Spanish Word of the Day

despertador, noun
alarm clock

We’ve already come across the words despertar and despierto meaning to wake up and awake. A related word which can prove very useful when you’re traveling is el despertador, an alarm clock. Notice the verb poner and the preposition para in this next example.

No te olvides de poner el despertador para las cinco.
Don’t forget to set the alarm for five o’clock.

And notice how you use the verb sonar:

Cuando sonó el despertador salté de la cama.
When the alarm went off I leapt out of bed.

One of the services your hotel is likely to offer is:

servicio de despertador
wake up call


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Spanish Word of the Day

Friday, November 28, 2008

infierno, noun
hell

We’ve already come across el cielo, meaning heaven. Its opposite is el infierno, hell.

Hitler se está calcinando en el infierno.
Hitler is burning in hell.

Apart from its literal meaning, you can use it metaphorically. Translating what Jean-Paul Sartre wrote in French:

El infierno son los otros.
Hell is other people.

Infierno can also be used to refer to somewhere which is very hot. There is a proverb about the weather in Madrid, Spain, which goes:

Nueve meses de invierno y tres de infierno.
Nine months of winter and three of hell.


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© HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2006. All rights reserved.