&

Word: y
Pronunciation: ee
Meaning: and
Example: Los perros y los gatos son predadores por naturaleza.
Translation: Dogs and cats are predators by nature.
Warning: When it comes before a word that starts with the sound of the Spanish i, y usually is changed to e. Example: Italia, España e Inglaterra buscan mantener vivas sus opciones. Italy, Spain and England are looking to keep their options alive.

Word: el zapato
Pronunciation: saw-PAW-toe
Meaning: shoe
Example: Los zapatos de mujer son uno de los placeres de la vida.
Translation: Women's shoes are one of the pleasures of life.

This is one of my wife's favorite words.

I know what you mean. :)

Word: negro
Pronunciation: NEH-grow (Note that the Spanish r here is pronounced with a tap of the tongue against the front of the palate.)
Meaning: black (by far the most common meaning), dark brown or suntanned, gloomy, awful, furious
Example: Las tiendas locales tienen en existencias miles de zapatos negros.
Translation: The local stores have in stock thousands of black shoes.

Word: el domingo
Pronunciation: doh-MEEN-goh
Meaning: Sunday
Example: Este domingo, vamos a la playa.
Translation: This Sunday we are going to the beach.



The word comes from the Latin dies solis, meaning "sun's day": the name of a pagan Roman holiday. It is also called Dominica (Latin), the Day of God. The Romance languages, languages derived from the ancient Latin language (such as French, Spanish, and Italian), retain the root.

Word: frío
Pronunciation: FREE-oh (Note that the Spanish r here is pronounced with a tap of the tongue against the front of the palate.)
Meaning: cold, cool
Example: El clima de Arizona varía considerablemente, desde la severidad del cálido desierto de Sonora hasta las altas y frías montañas en la parte norte del estado.
Translation: The climate of Arizona varies considerably, from the extreme of the hot Sonora Desert to the high and cold mountains in the northern part of the state.

Word: rojo
Pronunciation: RRO-ho (Note that the Spanish r here is the rr sound, pronounced with a strong trill, depending on where the word appears in the sentence. Note that in most areas, the Spanish j is pronounced with a guttural sound.)
Meaning: red
Example: En el jardín del profesor había un pájaro rojo.
Translation: In the professor's garden there was a red bird.

Shane:Since when is el zapato pronounced saw-PAW-toe??? Is Chilean Spanish different than other Spanish? I learned it as sah-PAT-toe. ?No es cierto? Regards, Don

Shane, perhaps this would be a good time to explain the rr in more detail. It is an actual letter of the Spanish alphabet, isn't it?

Also, when a word begins with r it is pronounced rr, etc

What I like about Spanish is that words are pretty well pronouced as spelled, making spelling very easy

Wuhd'ehnt eht bee niess ihf ehngleesh whaahz thuh saym? Eevn purrsuhnnahl dihffrehnsihs ehn speech whuhd shho uhp! nobuddee tawks uhlaik. :)

(everyone could spell differently according to the way they speak!)