Spanish vocabulary audio flashcards from Maria Fernandez’s course

Forgetting the gender of the Spanish nouns you’re supposed to know well is both frustrating and demotivating. Today I’m going to walk you through the reason why those mistakes are made, and I’m going to give you an easy solution.

My fifteen years teaching Spanish have shown me that learning and reviewing vocabulary the wrong way is what leads to those mistakes.

You may be wondering, then, if there is a way of learning new Spanish nouns that will allow you to get the gender always right. The answer, without any doubt, is ‘yes’. Here are the two steps you need to follow:

1. Every time you come across a new Spanish noun, make sure you learn it with ‘el’ or ‘la’. When you’re reviewing vocabulary, do so with ‘el’ or ‘la’ in front of all the nouns.

2. Use recordings by native Spanish speakers to learn new vocabulary, in particular audio flashcards.

In all my Spanish courses this is the method I use. It’s fast, efficient and a great time-saver.

Learning nouns with their article the first time you come across them takes the same effort as learning them on their own, and it will save you a lot of time and frustration later on. So, for instance, instead of learning that:

the word ‘flor’ means ‘flower’

Always learn that:

‘la flor’ means ‘the flower’

Doing so will ensure that you associate ‘flor’ with ‘la’ in a natural way, just like Spanish native speakers do.

My second vocabulary tip is to use audio flashcards. The advantage of those is that you can hear the new Spanish words and their English translation, as well as practice and review them.

The task of learning new Spanish vocabulary becomes significantly easier with audio flashcards. They are an essential tool for acquiring a good Spanish accent, and a powerful resource for reviewing efficiently. Throughout my Spanish courses I have created audio flashcards to make your vocabulary learning experience smooth and enjoyable. I’ve included them in my online course, my Spanish Podcasts for Beginners, kids’ course, videos and my iTunes apps.

Briefly, learning new vocabulary following the two steps I’ve described in this article is not only more efficient in the short, medium and long term, but also much more enjoyable.

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The Spanish greeting ‘buenas tardes‘ translates both as ‘good afternoon‘ and ‘good evening‘; and the greeting ‘buenas noches‘ means both ‘good evening‘ and ‘good night‘.

So, when do you use ‘buenas tardes’ and ‘buenas noches’?

Unlike in English, these two Spanish greetings have more to do with meals and the sunset than with the actual time of day.

Therefore, ‘buenas tardes’ is usually said after lunch, which is often from 2.00 pm. ‘Buenas noches’, especially in the summer, is usually said after 9.00 pm. In winter, many people say ‘buenas tardes’ at least until 8.00 pm, even if it’s dark; and many only use ‘buenas noches’ after dinner, which tends to be from 9.00 pm.

When using ‘buenas noches’, remember that it’s not only a farewell, but also a greeting. You can use it both when you meet someone and when you leave.

As you can see, there is no golden rule as to when to use these Spanish greetings. The important point is that they’re vague and flexible. Best of all, there’s an easy way out if you’re unsure as to which one to use: you can simply say ‘buenas’.

If you want to practice saying these and other Spanish greetings, you can hear them said by native speakers in the Lessons 2, 3 and 4 of my Spanish course. Here are two samples:

Lesson 2 dialog and flashcards

Here are the most common Spanish greetings, together with their English translation:

You can hear these greetings said by native Spanish speakers in the first four lessons of my Spanish for beginners course. Here are the Lesson 1 flashcards:

Learning tip

To learn new Spanish words well, make sure you hear them said by native speakers, rather than someone without a native accent. Learning from native speakers is essential if you want to avoid bad pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar habits.