Notes
Field notes from building Vocabcord: language learning, charger triggers, and the small habits that make a phrase actually stick.
Learn Spanish vocabulary: a frequency-first guide (A1 to C2)
How to learn Spanish vocabulary efficiently: start with the most frequent words, climb the CEFR levels A1 to C2, learn by theme, and make it stick without sitting down to study.
Spanish · PhrasesTe quiero or te amo? How to say 'I love you' in Spanish
Both te quiero and te amo mean I love you in Spanish, but they are not interchangeable. Here is the difference, which one is more romantic, and which to use in Spain versus Latin America.
Spanish · PhrasesHow to order food at a Spanish restaurant: what to say, step by step
The phrases for ordering in a Spanish restaurant, in the order you actually use them: getting a table, reading the menú del día, ordering with para mí and ¿me pone?, and asking for the bill.
Spanish · A1Essential Spanish verbs: ser vs estar, and the ones you use most
The Spanish verbs to learn first, with audio, and the rules that make sense of them: ser vs estar (the two ways to be), the tener trap for hunger and age, and the -ar, -er, -ir families.
Spanish · CompareVocabcord vs Duolingo: two different tools for Spanish vocabulary
Vocabcord and Duolingo are not really rivals. Duolingo teaches you Spanish through gamified lessons; Vocabcord keeps the vocabulary alive in the background of your day. Here is how they differ, and how they work together.
Spanish · A1Spanish body parts, and how to say what hurts
The Spanish words for the body with audio, plus the two things beginners get wrong: you say what hurts with me duele and a definite article (me duele la cabeza), and la mano is feminine despite ending in -o.
Spanish · A1Colors in Spanish: the words, and how they agree with the noun
The Spanish colors with audio, plus the rule beginners miss: colors ending in -o agree in gender and number (rojo, roja, rojos, rojas), while azul, verde, and gris only change for number.
Spanish · A1Family in Spanish: the words for every relative
The Spanish words for family members with audio, plus the rule beginners miss: los padres means parents, because the masculine plural covers a mixed group (los hermanos, los abuelos, los tíos).
Spanish · A1Spanish food and drink vocabulary for cafés and restaurants
The essential Spanish food and drink words, from agua and café to carne and helado, plus what un café really gets you in Spain, the caña versus cerveza question, and when Spaniards actually eat.
Spanish · A1How to count in Spanish: numbers 0 to 100
Spanish numbers from 0 to 100 with audio: how to say each one, why the teens and twenties are single words, and the rules behind uno, un, una and cien versus ciento.
Spanish · A1Days, months, and telling time in Spanish
The days of the week and months in Spanish, the words for telling time, and the two traps that catch beginners: days and months stay lowercase, and mañana means both morning and tomorrow.
Spanish · A1Spanish travel vocabulary: places, directions, and getting around
The Spanish words you need to travel: transport, the places you will go, and how to follow directions (izquierda, derecha, cerca, lejos), plus the coger-versus-tomar trap for catching the bus.
Spanish · A1Talking about the weather in Spanish: hace calor and the rest
The Spanish weather words with audio, and the rule that surprises beginners: most weather runs on the verb hacer, so it is hace calor and hace frío, while the sky takes está nublado and the rain takes llueve.
Spanish · A1How to greet people in Spanish: the 12 phrases to learn first (A1)
The 12 essential Spanish greetings, when to use each, and the buenos dias vs buenas tardes vs buenas noches rule, plus the lazy way to make them stick.
