll do it my own way” kind of attitude. Americans don’t look at a group to make a decision. Every American makes his or her own choices. Culturally, this was reflected in how Americans reacted to the virus.

They protected themselves. They rushed to the store for basic needs. They are not about to look at a social-centered strategy, but at what is best for them individually. Individual rights are paramount. For example, gun stores refuse to close their doors taunting a constitutional right to bear arms.

I always say that culture plays a role in everything we do, and culture is playing a role in the coronavirus scenario. I do wish governments talked about the cultural aspects before passing down rules or laws.

Writen by: Michael Cárdenas, President

Local Concept

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Jan 29
0

Case Study: Local Concept and Jelly Belly Candy Company

By | Localization | No Comments

Local Concept partnered with Jelly Belly Candy Company® in order to localize flavor translations that can fit into any culture and palate. To say that this candy company pushes the creativity envelope is an understatement. It seems as though they have set out to re-create flavors after real-life experiences, tastes and smells. They have a lab that puts smells in a vacuum in order to recreate them.

Here are some examples: Stinky Socks, Dirty Dishwater, and Skunk Spray. Coming up with the correct localization for these nasty tastes is not easy.

Michael Cárdenas inside Jelly Belly Factory

President of Local Concept, Michael R. Cárdenas, inside of the Jelly Belly Candy Factory in Fairfield, California.

 

Let’s take the BeanBoozled flavor “Dirty Dishwater”. We all know what it is. Let’s say we want to translate this into Spanish. This is easy, “agua de lavar los platos sucia”. However, we need to limit the translation to two words. Here is the difference between translation and copywriting or adaptation. We first tried to keep the word water in the name, but could not do so correctly without using too many words. Moreover, we wanted to convey the idea of a dirty dish washing environment. Consequently, we focused on both the concept of dishwashing and dirty. We were therefore able to limit the name to “lavavajillas sucio”.

Jelly Belly BeanBoozled Candy

Jelly Belly BeanBoozled Candy

In English, the word “hot” can refer to temperature and spiciness, or Jalapeño hot. However, the word hot can’t be used interchangeably in other languages like Norwegian. If we translate the word ‘hot’ directly it means hot as in a temperature hot (“varmt”). Norwegians either keep the English word hot, or use the word ‘sterk’ which means ‘strong’ in English when referring to spicy hot.

In some cases we have to create localized copy that is catchy but does not follow the English. The English candy name “Skunk Spray” was most likely created by someone living in America. If you live in the U.S. some of you have probably smelled skunk spray. If this Skunk spray flavor is going to be sold in a different continent where no one can relate to the smell, we have to come up with a term that is understood by someone who hasn’t encountered it. How about “skunk fart”?

Solution

Local Concept has put together an online glossary tool for both clients and Local Concept which can be updated as we go. Style guides and the use of copywriting have helped Jelly Belly gain a global presence no matter how crazy the candy is.

Are you ready to talk about your next localization project? Contact us today for a free consultation.

Nov 04
0

eLearning Localization: Why, What, and How

By | eLearning | No Comments

Local Concept exhibited at the 2019 DevLearn Conference & Expo where learning and development professionals share the future of work and learning. The global work force is expected to reach 3.5 billion people by 2030, leading millions of people from across the globe to work together. Consequently, multinational companies need localized content to suit the languages and cultures of their internal audience, especially when it comes to training key resources.

We will walk you through why you should localize your eLearning courses, what is usually localized, and how to prepare your content for localization.

eLearning localization: Why, What, and How

eLearning Localization: the process of translating learning content and platforms into a different language and adapting it for a specific region. 

Why localize eLearning courses?

Studies show that translating training content boosts knowledge acquisition and increase retention rate. Localizing online training content goes a step further, helping to bring your company’s values even closer to your global workforce by aligning ethnic, geographic and cultural sensibilities.

  1. Mitigate risks

    It’s easy to assume that English works for all. Just because someone speaks or writes in one language, it does not mean that they have the ability to fully comprehend the information. OSHA estimates that language barriers are a contributing factor in 25% of job related accidents. The cost of a compliance breach for an average company is over $9 million. This is nearly triple what the average compliance training program cost.

