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Hello, #Vivers! One of the things that students who come to our school like to learn most about Spanish is the fact that we have many different ways of expressing the same thing. In our entry today we are going to discover other different ways to show that you don't care about something or care very little about it.

I don't mind. Spanish academy for foreigners

1. I don't give a damn

It is said that this expression has its origin in the XNUMXth century, a time in which artists, specifically painters, in search of achieving perfection and the greatest virtuosity in their works, tried to recreate with the greatest reality the composition and texture of the objects that appeared in their still lifes and still lifes*.

For this reason, painters preferred to use pomegranates, lemons and other fruits that were a real challenge for them to draw with the greatest fidelity. However, peppers were one of the vegetables that did not involve much difficulty. The smooth, shiny, and almost completely monochrome surface of peppers offered no appeal to still life painters, who rarely included them in their paintings. That is why in this union the expression "I don't give a damn" began to be used, due to the "uselessness" of the vegetable for their creations.

2. I don't give a damn

When we say that we don't give a damn about something, we are making it very clear that we don't care at all, that is, that we don't give it the slightest importance. The origin of this phrase lies in the little value given to pigweed, a vegetable that does not have much flavor and therefore has never been highly appreciated in gastronomy.

3. I don't give a damn

There are several theories regarding the origin of this expression, but one of the most widespread says that may come from military language, since the "pito" was the name given to the boy who played said instrument in the army. Apparently this young man was not very respected and was not taken into account very much, so his salary was very low. This would be the reason why this popular expression would have emerged, meaning that little value is given to an issue.

4. I don't give a damn

This is another way of expressing that we care little about something or think it is unimportant. The origin of this expression comes from France in the 1800s, where cumin was considered a pest that was of no use. Hence the character of the expression.

Learn other expressions in Spanish that mean the same thing

As you can see, there are many ways to express that you don't care about something or don't care about something. Also with the same meaning it can be said that something:

5. I don't give a damn
6. I don't give a damn
7. I hate it.

In all these cases the meaning is the same, saying that it has no value for me. The last of the expressions, “I hate it,” It is very common in youth slang, but it is a vulgar expression.

If you want to learn many other Spanish expressions that serve to say the same thing, in our spanish courses, we can teach them to you. Luis Vives Spanish School The best option to learn Spanish in Madrid!

*Still lifes and still lifes: work of art depicting animals, flowers and other objects, which may be natural (fruits, food, plants, rocks or shells) or man-made (kitchen, table or household utensils, antiques, books, jewelry, coins , pipes, etc.) in a given space. These types of works were very popular during the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries.

The word of the day: "Beer"

By Administrator

May 3, 2023

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Hello #Vivers! The weekend is approaching and also with spring weather that invites students who come to learn Spanish in Madrid to go out and have some very cool beers on one of the many terraces in our city.

But do you think they know the origin of this refreshing drink? And the origin of the word "beer"? And you? Do you know it? If you have ever wondered, in our new entry on Luis Vives' Spanish blog we tell you.

The origin of beer

When we talk about beer or ask someone where beer comes from, the first thing many people say is that its origin is from central Europe (Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic...). The issue is that in several Sumerian documents from the year 4000 BC. C. there was talk about a fermented cereal drink in Mesopotamia. In Babylon, beer consumption was so great that it forced King Hamurabi to legislate it, in his code, which sought to protect drinkers against dishonest tavern keepers, so it became the first consumer protection law in history. .

Some interesting anecdotes and legends about this drink:

In Chaldea (a region of Mesopotamia), the inhabitants offered beer to the gods as tribute.

According to some stories, when Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) got bored with his concubines (lovers), he used to kill them by drowning them in beer.

Already in the Roman Empire, Pliny (Roman knight) said that the Gauls (French) called Cervesia to drink and brasce to the grain that was used to make it. So, brasce gave rise in French to brewer(beer maker) already brasserie (brewery).

During the Middle Ages, monks brewed the best beers, which in Latin were called cerevisiaemonacorum and to this day they are made in some European countries under the name “abbey beers”.

From the almost complete Cervesia from the Gauls (French) derived cervoise, as the drink was called for several centuries in the French language.

The first references in Spanish come from the XNUMXth centuries, as beer, and XVI, already with the current form beer.

The French beer, the Italian beer, English beer and the German Beer come from latin bottle (to drink).

Well, now you can surprise all your friends by telling them some of these anecdotes while you enjoy a few beers, but don't forget to drink wisely and above all: if you drink, don't drive!

Source: The origin of words. Illustrated etymological dictionary. Ricardo Soca

And if you are looking to learn Spanish in Madrid to learn to speak fluently like a native and improve your grammar, stop by. Luis Vives Spanish School and take a look at the Spanish classes what we offer. They will surely adapt perfectly to your needs. Luis Vives Spanish School The best option to learn Spanish in the heart of Madrid!

