Life is a party
¿Nivel de inglés? (What’s your English fluency level?)
Alto. (High)
Traduzca “Fiesta.” (Translate “Fiesta”)
Party. (Party)
Úselo en una frase. (Use it in a complete sentence.)
Ayer me party la cara en la bicicleta. (Yesterday, I split my face on a bicycle)
Contratado! (You’re hired!)
Yes, the always popular “nivel de inglés” jokes don’t always make sense in English. But they can be a hilarious way to play on Spanglish verb tenses and double entendres to help learn both languages. In this case, the English word “party” is being used as a phonetic spelling of “partí,” the first-person preterit conjugation of “partir” or “to split.” So, because the sentence “Ayer me partí la cara en la bicicleta” technically makes sense in Spanish, the jokester nabs the English-language job. Get it?
These are the Spanish phrases everyone should know.
Love of soccer is universal
“Cariño, creo que estás obsesionado con el fútbol y me haces falta.” (“My love, I think you’re obsessed with soccer and I miss you.”)
“¡¿Qué falta?! ¡¿Qué falta?! ¡¡Si no te he tocado!!” (“Fault? What fault? I haven’t touched you??”)
This is a classic Spanish language pun because it plays on the verb “to miss” (me haces falta) and the noun fault (falta). The verb “me haces falta” (the third-person present tense conjugation of hacer falta) means “to miss” someone, and the noun “falta,” in this sentence, means “fault,” as in a soccer penalty.
Here’s a way the joke could work in English:
“My love, I think you’re obsessed with soccer, and you’re treating me foul.”
“Foul, what foul? I haven’t touched you???”
Here’s a secret trick to learning a language without even thinking about it.
“I would like to buy a vowel”
“Cuanto cuesta esta estufa?” (How much does a stove cost?)
“$5,000 dólares.” (5,000 bucks.)
“Pero, oiga, esto es una estafa.” (Hey, listen, that’s a scam.)
“No, señor, es una estufa.” (No, sir, it’s a stove.)
This one plays on the similarity of the noun for stove (la estufa) and scam (la estafa). Just a lesson on how important it is to get those vowels right.
