Dos cervezas por favor, learning Spanish / español help and chat

nutriamocosa aparentemente.

Focamocosa does have a ring to it.

Bocafoca.

Apparently "foka" is seal in Polish too.

El problema caught me out on this morning's lesson.

Apparently words ending -ma are borrowed from Greek and are always masculine and that is why it is not la problema.

I won't remember that of course.

Learn this and you can’t go wrong

Los problemas son masculino, las soluciones son femaninas

Good one - thanks!

Stumbled across an odd one:

Una manzana de casas

Is not a house of apples, it is a block of houses.

I wish it was a house of apples.

"Definition of manzana
: any of several units of land area used especially in Central America that average around 1.7 acres"

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manzana

But New York is still La Manzana Grande

I found translating the lyrics of Spanish language music a fun way to improve when I was trying to learn

https://youtu.be/uMMS5F_7n1U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WGG_wuXTwU

It's taken me 15min of slowing this down 50% and repeating everything this to work out which syllables they leave out. Written Spanish != spoken Spanish (and sung Spanish is probably another level removed again I guess)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL6VG6Q0_d4

Narcos Mexico is back on Netflix. See how many chingas puedes contar en el primer episodio of S3. It’s buena diversion.

So , I've kinda given up active learning recently but I finished off Narcos then started on Mexico in the last few months, remember having a bit of trouble with the accent change but it's engaging. I can't be distracted because I've got to read most of it but there's some nice little on the fly translations going on in my head between what's written and bits I recognise. Gentefied is good too because it's a Spanish/American mix. Started money heist the other day and was like "¿qué pasa?" Holasphllmaamamellammotter wtf but I think after 5 episodes I don't know any more Spanish but I'm picking out the same phrases and words I know so it's fun how your ears adjust. Anyway, Felix and your dad.

I am still persevering with Duolingo, on 846 day streak but feel I need something else to move me on a bit.

Feliz día de reyes, niños

https://reyesmagos.iberia.com/

If anyone knows where I might get a rosca other than online, por favor avisen.

A Spanish couple came in and bought a bici rojo for their niño yesterday, apparently he was worried that the three wise men wouldn't come to the UK. She was explaining the holiday a bit and I couldn't for the life of me remember the Spanish name until they'd left, boshed out a few palabras as they were leaving though which made them smile

That’s great!

Blimey, well done on the streak - that's dedication.

There's lots of stuff on the net about what to do as well as Duo. Basically you need to be speaking with a native speaker now - pick your destination country, and use any of the internet platforms to pay for a few lessons - basically you are paying for conversation lessons. Then, when you feel strong enough, go out and advertise for real people to converse with.

Also, there are lots of free, and paid for, resources for improving your listening Spanish - stories etc, and try reading the Spanish press to see how much you understand. Ultimately, though, there's no substitute for speaking with a native speaker.

No puedo seguir sufriendo por esa mujer
Tengo que olvidar
Tengo que olvidarme de ella

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WGG_wuXTwU

Anyone ever used doulingo premium? They have an offer on at the moment and wondered if it is worth paying for?

I have been using the free version for a few years now but never tried premium.

It's mainly unlimited lives so no waiting around, good if you want to fly through stuff more quickly.

I'm on a 107 day Duolingo streak learning Dutch. I have a good vocabulary now, but struggle to formulate sentences outside of the app. ie if people say go on then say something in Dutch

I am on a 1212 day streak in Spanish and am starting to understand more when we visit Spain.

I do feel like I need to be doing something else now though. I am tempted to go for the paid version of Duolingo because I often cut short my practice for the day if I run out of hearts and am low on gems.

Is it possible to learn a language on Duolingo alone in your opinion?
I was going to have a crack at french 2023.