  2. Improve Performance and Productivity

    When the culture of learners is taken into consideration, it’s likely that they’ll find the content more engaging and relatable, which helps improve employee satisfaction. For instance, let’s say you are delivering a sales training course on body language for your sales team located across different continents. While your U.S. sales reps picture a salesperson shaking hands with the customer after a meeting, the same image would probably not be as effective for your sales reps in Japan where greetings take form of bowing. Leadership and sales courses are topics that are open to interpretation. In order to help trainees make the most of your course, accurate cultural reference localization is essential.

  3. Grow your global footprint

    When employees are engaged, you can more effectively hire, train and retain teams that help drive expansion.

What is usually localized?

eLearning takes many different forms, from interactive quizzes and assessments, to articles and videos. The most common elements that need localization include:

  • Written content
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Images and Graphics
  • User experience elements (navigation buttons and coding)
  • Formatting (date, time, currency, units of measurement)

With that in mind, we will show you how to save time and money by planning for multilingual content from the beginning.

How to plan for multilingual content

Here are 6 helpful tips to consider when preparing your content for localization:

  1. Avoid slang, idiomatic expressions and acronyms

    It will make the process more straightforward, which in turn will help your language partner deliver the project faster. Try to use simple language and shorter sentences, especially for straight-forward content such as technical training, and health and safety assessments.

  1. Keep text expansion and contraction in mind

    When translating from English to German, the text expands by 10% to 30% on average. In contrast, when translating into Mandarin, text may contract by 20% to 50%. This becomes a challenge when it needs to be featured in pre-designed slides, turned into voiceover, or inserted into video. Dealing with text that contract is generally not as much of a problem as text that expands. With languages that expand, it may look crowded. Thus, keep in mind how the translation would fit in and look when presented in its final form. In terms of video, provide your partner with extra footage so the scenes can accommodate for longer voiceover. In terms of visual elements, allow enough white space around speech bubbles, call outs and other text elements.

  1. Consider graphics and images

    Localization includes carefully choosing culturally appropriate colors and images. For instance, the color white tends to symbolize purity and peace in Western cultures (North America and Europe) while it represents death and unhappiness in Eastern and Asian countries. If your eLearning course contains interactive assessments with navigation buttons (i.e. next, close, submit), tooltip speech bubbles, and any pre-programmed visual elements, make sure to include XML files so these snippets can be extracted, translated, and imported back into the eLearning software.

  2. Provide editable files

    Provide all eLearning content to your language partner in editable formats to ensure translations can be incorporated easily, and to save you the cost of having to re-create the files from scratch.

  3. Choose the right language partner

    The best-suited translation company is one that can take care of the entire project from start to finish. At Local Concept, we make use of the latest technological advancements to get you more for your money in a timely manner, such as Translation Memory (TM). This is beneficial when dealing with on-going projects over a long period of time as it ensures consistent translation and shortens turnaround time. We can work with any platform or format you prefer. We integrate directly with your LMS and perform final testing to ensure that delivery is superb. Lastly, Local Concept ensures that your company-specific terminology and approved translations are used through our client-specific glossary.

Conclusion

Naturally, when people are taught in their native language, they learn, understand and retain information better. By understanding your target audience, the effectiveness of your course increases. The ROI of eLearning localization is not just about the numbers, but the non-quantifiable results and impacts. It has proven to reduce lost time, improve employee retention, accelerate productivity, and mitigate injury claims.

Do you need help getting started with your eLearning localization? Contact us today for a free consultation!

Jul 30
2

Six Traditional Chinese Words that don’t have an English Translation

By | Culture, Translation | No Comments

Unlike alphabetical languages such as Spanish and French, the Chinese language is a writing system that is composed of over 50,000 characters. This logographic writing system gives access to visual representations of objects and concepts. This makes the language both difficult to translate, and less precise than its counterparts. Here we present six examples of Chinese words that are hard to translate.

撒嬌 (sā jiāo)

Little girl holding flower

Leo Rivas via Unsplash

Whiny, to seek attention in a childish but lovely way.
This is an act particularly practiced by a grown-up female to her partner. It is considered as a way to show the side of her feminine character.

面子 (miàn zi)

Woman holding rose

Giulia Bertelli via Unsplash

Surface (literally), referring to dignity or self-esteem.
For example, I was just pretending to understand the conversation in French in order to save face (保全面子, bǎo quán miàn zi).

風水 (fēng shuǐ)

Furniture

ROOM via Unsplash

Feng shui, known as Chinese geomancy.
The term literally translates as “wind-water”. By orienting buildings and furniture, it’s practiced bolster the harmony between individuals and their surrounding environment.

