In a recent blog post I told you about my friend Harry from New York who was here visiting me in Medellín, Colombia. Harry has returned to the States but I did not forget that I told you in my last blog post that I was going to tell you about some more learning Spanish mistakes that Harry made with his Spanish.

As I mentioned in my blog post, the main mistake that Harry made during his visit here was assuming that all Spanish words only have one meaning. Just like many English words have more than one meaning, many Spanish words also have more than one meaning.

Here are 3 more mistakes that he made by assuming that all Spanish words only have one meaning.

Error Número Uno:

Harry had asked me was it safe to visit the “barrio” (neighborhood) where his “novia” (girlfriend) lives.

And I told him:

Te recomiendo que no vayas allá.
(I recommend that you do not go there.)

He asked:

¿Por qué no?
(Why not?)

And I answered:

Porque hay muchas bandas en ese barrio.

His response to that was:

Pero me encanta la música latina.
(But I love Latino music.)

How To Say Gang In Spanish

 

In this instance Harry assumed that the only definition for the Spanish word “banda” is “band” as in a “musical band.” But “banda” also means “gang” as in:

Porque hay muchas bandas en ese barrio.
(Because there are a lot of gangs in that neighborhood.)

Error Número Dos:

Harry being the “arriesgado” (daring) type decided to ignore my advice and go to the “barrio” that I recommended that he not go to. When he returned to my home later that night I asked him:

¿Cómo te fue?
(How did it go?)

Cuéntame Harry.

When I said “cuéntame” to him at first he looked a bit puzzled. And then he pointed to me and said:

Uno, dos, tres, cuatro . . . . .

This time Harry assumed that the only definition for the verb “contar” is “to “count.” The verb “contar” does mean “to count.” But “contar” also means “to tell.”

So when I said “cuéntame” to him, I meant for him to “tell me” and not “count me.”

Error Número Tres:

How To Say Prescription In Spanish

 

His last day here before returning to the airport, Harry told me that he often gets sick when he flies. So I told him:

Vamos a la farmacia.
(Let’s go to the pharmacy.)

No necesitas una receta.

When I said to him “no necesitas una receta,” he responded:

Why would someone bring a recipe to a drug store?

Do you see the mistake he made?

The mistake that he made here is probably obvious to you. He assumed that the only definition for the word “receta” is “recipe” — when it also means “prescription.”