Small talk: How I'm feeling right now

💬 In Spain, things that happened earlier today use the he + verb form (he dormido), where English says "I slept". Same with Hoy he comido tarde "I ate late today."

🇪🇸 A small, sympathetic reaction when someone shares mild bad news. With a falling tone it means "oh dear". Said with surprise, it can also mean "wow".

💬 enfermo changes to enferma when you're asking a woman. Being ill counts as a temporary state, so it takes estar.

💬 Spanish says "I have sleep" (tengo sueño), not "I am sleepy". The same pattern gives tengo hambre "I'm hungry" and tengo frío "I'm cold".

💬 At the start of a sentence, bueno doesn't mean "good". It's a filler meaning "well" or "right then", often used to wrap up or change topic.

💬 por lo demás means "apart from that". It's a handy way to move past one complaint: Estoy cansado, pero por lo demás, bien "I'm tired, but otherwise fine."

💬 Feeling happy right now uses estar. A woman says contenta.

💬 mañana means both "tomorrow" and "morning": mañana por la mañana is "tomorrow morning". The ñ sounds like the ny in canyon (mah-NYAH-nah).

💬 The e in empezar stretches to ie in empiezo. Watch for the same shift in quiero "I want", from querer.

💬 Spanish happily uses the present tense for planned future events: mañana empiezo. You don't need a future form when the time word makes it clear.

💬 ¡Qué...! plus a describing word makes a quick reaction. Swap the word: ¡Qué bonito! "How pretty!" or ¡Qué rollo! "What a drag!"

💬 descansa here is a friendly instruction to one person you'd call tú. It's the same shape as "he/she rests", so context tells you which it is.

🇪🇸 Opening with pues makes the advice sound warm and natural, like "well then". It's a typical caring reply after someone says they're tired.

💬 This is the tú form. To someone you'd address formally, say ¿Cómo está?

🇪🇸 Bouncing the question back with ¿y tú? is expected. Not asking can come across as a bit self-absorbed.

💬 Spanish usually drops yo. Adding it here sets you apart from the other person: "as for me, I'm great."

💬 Adding me turns voy "I go" into "I'm leaving". The same shift happens in nos vamos "we're off".

💬 me voy comes from irse "to leave". Without me, voy just means "I'm going" somewhere: voy a casa "I'm going home."

🇪🇸 This is the standard way to start leaving a chat in Spain. Expect a few more lines of goodbye after it, though, rather than an instant exit.

🇪🇸 Spaniards say hasta luego even when they may not see you again, like leaving a shop. It works as a general "bye".

💬 After por, the verb stays in its basic form: gracias por venir "thanks for coming". English uses -ing here, but Spanish doesn't.