The word of the day: "Siesta"

By Administrator

March 30th, 2023

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Live and study in Spain

Hello #Vivers! Many of the students in our Spanish classes for foreigners tell us that one of the things that Spain is best known for in their country is the custom of taking a nap.

“nap” is probably one of the most international words in our vocabulary. Thus, it has been transferred to languages as diverse as English (siesta), French (sieste), German (siesta), Danish (siesta), Hungarian (szieszta) or Polish (sjesta)...

What is the nap?

It refers to the time dedicated to resting after eating, between three and five in the afternoon and comes from the Latin sixta, which means “the sixth hour of the day” and corresponds, approximately, to noon among the Romans.

As we have mentioned previously, the nap is a time of rest and relaxation, which allows you to regain strength for the afternoon, thereby significantly increasing performance. We all need time to rest throughout the day.

For many years, the Nordic countries considered that people who took naps (preferably Spaniards and Italians) were truly lazy. For this reason, taking a nap after eating was considered inappropriate for hard-working and industrious people, but what they did not know is that it is scientifically proven that a nap of no more than 30 minutes improves general health and prevents stress. In addition, it promotes memory and learning mechanisms.

To enjoy a nap you can sleep for a while, but relaxing or simply stretching for a few minutes can also be considered a kind of short nap. The nap is related to our “biological clock”: brain and physical activity decreases every four hours and to renew it, the body needs a few minutes of rest, which corresponds to the time of the mid-afternoon nap.

It is advisable to take a nap after an excessive meal, to promote digestion and regain strength before resuming activity. It is also very convenient in times of work pressure or if you feel tired or sleepy while driving during a trip.

Advantages of the siesta

The main advantages of taking a nap are:

Improves the feeling of general well-being.
Increase vitality
Reactivates reflections.
Improve our level of attention.
Increase the efficiency of our work.
Reduces the risk of cardiovascular accidents.

So now there is no excuse not to take a “nap” after eating. Sweet dreams!

Sources: Wikipedia and kioskea.net (under Creative Commons license).

Learn Spanish and enrich your vocabulary with the Spanish classes at the Luis Vives Spanish School and take a look at the courses that we offer, they will surely adapt perfectly to your needs. Luis Vives Spanish School The best option to learn Spanish in Madrid!

Did you know?: The origin of the word "spam"

By Administrator

February 25

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Hello #Vivers! Surely you are tired of deleting advertising or commercial emails that you have never requested, junk emails or more generally known as "spam". Sometimes it becomes an annoying task to which we must dedicate a few minutes a day or at certain intervals. For our part, you can rest assured, since we do not send emails with information about our courses to learn Spanish. Have you ever thought about the true origin of this word? Today in a new entry in our section, did you know what? we tell you...

The word "spam", which does not appear in the DRAE (Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy), arose from the need to give some name to the large amount of spam we often receive over the Internet.

There is a version of the origin of "spam" that suggests that it comes from the acronym for "Short, Pointless, and Annoying Messages."

But the most reliable origin of "spam" is related to the abbreviation of the name of a pork luncheon meat that has been sold by the Hormel company since 1937, SPiced hAM (seasoned or spiced ham).

Popularization of the use of the word

The success of the meaning of the term "spam" became popular with a Monty Python sketch broadcast on his Flying Circus program. In it, a couple enters a cheap restaurant and asks the waitress what dishes are on the menu. The waitress responds “spam with egg, spam with sausage, spam with egg and sausage, spam, spam with canned egg, spam with canned sausage…”, and so on a long succession of combinations. This mechanical repetition of the term "spam" was the inspiration for computer scientists to give this name to this type of computer garbage.

Curious, right? Well, if you are interested in knowing more curiosities like this, be sure to read the Luis Vives' Spanish Blog.

And if you are looking for a course to learn to speak Spanish fluently like a native and improve your grammar, stop by Luis Vives Spanish School and take a look at the Spanish classes what we offer. They will surely adapt perfectly to your needs. Luis Vives Spanish School The best option to learn Spanish in the heart of Madrid!

Spanish academies in Madrid - The Spanish blog - The word of the day: Guay

Word of the day: "Cool"

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Hello #Vivers! Surely more than once, listening to a conversation between young people, you have heard the expression "cool" or in Spanish class your "teacher" has taught it to you as a possible answer to the question "how are you?"... This It is one of the funniest words in Spanish and you have surely wondered at some point what its origin is. Today in our word of the day, we bring you the meanings and origin of this expression.

