No pasa nada

Means no problem.

If a person knocks over some crates in your shop and you want to reassure them that it’s not a problem, you’d say no pasa nada.

I learned this by asking my friend (while we were hiking at La Rosandra) how I could express myself in a situation where I needed to assure someone that it’s not a problem.

No pasa nada is different from de nada, which also means no problem, but more in the sense of “don’t mention it” or “you’re welcome.”

Pollón

This one means big dick, or well-endowed.

I was walking with my friend to his apartment when he was trying to tell me something about a chicken. He pauses for a moment and says, “I almost said the wrong word.”

I press him, “what was that word?!”

“I wanted to say pollos, which means chicken, but almost said pollón, which means big dick.”

I ChatGPT-ed to clarify use: it’s not meant to be an insult, like what a big asshole. It’s a compliment or humorous exaggeration/tease.

Japón

This means Japan.

Saw this on a poster in a climbing gym. It was advertising a tour package to 7 cities in Japan over 14 days that cost 3000 EUR.

A few days later I heard the local barber say this when he asked me where I’m from.

Langostinos

Means prawns.

I’m at Carrefour when I said to the fishmonger that I wanted ‘gambas’ (what I learned to mean prawns, from eating plenty of tapas).

She leads me to the section with prawns and asks what I make out to mean “which langostinos do you want?”

Later I asked my friend if there’s a difference between gambas and langostinos, and he said maybe in anatomy of the animal, but most people don’t differentiate them. Perhaps except among fishmongers.

La niña, el niño

Means girl and boy.

The female barber at the barbershop who ended up cutting our daughter’s hair took one look at Charlotte and refers to her as “el niño.”

I learned the words ‘el niño’ and ‘la niña’ over a decade ago from geography. Understanding that the barber thought my daughter was a boy, I turn to her with a knowing smile and say, “la niña.”

“La niña!? Ohhhhhhh!”

Mantequilla de Cacahuetes

This means peanut butter.

We brought peanut butter as a gift to my friend’s parents, who had hosted us on their beautiful terrace with chicken croquetas, tortilla de patatas, and wine from a cousin’s vineyard.

Later that day, my friend’s mum asked him to open the mantequilla de cacahuetes to make a snack for her granddaughter.

La cuenta

Means the bill.

I learned this 2 years ago and forgot, but it quickly came back when we dined at a restaurant and did the gesture to our waiter for the bill.

“La cuenta?”

“Sí, por favor!”

Tortilla de patatas

Means potato omelette.

Tortilla in Spain is not a flat round bread for making wraps. They are thick omelettes with potatoes in them.

Oh and there are two camps in Spain: tortilla de patatas eaters who think they should have onions in them, and those who don’t.

My friend’s family is divided right in the middle: mother and son without onions, father and daughter with onions.

Dulce

Means sweet and the “ce” is pronounced as ‘th-eh’ not ‘cheh’.

I first said the wrong thing in a voice message to my friend who asked us to meet him in Aguadulce (‘sweet water’).

We were on the beach of Aguadulce when I heard him pronounce it the right way. A beautiful name.

Almería

I don’t know what this means other than being the name of a city. But I learned from my Italian colleague who lives in Spain how to pronounce it right. It should be ‘al-meh-ree-a’ (long ‘i’) and not ‘al-meh-ria’.