Learning How to Speak Spanish? 5 Tricks for Beginners

These tricks to learn Spanish will be the extra push you need to master this wonderful new language!

Beginners can find learning Spanish a bit hard. You need a curriculum to follow, objectives, and mark deadlines on your calendar. 

Organization, self-motivation, and tenacity play a key role in this process.

We consider that the best incentive, and the inspiration for this post, is to speak a bit of Spanish from day one. 

Do you know someone that has studied a language for years but can’t handle basic conversations?

We put together a couple of extra links to help you hack this task, so be sure to read those articles too.

Follow these tricks to learn Spanish; they can help you speak any other language in no time!

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1. Tricks to Learn Spanish: Use Similar Words

Did you know many words are used both in Spanish and English?

These words can help you focus on grammar instead of vocabulary and spelling. Here are some of them:

• Actor
• Animal
• Chocolate
• Flexible
• Hospital
• Regular

These are called “perfect cognates” and are the same in Spanish and English. Just keep in mind that the pronunciation is different in Spanish. 

Read next: 35 Perfect Cognates in Spanish [Words You Already Know!]

Adjectives that end in -ous become –osa for feminine and –oso for masculine, like this:

• Ambitious – ambicioso, ambiciosa
• Anonymous – anónimo, anónima
• Anxious – ansioso, ansiosa
• Curious – curioso, curiosa
• Delicious – delicioso, deliciosa
• Disastrous – desastroso, desastrosa
• Famous – famoso, famosa
• Furious – furioso, furiosa
• Generous- generoso, generosa
• Glamourous – glamuroso, glamurosa
• Glorious – glorioso, gloriosa
• Harmonious – armonioso, armoniosa
• Infectious – infeccioso, infecciosa
• Ingenious – ingenioso, ingeniosa
• Intravenous – intravenoso, intravenosa
• Luminous – luminoso, luminosa
• Luxurious – lujoso, lujosa
• Malicious – malicioso, maliciosa
• Meticulous – meticuloso, meticulosa
• Monstrous – monstruoso, monstruosa
• Mysterious – misterioso, misteriosa
• Numerous – numeroso, numerosa
• Ominous – ominoso, ominosa
• Prestigious – prestigioso, prestigiosa
• Religious – religioso, religiosa
• Scandalous – escandaloso, escandalosa
• Scrupulous – escrupuloso, escrupulosa
• Spacious – espacioso, espaciosa
• Superstitious – supersticioso, supersticiosa
• Studious – estudioso, estudiosa
• Tedious – tedioso, tediosa
• Vicious – vicioso, viciosa
• Victorious – victorioso, victoriosa
• Vigorous – vigoroso, vigorosa
• Rigorous – riguroso, rigurosa

See next: 11 Best Free Spanish Language Learning Websites

This trick to learn Spanish has a second part. There are adjectives that end in -ous that have the Spanish word hidden in it:

• Ambiguous – ambiguo, ambigua
• Analogous – análogo, análoga
• Anomalous – anómalo, anómala
• Autonomous – autónomo, autónoma
• Barbarous – bárbaro, bárbara
• Contiguous – contiguo, contigua
• Continuous – continuo, continua
• Credulous – crédulo, crédula
• Erroneous – erróneo, errónea
• Frivolous – frívolo, frívola
• Heterogeneous – heterogéneo, heterogénea
• Homogeneous – homogéneo, homogénea
• Horrendous – horrendo, horrenda
• Incredulous – incrédulo, incrédula
• Instantaneous – instantáneo, instantánea
• Notorious – notorio, notoria
• Obvious – obvio, obvia
• Precarious – precario, precaria
• Previous – previo
• Prosperous – próspero, próspera
• Ridiculous – ridículo, ridícula
• Serious – serio, seria
• Simultaneous – simultáneo, simultánea
• Spontaneous – espontáneo, espontánea
• Superfluous – superfluo, superflua
• Synonymous – sinónimo
• Tremendous – tremendo, tremenda
• Unanimous – unánimo, unánima
• Various – varios, varias

Remember, we can’t forget to learn words that are similar but slightly different:

