Confusing words
When we see two words which look and sound the same in Spanish we sometimes panic.
Nada is a prime example. It can mean he or she swims
and, of course, it can mean nothing.
La cocina is the kitchen and él cocina means he or she cooks.
The real meaning of the word is made obvious by the context.
So, today we´re going to look at the simple word book, which one would think
of as being very straightforward, and some of the confusion I have heard surrounding it.
Firstly, un libro is a book. However, la libra is the pound (as in pound sterling or that ancient measureof weight
which I think is more or less half a kilo).
Then there´s libre which means free. That´s free as in available.
You see it outside car parks to say there are free spaces.
If something does not need to be paid for it is gratis.
Al aire libre means in the open air. What we´d call al fresco – just to confuse the issue.
Una libreta is a note book and un libretto a musical score, as in English.
You buy your libros in una libraria – a book shop. A library is una biblioteca.
Then if you want to book something you have to reservar.
Quiero reservar dos billetes – I want to book two tickets.
Voy a reservar las entradas para el partido – I´m going to book the tickets for the match.
Well I hope that´s clarified things for you all.
Hasta la próxima - Until next time.
Valerie.
Valerie runs the Centro Idiomas Language School in Coin.
Her books, “The First Twelve Shortcuts to Spanish” , “The Second Twelve Shortcuts to Spanish” & “The Third Twelve Shortcuts to Spanish” (€5 each) and “The Verb Book” (€7) are available from The News office in Coin, Woody’s Cards and Books in Los Boliches, David’s Books in Los Boliches or by email from
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Valerie's books can also now be bought from her website - www.cslspain.com or call 952 450 747.
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