The use of this expression became popular in the 80s and 90s. In those years, it became a catch-all word to refer to a thing or a person that is fun, surprising, attractive and fantastic. In this sense, to indicate that something was of good quality, it was associated with the rhyme “cool from Paraguay”, although it has no relationship with the South American country, other than a certain exoticism… Recently, a certain pejorative meaning has been added to the word. by including it in the expression "Ir de cool", which is said of a person who behaves falsely or who boasts of money and fame.

The origins of the use of the word cool

Now, "cool" is a very old word that was originally synonymous with the interjection ouch. Thus, it had the meaning of lament or threat: "Woe is me!", instead of "Woe is me!"; or "Woe to you if you abandon me!" instead of "Woe to you if you abandon me!" Its use already appears reflected in texts from the Middle Ages and we can find the word without any effort in La Celestina (1499), by Fernando de Rojas. Cool acquired its current meaning in the XNUMXth century by phonetically coinciding with the English word gay (funny, bright).

According to other theories, the word "cool" comes from the Eastern Arabic "quwais." This expression means “how good” and is widespread in countries such as Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and other countries in the region. It is said that in principle it was used in the south of Spain to describe something of good quality and its use was restricted to the trade of "hashish" (cannabis) from Morocco, but towards the 80s it ended up spreading in a broader sense to many areas and began to be used by young people as a synonym for "cool."

"This movie is cool"

«Yesterday we had a great time»

How cool! We go on tour!

Attend Spanish class and enrich your vocabulary in the Luis Vives Spanish School and take a look at the Spanish classes what we offer. They are sure to adapt perfectly to your needs. Luis Vives Spanish School The best option to learn Spanish in Madrid!

The word of the day: "February"

By Administrator

February 1

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Hello #Vivers! We are already at the end of February. This month, the shortest of the year, is characterized by being the month in which almond trees bloom. It is also the month in which lovers celebrate their day, but do you know the origin of the word "February"? We have already told the students who come to our academy to learn Spanish. If you continue reading the new entry on the Spanish blog, you will know it too.

February is the second month of the year and the last in the Roman calendar.

The Sabines, who were one of the Indo-European peoples who lived on the Italian Peninsula (between the Tiber and the Apennines), every year celebrated a purification festival called fever, every February 15. After the founding of Rome, this city used the name of the festivals February to name the month in which they were celebrated: the last of the year.

It is believed that the founder of Rome, Romulus, was the one who unified the many calendars that existed on the Italian Peninsula in the 304th century BC. C. and created a new one, with ten months and 300 days. But this calendar that Romulus made was not very good for such an important territory. In the year XNUMX BC. C. counselor Flavio created another calendar with two more months that were added after December: januarius, dedicated to the goddess Janus and februarius, whose name comes from the ancient purification festival of the Sabines.

The name of this month has been recorded in Spanish since 1129 and is in many modern European languages. For example: february, in English; february, in French; February, in Italian or February, in German.

Source: The origin of words. Illustrated etymological dictionary. Ricardo Soca

If you are looking for an academy to learn Spanish fluently like a native and improve your grammar, stop by. Luis Vives Spanish School and take a look at the Spanish classes what we offer. They will surely adapt perfectly to your needs. Luis Vives Spanish School The best option to learn Spanish in the heart of Madrid!

The word of the day: "Olé"

By Administrator

January 24, 2023

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Hello #Vivers! In our Spanish courses for foreigners, we always try to teach our students to use the words they know best in our language, such as the word "olé". Without a doubt, this is one of the most international words in Spanish. Who hasn't used it or heard it at some point? Although many people relate it to the world of flamenco, bullfighting or football. It is usually used to express admiration for the good work someone does, such as a good Almodóvar film, a good song, or a Mbappe dribble, but do you know what its true origin is?

There are many hypotheses about the origin of this word. There are those who claim that it comes from the Greek verb ololizin, used as a shout of joy. Others say that it comes from the Bible, when Jacob is deceived at his wedding with Rachel, because people tried to warn him that it was Leah and not his beloved, saying Oh, Leah! But the most widespread hypothesis has to do with the Arabic expression Allah (Oh, God). The RAE, on the other hand, notes that olé! comes from the Arabic exclamation Wa-(a)llah (By God!), an exclamation of enthusiasm at surprising or excessive beauty or joy. In the Arabic language, there is no vowel “e” and sometimes the vowel “a” sounds similar to “e”.

Surely Olé is a word that you have used when you wanted to imitate the Spanish. If you want to learn Spanish and enrich your vocabulary, you should start with the Spanish courses for foreigners from the Luis Vives Spanish School. Take a look at the Spanish classes that we offer, they will surely adapt perfectly to your needs. Luis Vives Spanish School The best option to learn Spanish in Madrid!