• Academic – académico, académica
• Aesthetic – estético, estética
• Artistic – artistíco, artística
• Chaotic – caótico, caótica
• Civic – cívico, cívica
• Democratic – democrático, democrática
• Eccentric – excéntrico, excéntrica
• Ethic – ético, ética
• Epic – épico, épica
• Fanatic – fanático, fanática
• Lyric – lírico, lírica
• Politic – político, política
• Prophetic – profético, profética
• Rhetoric – retórico, retórica

Your next read: 100+ Free Spanish Lessons Online for Beginners and Advanced Learners

There are also words that end in -tion which in Spanish end in –ción:

• Action – acción
• Animation – animación
• Creation – creación
• Deduction – deducción
• Devotion – devoción
• Digestion – digestión
• Donation – donación
• Duration – duración
• Education – educación
• Emotion – emoción
• Evolution – evolución
• Fiction – ficción
• Friction – fricción
• Mention – mención
• Nation – nación
• Nutrition – nutrición
• Position – posición
• Promotion – promoción
• Salvation – salvación
• Section – sección
• Solution – solución
• Station – estación
• Vibration – vibración

More about “sister words”: 85 Common Spanish Words You Already Know

2. Tricks to learn Spanish: Train Your Ear Quicker

Sometimes traditional school learning is not enough. But fear not. You can find many ways to help you understand a new language in the modern world. 

Some of the best tricks to learn Spanish involve ear training. Why? Because Spanish phonetics is different from English phonetics. So, you need to educate your senses to mimic the sounds better.

If you do this right, you will sound like a native in no time. 

Music is a great way to start. Have you noticed that singers don’t really have an accent? Irish singers and American singers sound alike sometimes, don’t they? 

This happens with Spanish too!  

Here is a playlist with famous, easy-to-learn songs in Spanish that include bilingual subtitles.

While you’re at it, you might practice your singing as well!

Read ahead: 10 Top Online Classes You Can Take for Free

3. Tricks to learn Spanish: Watch Spanish-Speaking Shows

Some people learn Spanish by watching shows from Latin America or Spain. You’d be surprised how many Latin Americans have learned English watching Friends! 

You can do it too! Just look for shows that appeal to you. Studies have shown that the more you’re interested in a topic, the better you can engage and learn from it. 

If you’re into drama, watch Monarca, a series about a wealthy family and their eternal fight for money and public acknowledgment. 

Do you like sports comedies like Ted Lasso? Then, look for Club de Cuervos and see how two siblings try to manage a soccer club and control the team’s funny, iconic, and famous players.

Do you want to find some old-fashion drama? Then watch Velvet, a 1950s Spanish show where the main characters are part of the local fashion scene.

Click here for more ideas!

4. Tailor an Immersive Experience

“Immersion” means learning a new language the way you learned your mother tongue by being exposed to it constantly.

If you’re not planning to go to a Spanish-speaking country any time soon, remember that you can have an immersive experience at home.

Try watching shows, listening to music, or speaking at home by yourself. Or even better, speak with a native Spanish speaker for a set of hours every week. 

This will let your brain develop skills like contextualizing and internalizing information in an “unintentional” way.

Immersion also fundamentally impacts your confidence, making it easier for you to engage in casual conversations quicker and better.

5. Practice with a Native Speaker

We saved the best for the end! The best trick to learning Spanish is to practice with a native speaker.

Do you have any friends who speak Spanish? They can help you out!

Real Spanish will help you to train your ear, have access to a more immersive experience, and learn contextualization in the most natural way. 

We highly recommend signing up for classes with real humans who work with expert-certified curricula and can help you speak Spanish from day one. 

At Homeschool Spanish Academy, we provide native and authentic Spanish lessons with innovative, human-centered learning strategies.

Our student-tailored Spanish program with flexible scheduling will help you achieve your learner-specific language goals.

We’ve been teaching Spanish for over 10 years, which is why students love our 5-star Spanish program. We can’t wait for you to join us. So schedule a free class today!

Join one of the 40,000 classes that we teach each month and you can experience results like these…

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