What They Don't Teach in Spanish Class (and should)

I left home thinking I was pretty good at Spanish. Although I've only taken it for a year and a half, I study a lot on the side and figure out other tenses and stuff like that on my own. But when I came, I realized that there are a LOT of words that have never been taught to me. A lot of these also only apply to Spain but here we go.


1. vale
Probably the most important thing that not enough people know is the word "vale". It is used a lot and means "OK".
 ex) "Necesitamos salir de la casa a las ocho para que no tardemos." "Vale."
meaning: "We need to leave the house at eight so that we're not late." "Okay."

2. molar
There's a verb that is also used a fair amount, molar. It means to be cool or fascinating or interesting. It can be used when one might say "me fascina" or "me encanta" or "me interesa". It also has adjective forms: "molón" and "molona"
ex) "Acabo de comprar un nuevo reloj. Qué opinas?" "Me mola mucho."
meaning: "I just bought a new watch. What do you think?" "It's really cool!"

My friend asking me to take a picture off instagram.

3. tío/a

Literally, they mean aunt and uncle. But most of the time, they are used to mean dude, bro, chick, girl, etc.

4. no hace falta
This isn't really slang but it's common to say. It means "there's no need".

5. qué tal?
In Spain at least, basically no one says "cómo estás?" To ask how it's going or what's up, you almost always say "Qué tal?" A typical response is just "bien". 

6. majo
It means pleasant, likable, nice. 
ex) "Qué te parece la gente aquí?" "Muy maja."
meaning: "What do you think of the people here?" "Very nice."
And I can confirm that the people of Tres Cantos, Madrid are majísimas. 

7. word shortening
Bolígrafo becomes boli. Película becomes peli. Bicicleta becomes bici. Matemática becomes mates. Profesor(a) becomes profe. Motocicleta becomes moto. Televisión becomes tele. Cumpleaños becomes cumple. 

A "peli" that I watched with my family in Spanish

I'm sure that there are a lot more. But for now, this is all I can think of. I've been here for a week and have already learned a lot about the culture and language. There will for sure be another post like this.