緣分 (yuán fèn)

Many hands together

Tim Marshall via Unsplash

Fateful coincidence, an interactive concept that describes good and bad chances and potential relationships.

Sometimes, it’s simply translated as “destiny”, “fate” or “luck” with a focus on the relationship two people or objects share.

幸福 (xìng fú)

Yellow book named happy

Josh Felise via Unsplash

A state of being satisfied and content with life especially when with families and significant others.

It can be simply translated as “happiness” depending on the context.

孝順 (xiào shùn)

Two elderly people sitting in their chairs

Elien Dumon via Unsplash

Filial piety, a virtue of respect for one’s parents that is commonly praised in the Chinese community.

It includes but is not limited to being a loving, dutiful and caring child, as well as being responsible for the well-being of one’s parents.

Written by: Yijen Lu, Project Coordinator at Local Concept. 
Jul 17
3

How Different Cultures Perceive Emojis

By | Culture, Translation | No Comments
Woman holding emoji balloon

Lidya Nada via Unsplash

Emojis are undeniably fun, and sometimes they ‘speak louder than words’. They enable us to add emotional context to plain text, such as humor, brevity or irony. They illustrate non-verbal cues that could be expressed in face-to-face communication including gestures and facial expressions. However, when creating content for a multicultural audience, it’s important to consider how different cultures perceive symbols, colors, and body language.

The most popular emojis around the world

Although being an “official” emoji translator just became a thing in 2017, a study done by Swiftkey in 2015 uncovered insights to how different languages around the globe are using emoji by analyzing over one billion pieces.  Here are some interesting findings:

  • Americans score highest for a variety of emojis, including skulls, birthday cake, fire, tech, LGBT, meat, and female-oriented icons.
  • Canada uses the smiling poop emoji more than any other country. It also leads in violent, body parts, money, sports, raunchy, and ocean creatures.
  • French leads in the heart emoji, and uses hearts 4x more than any other languages. The red heart is also the #1 emoji for several Scandinavian and Eastern European countries.
  • Arabic-speakers are fond of roses and flowers.
  • Swedish-speakers use the bread emoji more than any other language.
  • Scandinavian (Danish, Swedish, Norwegian) use the Santa emoji more than all other languages. (But… doesn’t Santa live in Finland?).
  • Australia uses double the amount of alcohol-themed emoji than others, 65% more drug emoji than average, and leads for both junk food and holiday.
    • Portuguese speakers actually topped Australia in the use of drug emojis (pill, syringe, mushroom, cigarette) when Swiftkey published its second report.
  • Brits use the winky emoji twice the average rate.

Emojis are understood differently by different cultures

The meaning of an emoji varies greatly depending on culture, language, and generation. Using emojis in cross-cultural communications runs the risk of being misunderstood. Here are some examples of cultural variations:

Sign of the Horns GestureIn countries like Brazil, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Colombia and Argentina, the “metal horns” can indicate that the person was cheated on by their partner.

 

Waving HandWhile the “waving hand” is used to say hello or goodbye in one language, it can signify the ending of a friendship in another.

 

Thumbs Up“Thumbs-up” may be a sign of approval in Western cultures; but it is considered an obscene gesture in Greece and the Middle East.

 

OK HandIn Brazil and Turkey, the “OK” hand gesture is considered as an insult, and is equivalent to giving the middle finger in America.

 

Clapping Hands“Clapping hands” shows praise and offer congratulations in Western countries, while in China it’s a symbol of making love.

 

Slightly Smiling FaceThe “slightly smiling” emoji is not used as a sign of happiness in all countries. In China, it implies distrust, disbelief, or someone humoring you. It can also convey an ironic tone of voice in other contexts.

Baby AngelThe angel emoji can imply having performed a good deed or signify innocence in the west, while it may be used as a sign of death and be perceived as threatening in China.

 

Eggplant Dreaming of an eggplant on the first night of the New Year means good fortune in Japan. Some people take the eggplant for what it is: a vegetable. In other countries like the U.S, Trinidad and Ireland it has a strong sexual connotation, especially by users ages 18 to 24.

 

PeachSimilarly to the eggplant, some cultures take the peach for what it is: a fruit. Other countries translate this emoji to “butt”.

