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LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Five old Spanish sayings you’ll learn from abuelos

Spanish sayings don't always make sense when translated literally but quite often have an equivalent idiom in English.

Published: 21 February 2020 12:59 CET
Five old Spanish sayings you'll learn from abuelos
The old ones are often the best ones. Photo: AFP

The Spanish word 'refrán' means saying or proverb. 

  • Ese es un viejo refrán que siempre lo decía mi abuelo.

        That is an old saying that my grandfather said all the time.

 

Here are some of our favourite old Spanish sayings and the equivalent english idiom.

 

  • Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando.

       A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

 

  • A quien madruga, dios le ayuda.

        The early bird catches the worm.

 

  • A buen entendedor, pocas palabras bastan.

           A word is enough to the wise.

 

  • No hay mal que por bien no venga

          Every cloud has a silver lining.

 

  • Dime con quién andas y te diré cómo eres.

         Hunt with cats and you'll only catch rats

Check out our other word of the day posts

This language article been contributed by LAE Madrid, the leading Spanish academy in Madrid. Accredited by the Insitituto Cervantes, it offers Spanish courses for all levels and also has Spanish classes for kids and families.

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SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Spanish Word of the Day: Bisiesto

Today is a special day in the calendar, so let’s go over a word in Spanish that explains it. 

Published: 29 February 2024 11:15 CET
Spanish Word of the Day: Bisiesto

There’s only a February 29th every four years, which explains why 2024 is a leap year. 

In Spanish, a leap year is called un año bisiesto. You can also refer to a leap day as un día bisiesto.

The word bisiesto originates from the Latin bis sextus dies ante calendas martii (sixth day before the month of March). 

This corresponded to a day between February 23d and 24th brought in by Roman general Julius Caesar in 49BC after coming across a more accurate calendar in Egypt as a means of synchronising the calendar with the solar year. 

This Roman calendar meant to ensure seasonal accuracy was later perfected by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 – hence the name Gregorian calendar – which still stands today.

The simple reason why leap years play a pivotal role in matching our calendar with the Earth’s orbit around the sun is that it takes 365.24 days for the planet to complete one revolution around the sun, so every 365-day year is a quarter of a day short of the complete orbit.

Generally speaking, Spain considers the leap year as a whole, and the itself day, to bring bad luck.

A few Spanish proverbs sum it up:

Año bisiesto, año siniestro – leap year, sinister year

Año bisiesto y año de pares, año de azares – leap year and even year, random year

Año bisiesto, ni casa, ni viña, ni huerto, ni puerto – Leap year, no home, nor vineyard, nor orchard, nor port.

The chances of being born on a leap day are 1 in 1,461. 

Funnily enough, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is the most famous Spaniard to be born on February 29th, which means that today he actually turns 13 (okay, he’s really 52).

Examples:

El 2024 es año bisiesto, lo cual quiere decir que habrá 366 días en el año.

2024 is a leap year, which means that there will 366 days in the year. 

Cumplir años el día 29 de febrero es una putada, sólo lo puedes celebrar oficialmente cada cuatro años. 

Having your birthday on February 29th is a real shame, you can only officially celebrate it every four years.

La Tierra tarda 365 días, 5 horas, 46 minutos y 48 segundos en dar una vuelta completa al Sol, lo cual explica porque existen los años bisiestos.

Planet Earth takes 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 48 seconds to complete orbit the sun, which explains why leap years exist.

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