12 Spanish Words With No English Equivalent
By the Eachday team ·
Some of the most useful Spanish words are the ones textbooks skip. They name the long talk after a meal, the hours between midnight and dawn, the thrill of wearing something new for the first time. English speakers have all of these experiences. They just never got a word for them.
Calling a word untranslatable is a slight exaggeration, since you can always explain it. What these twelve lack is a single English word that does the same job. Each one comes from Eachday's Spanish pack, with its pronunciation, an example sentence and the story behind it.
The words: la sobremesa, la sobrecena, la madrugada, la ilusión, la querencia, el duende, el estreno, la merienda, desvelarse, la tertulia, la corazonada, entrañable.
la sobremesa the lingering conversation after a meal
/so.βɾeˈme.sa/ · say so-breh-MEH-sah · noun
The relaxed time spent talking at the table after a meal has ended. Literally "over-table." There's no English word for that cherished time spent talking at the table long after the food is gone.
La sobremesa duró horas.
The after-dinner chat lasted for hours.
In Spain, leaving the moment the plates are cleared can feel a little abrupt. The meal is not over until the sobremesa is.
la sobrecena late-evening chat after supper
/so.βɾe.ˈθe.na/ · say so-breh-THEH-nah · noun
The unhurried talk lingering at the table after dinner. A sister of sobremesa: sobre ('over') + cena ('dinner') — the conversation that outlasts the meal.
La sobrecena se alargó hasta la medianoche.
The after-dinner talk stretched until midnight.
Rarer than sobremesa and specific to the evening, when the talk can run past midnight.
la madrugada the small hours, early morning before dawn
/ma.ðɾuˈɣa.ða/ · say mah-droo-GAH-dah · noun
The early hours after midnight and before dawn. Spanish has a dedicated word for the hours after midnight but before sunrise — a whole slice of the night that English leaves unnamed.
Llegó a casa de madrugada.
He got home in the small hours.
Spanish speakers say they got home a las tres de la madrugada, and nobody wonders which three o'clock they mean.
la ilusión hopeful excitement, eager anticipation
/i.luˈsjon/ · say ee-loo-see-OHN · noun
Joyful anticipation or eager excitement — not the English 'illusion'. A classic false friend: it usually means joyful anticipation, not "illusion." To say something gives you ilusión is to say it lights you up.
Me hace ilusión verte.
I'm excited to see you.
A trap for English speakers. Me hace mucha ilusión means I am really looking forward to it, said with real warmth.
la querencia the place where one feels at home; a homing instinct
/keˈɾen.θja/ · say keh-REN-see-ah · noun
The place where one feels most at home, and the instinct to return there. From querer (to love/want). It first named the spot in a bullring where a bull feels safe — now it means any place that quietly pulls you home.
Siempre vuelve a su querencia.
He always returns to his home ground.
Hemingway wrote about it in his book on bullfighting, but today it is gentler: the café, the town or the armchair that keeps calling you back.
el duende soul, magic, the spirit of true art
/ˈdwen.de/ · say DWEN-deh · noun
The mysterious soul or magic in true art; originally a goblin or sprite. Literally a goblin or sprite. The poet Lorca made it the word for the mysterious fire that runs through genuine flamenco and great art.
Esa cantante tiene duende.
That singer has real soul.
Lorca gave a famous lecture on duende in 1933. Spanish speakers still say a singer, a dancer or a guitarist tiene duende.
el estreno a premiere; the first use of something
/esˈtɾe.no/ · say es-TREH-noh · noun
A premiere or debut; the first use or wearing of something new. From estrenar — to use or wear something for the very first time. Spanish has a single verb for the small thrill of 'wearing it brand-new'.
El estreno de la película es hoy.
The film's premiere is today.
The verb is the gem: estreno zapatos hoy means I am wearing my new shoes for the first time today.
la merienda a light afternoon snack or meal
/meˈɾjen.da/ · say meh-ree-EN-dah · noun
A light snack or meal in the late afternoon. From Latin merenda, "things to be earned." The afternoon reward that bridges lunch and a famously late Spanish dinner.
Los niños toman la merienda.
The kids have their afternoon snack.
When dinner can start at nine or ten at night, the merienda is what carries everyone through the evening.
desvelarse to stay awake, to be unable to sleep
/dez.βeˈlaɾ.se/ · say des-veh-LAR-seh · verb
To be unable to sleep; to stay awake through the night. Literally "to un-veil oneself" — to pull back the veil of sleep. A whole verb for the night you just can't drift off.
Me desvelé pensando en ello.
I lay awake thinking about it.
English needs a whole phrase for this. Spanish has one verb for lying awake with your thoughts.
la tertulia gathering for conversation
/ter.ˈtu.lja/ · say ter-TOO-lyah · noun
A regular, relaxed gathering of friends for talk. Said to come from readings of the writer Tertullian in old Spanish salons — a name that became a way of gathering.
La tertulia del café duró horas.
The café conversation lasted for hours.
Madrid's old cafés were famous for their literary tertulias, and the word still covers any regular round of friends who meet to talk.
la corazonada gut feeling, hunch
/ko.ɾa.θo.ˈna.ða/ · say koh-rah-tho-NAH-dah · noun
An intuitive feeling that comes straight from the heart. From corazón ('heart') — literally a message from the heart itself.
Siguió su corazonada y acertó.
She followed her hunch and was right.
English says gut feeling. Spanish puts the hunch in the heart instead.
entrañable endearing, dear
/en.tɾa.ˈɲa.βle/ · say en-trah-NYAH-bleh · adjective
Warmly affectionate; held close to the heart. From entrañas ('innermost parts'), Latin interanea — something felt in the very core of you.
Guardo un recuerdo entrañable de ella.
I keep a fond, heartfelt memory of her.
No single English adjective means both dear and deeply felt. Spanish uses this one for people, places and memories.
How to keep them
Words like these stick best when you meet them more than once, a few days apart, in a real sentence. That is most of the science, and we wrote it up in how to remember new vocabulary. It is also why one word a day works better than it sounds; we covered that in building a Spanish word-of-the-day habit.
Eachday puts one Spanish word on your home screen every morning, with pronunciation, an example and the story behind it. The Spanish word of the day page shows how it works. No streaks and no points: if you miss a day, tomorrow's word is waiting just the same.