The short version
- Translating word by word is slow because you build every sentence twice: once in English, then again in Spanish.
- Learn phrases as whole chunks, so there's nothing to translate.
- When a sentence is too hard, say a simpler one with the Spanish you already have.
A colleague asks you ¿Qué hiciste el fin de semana? and this happens in your head: what did I do? I went to the beach. "Went" is the past of "go", so ir... fui? Beach is playa. Is it el or la? By the time Fui a la playa comes out, they've turned to someone else. If you want to stop translating in your head when you speak Spanish, this is the habit to break.
Everyone starts this way. Most of us learnt with English on one side of the page and Spanish on the other, so of course that's how the brain goes about it.
The problem is speed. Translating is fine when you're writing an email. In a conversation, it's too slow.
Why translating slows you down
When you translate, you're doing two jobs. First you build the sentence in English. Then you take it apart and rebuild it in Spanish, one word at a time, checking the grammar as you go.
The English version also pulls you towards English word order and English ways of saying things, which often don't work in Spanish.
| Translated word by word | What a Spanish speaker says | |
|---|---|---|
| I like it | Yo gusto lo | Me gusta |
| I'm 30 | Soy 30 años | Tengo 30 años |
| I'm cold | Estoy frío | Tengo frío |
| I miss you | Te pierdo | Te echo de menos |
| I'm looking forward to it | Estoy mirando adelante | Tengo muchas ganas |
Each wrong version follows English logic perfectly. That's the issue. The fix is to stop building from English words and start pulling out Spanish phrases you already know as one piece.
Learn chunks, not single words
A chunk is a group of words you learn and say as one unit. Tengo ganas de (I really want to). Me da igual (I don't mind). Acabo de (I've just).
You don't translate a chunk. You grab it whole, the same way you say "how's it going?" in English without thinking about each word.
| Chunk | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Tengo que… | I have to… | Tengo que irme. |
| Acabo de… | I've just… | Acabo de llegar. |
| Me apetece… | I fancy… | Me apetece un café. |
| Tengo ganas de… | I really want to… | Tengo ganas de verte. |
| Se me ha olvidado… | I've forgotten… | Se me ha olvidado su nombre. |
| ¿Te importa si…? | Do you mind if…? | ¿Te importa si abro la ventana? |
| Me da igual. | I don't mind. | ¿Vino o cerveza? Me da igual. |
The English and Spanish often don't match word for word. Se me ha olvidado is literally something like "it has forgotten itself on me". You'd never build that from English. Learnt as a chunk, it's easy.
Take one chunk, like Tengo que…, and say five different endings out loud: tengo que trabajar, tengo que llamar a mi madre, tengo que hacer la compra, and so on. Keep the chunk the same and only change the end. After a few rounds the chunk comes out on its own, and the only part you have to think about is the new bit.
Say what you can say
A lot of translating happens because you start with an English sentence that's too complicated for your Spanish. "I was absolutely shattered after that flight, it was delayed for hours." Translate that word by word and you'll get stuck on "shattered" before you've really started.
Before you speak, drop the idea down to Spanish you already have. You're not trying to say the perfect sentence. You're trying to get the message across.
- Estaba muy cansado.I was really tired.
- Estaba muy cansado porque el vuelo llegó tarde.I was really tired because the flight arrived late.
- Estaba muy cansado porque el vuelo llegó tres horas tarde.I was really tired because the flight arrived three hours late.
That first sentence is a complete answer on its own. Everything after it is a bonus. Say the simple version first, then add to it if the words are there.
It also changes what you're doing in your head. Instead of asking "how do I say this English sentence?", you're asking "what can I say about this?" That second question starts from Spanish.
When you don't know a word, go around it
Getting stuck on one missing word is where translating hurts most. You reach for the Spanish for something, it isn't there, and the whole sentence stops.
Instead, describe it. Native speakers do this too, when a word is on the tip of their tongue.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Es una cosa que se usa para… | It's a thing you use for… |
| Es como… pero más grande. | It's like… but bigger. |
| Es una persona que… | It's a person who… |
| Es un sitio donde… | It's a place where… |
| No sé cómo se dice, pero… | I don't know how you say it, but… |
Say you can't remember el sacacorchos (the corkscrew). Try Es una cosa que se usa para abrir el vino. Very often the other person will say the word for you, and now you've learnt it too.
Translating also pushes you towards words that look English but mean something else. Embarazada means pregnant, not embarrassed. Constipado means you've got a cold. Actualmente means currently, not actually. If a word looks suspiciously like English, check it before you rely on it.
Practise the conversation before you have it
Chunks and simplifying help in the moment. The bigger change comes from rehearsing specific conversations in advance.
If you've already said El fin de semana fui a la playa con unos amigos out loud twenty times, you won't translate it when someone asks. It's already there. That's what finally worked for me after I moved to Spain: pick a conversation you'll really have, learn the words and chunks it needs, and practise it out loud until it's familiar. There's more on why in why you understand Spanish but can't speak it.
For the weekend conversation, it might look like this:
Once you've got a few of these ready, you'll notice the translating stops for those topics first. Then it starts to happen less in general, because the same chunks keep turning up in different conversations.
While you're getting there, a filler like pues or a ver covers the gap while you think. There's a full list in Spanish filler words that buy you thinking time.
Common mistakes
Learning single words from long lists. You end up with parts but no sentences.
Learn words inside chunks and short example sentences.
Starting from a complicated English sentence.
Start from the Spanish you have and build up.
Stopping dead when one word is missing.
Describe it with es una cosa que… and keep going.
Waiting until you can think in Spanish before you speak.
Speak with chunks now. Thinking in Spanish comes from speaking, not the other way round.
If you'd like to work on that last one, how to start thinking in Spanish has some simple daily exercises.
Recap
- Translating is slow because you build each sentence twice.
- Learn chunks and say them as one piece.
- Simplify the idea to Spanish you already have.
- Describe words you don't know instead of stopping.
- Rehearse real conversations so the Spanish is ready before you need it.
100 Spanish Conversations is built around this. Each theme gives you the words, chunks and structures for one conversation, and a week to practise them out loud. You can post your practice and get replies in the community on Skool.
Leeroy studied Spanish for years before moving to Spain and finding he couldn't hold a conversation. He built Basically Spanish around the method that fixed it. Questions? leeroy@basicallyspanish.com