#8 - "Caro" or "CarRrRrRooo"? 🚗 Spanish Minimal Pairs

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👂 Did you know a small sound can make a big difference in Spanish? Like the difference between "caro" and "carro"? 🤯

In this episode, you'll learn about minimal pairs (similar-sounding word pairs) and how they can sharpen your Spanish listening skills.¡Vamos!

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Ola la. You're listening to speakingSpanish for beginners from Latin La gal como
at all. Welcome to a newepisode Marco Soy the soud America is Soy
pcentaor this the podcast And in thisepisode, I'll talk about words that sound

(00:26):
very close in Spanish, but asmall change in sound can make a big
difference. I'm talking about minimal purse, but it is minimals. I know
that that word doesn't ring any bills. But what if I told you that
the words in English pen and penare minimal purse. Ah, you see

(00:49):
this sound almost the same, butthey're not the same. That's what this
episode is all about. But lookingat minimal purse in Spanish a good episode
to work on your listening skills.Are you ready for this? Yes,
Minimal purse are pers of words ina language that have very similar sound but

(01:11):
different meaning. These words help usunderstand the importance of pronunciation and how a
slight changing sounds can completely change themeaning of what we say. By recognizing
and practicing minimal purse, you canimprove your pronunciation and avoid confusion when speaking
or understanding espaniol Mi amigo. Solet's review some Paris minimals en espaniol bamos,

(01:41):
gone primer, par minimal. Thewords are basso and basso. Can
you spot the difference basso basso.Let's have a look at the first one.
Basso spelled pay a a say oh, basso. It means weight,

(02:05):
as saying I gain some weight thismonth, that kind of weight. Baso.
Basso is also the name of somecurrencies in Latin America as al paso
tileno a basso arcientino, al pasoMexicano. So paso with P can be

(02:25):
weight, and also is the nameof some currencies in Latin America. So
what about baso? What does basomean? Ki significant baso? Basso spelled
by a say oh has a completelydifferent meaning, not even related to paso

(02:49):
at all. Baso is a lovingword. It means kiss own basil,
no, that's own basiol lost.Bassos are a common way to greet each
other in many many countries. InSpain, for example, they give two
bassos, those bassos one on eachchick in La Mehia. In my country,

(03:15):
Chile, is only one kiss onthe chick own basso. You will
also see this word in some textmessages like bassos or besitos. That's very
common to send in text messages withyour boyfriend or girlfriend, a loving way
of finishing your message. Bassos besitos. So there you have it. Basso,

(03:40):
basso, bamos connell parminimo? Doosthese thebisodio cato and caro cato caro?
Do you notice the difference cato caro. The difference here is between the

(04:00):
soft art and the rolling r.A. Cato spelled say ah oh,
Catto means expensive. For example,wound te levi orcado an expensive TV wound,
bia he cato an expensive trip.So cato is an adjective and it

(04:27):
means expensive, and caro spelled sayah oh, means car. So what
if I want to say an expensivecar, come and say this expensive car
in Spanish. I'll give you afew seconds to think of your answer.

(04:53):
Did you say cato cato? No, that's expensive expensive? The answer is
uncaro cado And that's why you haveto work on your ars in Spanish because
that sound can make a difference inSpanish. So too, tess ucaro cado,

(05:14):
bamos cone par minimo, No metotres. This one is similar to
the previous one. The two wordsare pedo and pero pedo pero? Can
you hear it? Pedo pero?Once again, the difference is in the

(05:34):
sound r in Spanish la ericaro.Let's look at what each word means.
In this case, pedo spelled pa h pedo miss bat no, not
that kind of bat of batock no, no no. It means bad to

(05:59):
spress position in Spanish, as inI like it, but I won't buy
it. That kind of bad,and that bad is pedo in Spanish,
however, pero spelled pa are opero. That's how we say dog in
Spanish. Elpero mejoda migo lombre,megusta los perros pedo nothing gompero. Ah?

(06:29):
Can you say that? To practicethose songs? Here I go again,
magusta los perros pedo nothing, gompero. Your turn, megusta los perros
pedo nothing gompero. Great? Andcan you see the difference pero pero.

(06:54):
So hopefully this helps you to becomeaware of some differences in the sense of
words and how they can change themeaning in these cases. And I got
a bonus and I'll mention it becauseit would also help you to understand the
difference between Spanish from Spain and LatinAmerican Spanish. The words are cassar and

(07:17):
cassar, cassar cassar. What isthe difference, Well, in my pronunciation,
there is no difference, because inLatin America we pronounce the z and
the as in the same way petoin Alguna's part of Spania. In some
parts of Spain, they would saycathar and cassar. Casar with Z spelled

(07:46):
say ah setare means to hunt.Cassar in Latin America or casar in Spain,
but casar spells say a a erecasar means to marry and as.

(08:07):
In Latin America we pronounce the sand the z in a similar way like
an s. We rely on thecontext of the conversation because if somebody says
mey voya casaranimales, there is noways to marry. But if somebody says
me boya casarco maria, there isno way. It's to hunt. I'm

(08:33):
going to hunt me boya casar.I'm going to marry me boya casar.
What. Well, I hope it'snot too difficult to understand. Although some
people seem to be hunting to getmarried actually funny thing. The word for
gold digger in Spanish is casa fortunas, which means fortune hunter assa for tunas.

(09:01):
So, my friend, I hopeyou don't get hunted by a cassa
for tuna and that missa egos.That's all for today, Grassias pot scutar
speaking Spanish four beginners. If youenjoy this episode, please give it a

(09:22):
five star review and recommend it toyour friends. And before a closed episode,
I want to thank Jason for supportingme on buy me a coffee,
Jason, muta graciastravajo. And ifyou need a professional Spanish student who can
guide you to understand things like minimalpurse and who's also engaging and can help

(09:46):
you get started on the right foot, at Latinelle, we offer online Spanish
lessons at a flexible time that adaptsto your needs. What are your lessons
like? I'll let one of mystudents tell you about our lessons. Hello.
I just want to say that Ireally enjoy taking classes with Marco and
Latinelle. This class is able toget me to actually speak Spanish during class

(10:07):
rather than just reading or listening.Marco was so helpful and super kind of
my mistakes. I would absolutely recommendthis class to anyone who is looking to
expand their Spanish vocabulary and speaking abilities. Also, I got important news.
In September and October twenty twenty three, we'll be teaching or Intensive Spanish program

(10:28):
two intensive months eight weeks with twotutors to start having your first conversations en
Espanol with confidence. For more information, visit www dot latinelle dot com or
take out the episode description Geting gasUndia Tatao