When I was growing up, whenever I came to my parents with a problem, I could almost always expect their advice to begin with a refrán. That’s Spanish for a saying or proverb. And that is because refranes are a significant part of the Spanish language.
We use refranes often, and they bring insight, humor, and a sense of familiarity to the conversation. As a language learner, knowing popular sayings or proverbs in the language you are looking to master will put you ahead of the game. And it will increase your fluency and comprehension.
As a Spanish tutor, I love teaching popular Spanish expressions. That’s because I can’t think of another way of sounding more like a native speaker than casually uttering a Spanish idiom in the middle of a conversation and doing it just right.
Being able to use these Spanish quotes about life and quintessential expressions will mean that you have the ability to read the situation well enough to fit in a popular saying. You’ll be able to keep the conversation going, and watch your Spanish friend in awe of your fluency and wit.
Internalize the Meanings of These Spanish Phrases
Now, take my advice when I tell you, whatever you do, don’t try to memorize these by translating them. It just doesn’t work. Here, I will offer you rough translations to help you get the idea. But the best thing you can do is internalize their meaning and think about situations where these apply. Doing this will increase your competency in the language and will help you think more like a native.
I know that learning idioms can be challenging. They are often metaphorical and may have an unusual structure compared to everyday speech. However, idioms often contain clear imagery that you can use to your advantage. Try creating a solid image in your mind of each of these expressions while thinking about specific situations where you could say them. And here is a bonus: learning these sayings will help you learn new vocabulary words that you can incorporate into your vocabulary repertoire.
5 Spanish Quotes About Life
So, here are 5 of my favorite Spanish quotes about life, and facing life circumstances (uh… 2020?). Because if you are going to be doing a lot of introspection for the last quarter of the year, you might as well learn some Spanish vocabulary along the way.
Spanish Quotes #1:
- A quien madruga, Dios le ayuda: This idiom has an interesting verb: madrugar. Madrugar refers to the action of getting up at the break of dawn (any time between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.) To understand this idiom more easily, it might be useful to switch the order of the sentences and say Dios ayuda a quien madruga, which literally means God helps those who wake or rise early.
This idiom can be used with its literal meaning. That is, waking up early will put you ahead of those who don’t. The bank will be less crowded, you will be able to find that product that always sells out fast, etc.
However, the meaning of this expression also expands to express the idea that effort and hard work will always be compensated.
Spanish Quote #2:
Which reminds me of another popular expression: No hay mal que dure cien años, ni cuerpo que lo resista (that one is for homework!)
Spanish Quote #3:
- Más vale prevenir que lamentar: This was one of my dad’s favorite expressions. My father was not a fan of regretting and truly believed that it’s better to take extra precautions than to deal with irreparable damage.
Let’s break this one down: prevenir is Spanish for to prevent (not hard to remember!). And lamentar can be translated as to lament or to be sorry. And yes, you guessed it, it is our way of saying better safe than sorry. So tell me, in which situations do you think that it’s better prevenir que lamentar?
Spanish Quote #4 & 5:
- Cuando el río suena es porque piedras trae: This one is all about listening to your gut. Before I get into the meaning, let’s look at the vocabulary. El verbo sonar here means to produce a sound. Río means river and piedras is Spanish for stones or small rocks and so a very rough translation would be “When the river makes a sound, it’s dragging rocks”. This proverb suggests that rumors can be seen as a sign of truth, in other words, they could be founded on reality. It warns us that if there are rumors going around, there must be some truth to them. (¡Ay!)
- Al mal tiempo, buena cara: To end on a positive note, this one is for 2020! In this expression, tiempo can be translated as weather (clima is another word for it). So mal tiempo, bad weather. The word cara is Spanish for face and buena cara (a “good face”) is the idea of having a pleasant, calmed and relaxed facial expression. This popular saying indicates that we should always face or greet difficult situations with a positive attitude. Easier said than done, you say? Can’t help but agree. In any case, when was the last time you smiled at the rain? It’s worth a try!
Find Ways To Use These Spanish Phrases in Real Life
Want to never forget this? Here is a written exercise you can try to remember these Spanish quotes about life: Write a personal situation you can apply each of these to.
No need to write in Spanish. You can write in your native language and simply add the expressions in Spanish at the end. Finding a personal connection will help you remember these, probably forever. Or I should say, por siempre!
Isabel Solano