 

Tips for localizing cross-cultural content with Emojis

Given that emojis are open to interpretation, using them for a multinational audience can be tricky. However, emojis have been proven to boost engagement levels, click-through-rates, and open rates in marketing initiatives. In 2015, Oxford Dictionaries made the Face With Tears of Joy emoji the word of the year. There are many benefits of using emojis in marketing, and they are inevitably here to stay.

So, what should we consider when localizing cross-cultural content?

  1. Avoid using hand gesture emojis.
  2. Avoid using only emojis to convey any idea.
  3. Make the emoji relevant to the text in order to enhance the meaning.
  4. Consider how it looks on different platforms.
  5. Sometimes it might be best to spell it out *Neutral face*.

Conclusion

Just being proficient linguistically is not enough to translate emojis. Context and cultural differences need to be considered, thus full localization of the content is essential.

Are you curious about using emoji in your cross-cultural content? Contact us for a free consultation.

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Jul 12
0

Six French Words that don’t have an English Translation

By | Culture, Translation | No Comments

Do you ever get that feeling when you can’t find the right words to describe something? Maybe you’re not thinking in the right language. Here are six French terms with no English equivalent.

N’importe quoi 

Person holding his hand on his face

Adrian Swancar via Unsplash

Literally translates as “it’s no matter what”, but it means it’s a nonsense, but not really, it means you can’t even try to find the words for something, so absurd that something is.

Frette

Freezing cold high rise urban town

Geoffrey Chevtchenko via Unsplash

When it’s really, really cold. Even colder than cold (cold = froid). (i.e. below -4 F).

Jaser

Lighthearted talk between girls

Priscilla Du Preez via Unsplash

To have a lighthearted talk, very friendly and unrushed with someone.

Tiguidou

Woman tiguidou

Miguel Bruna via Unsplash

It’s a popular expression similar to “It’s all good”, but has an impressive capacity to flex into different contexts.

Examples:

  1. He’s “tiguidou” = he’s great!
  2. My doctorate thesis? It’s “tiguidou” = it’s finally done, so happy!
  3. I’m “tiguidou” with you = I completely agree with you!

Déjà vu

Man realizes he is having Deja Vu

Laurenz Kleinheider via Unsplash

Most of us know this one, but did you know it originates from French? It translates to “already seen”. It’s that feeling of having lived through the present situation before.

BONUS:

Another noteworthy point to mention about this language is that in French there isn’t a word for cheap – only not expensive (“pas cher”). There was even a grocery store whose tagline was “the less expensive grocery store”.

Some of these words are only used in Canadian French. Can you guess which ones?

Check out these Six Spanish Words with no English Translation if you need more terms to express yourself.

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Jun 07
0

Six Spanish Words that don’t have an English Translation

By | Culture, Translation | 2 Comments

Language tells us a lot about a particular culture, and there are some Spanish words that don’t have an English translation. For instance, in Spain, they use a number of sayings having to do with food. Spaniards love food. For instance, when trying to say that something takes a long time, they say that it’s longer than a day without bread. 

Here are examples of six Spanish words with no equivalent in English.

Sobremesa

People eating a meal around a table

Priscilla Du Preez via Unsplash

This word is a unique part to a Spanish meal. It relates to the time spent talking and drinking after the meal is over. The largest sobremesa I ever participated in was three hours.

Estrenar

Wearing something for the first time

Another word that is not a part of the English language is estrenar. In short, it means to wear something for the first time. There seems to be a certain pleasure one gets the first time something is worn. Separately, in English, there is a concept of ‘breaking something in’ when wearing it for the first time, but this is not the same as estrenar.

Tuerto

One-eyed person

Scott Umstattd via Unsplash

Another word, tuerto, loosely translates as a one-eyed person. The word comes from the Latin word, tortus, crouket. In early times this word referred to injustice.

Desvelado

desvelado

Christian Erfurt via Unsplash

The word desvelado means a person who is not getting enough sleep.

Merienda

merienda

Sarah Swinton via Unsplash

The closest translation is a “snack”, but not really. Many Spanish-speaking countries include a small meal between lunch and dinner where you sit and have coffee, hot chocolate, pastries or a small snack. If you’re an American visiting Spain where there’s an 8 hour lag between lunch and dinner, a merienda might be just what the doctor ordered.

Te Quiero

man and woman hugging

Candice Picard via Unsplash

It’s a word used to show you appreciate someone or care about them. It’s a midpoint between I like you and I love you.

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