12/09/2026
Why do I need to learn Spanish? 🇪🇸
One of the requirements when applying for Spanish citizenship is to pass the DELE A2 exam, which tests your basic ability to understand and communicate in Spanish. So this week, I started my Spanish classes and enrolled for a few weeks to see how it goes.
And honestly, I thought it was going to be easy because we Filipinos already use so many words that are similar to Spanish, like:
Kutsara — cuchara
Tinidor — tenedor
Kutsilyo — cuchillo
Sapatos — zapatos
Medyas — medias
Bintana — ventana
Kwarto — cuarto
Kusina — cocina
Trabaho — trabajo
Mesa — mesa
Even some numbers, days, and months sound familiar. Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco. Lunes, martes, miércoles. Enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo.
So sa akong mind, “Ah, daghan familiar, dali ra ni.”😝
Not until I actually entered the class and my teacher spoke Spanish almost the entire time. Didto nako naka realize nga, ay, lisod man diay.
Kay knowing Spanish words is one thing, but putting them into sentences and actually having a conversation is a whole different story. And when you hear native Spanish speakers talking normally, paspas kaayo and sometimes murag nagdikit dikit na tanan words.
Another thing that makes it difficult is that you can’t just translate English into Spanish word for word because Spanish has its own sentence structure and way of expressing things. You can literally know the Spanish translation of each word and still form the sentence incorrectly.
So mao ra to. To all the Filipinos out there learning another language, I feel you! Dili lalim, pero kay ambisyosa mn ta laban! 😂🇪🇸
