Ten that trip you up in Spanish

1. 1
   ferrocarril/ferokaˈril/

   railwaynoun

   A system of tracks trains run on.
2. 2
   murciélago/muɾˈsjelaɡo/

   batnoun

   An animal that flies at night and sleeps hanging upside down.
3. 3
   otorrinolaringólogo/otorinolaɾinˈɡoloɡo/

   ENT doctornoun

   A doctor who treats problems of the ear, nose and throat.
4. 4
   hemorragia/emoˈraxja/

   hemorrhagenoun

   Heavy bleeding from a wound or inside the body.
5. 5
   paralelepípedo/paɾaleleˈpipedo/

   parallelepipednoun

   A geometric solid with six flat faces, shaped like a box.
6. 6
   tartamudear/taɾtamudeˈaɾ/

   to stutterverb

   To get stuck while speaking and repeat syllables without being able to continue smoothly.
7. 7
   desenvolver/desenbolˈbeɾ/

   to unwrapverb

   To remove the paper or wrapping from something.
8. 8
   reestructurar/reestɾuktuˈɾaɾ/

   to restructureverb

   To change the way something is organized internally.
9. 9
   excéntrico/ekˈsentɾiko/

   eccentricadjective

   Behaving in an odd way, different from everyone else.
10. 10
    rígido/ˈrixido/

    rigidadjective

    Hard and unable to bend.

The sentences

1. El museo del ferrocarril abre temprano los fines de semana.

   The railway museum opens early on weekends.

2. Anoche un murciélago entró a la cocina y todos gritamos.

   Last night a bat flew into the kitchen and we all screamed.

3. Mi hermano va con el otorrinolaringólogo porque le duele el oído.

   My brother is going to the ENT doctor because his ear hurts.

4. El doctor dijo que la hemorragia ya se había detenido.

   The doctor said the bleeding had already stopped.

5. La maestra dibujó un paralelepípedo en el pizarrón de la escuela.

   The teacher drew a parallelepiped on the classroom board.

6. Cuando me pongo nervioso empiezo a tartamudear frente a la gente.

   When I get nervous I start to stutter in front of people.

7. ¿Me ayudas a desenvolver los regalos antes de la fiesta?

   Can you help me unwrap the gifts before the party?

8. El jefe quiere reestructurar el equipo antes del fin de año.

   The boss wants to restructure the team before the end of the year.

9. Mi vecino es un poco excéntrico pero siempre nos ayuda mucho.

   My neighbor is a bit eccentric but always helps us a lot.

10. Este colchón está muy rígido y me duele la espalda.

    This mattress is very stiff and it hurts my back.

Pronunciation

• ferrocarril/ferokaˈril/

  The rr in the middle rolls strongly and the stress falls on the last syllable: -rril.

• murciélago/muɾˈsjelaɡo/

  The c sounds like an s, and -cié- is one syllable: that's where the stress falls, not on the a.

• otorrinolaringólogo/otorinolaɾinˈɡoloɡo/

  The stress falls on -gó-. The rr in -rri- rolls; the r in -rin- is soft.

• hemorragia/emoˈraxja/

  The h is silent, the g in -gia sounds like a j, and the stress falls on -rra-.

• paralelepípedo/paɾaleleˈpipedo/

  All the weight falls on -pí-, where the accent mark is; the other syllables stay even.

• tartamudear/taɾtamudeˈaɾ/

  The e and the final a don't run together: tar-ta-mu-de-ar, with the stress on the a.

• desenvolver/desenbolˈbeɾ/

  The v sounds just like a b, and the stress falls on the last syllable.

• reestructurar/reestɾuktuˈɾaɾ/

  Both e's at the start are heard, one after the other; the stress falls at the end.

• excéntrico/ekˈsentɾiko/

  The x sounds like ks and the c in -cén- sounds like s: ek-sén-tri-co, with the stress on -cén-.

• rígido/ˈrixido/

  The initial r rolls strongly, the g sounds like a j, and the stress falls on the first syllable.

Questions

How do you pronounce otorrinolaringólogo in Spanish?

The stress falls on -gó-, the rr in -rri- rolls strongly, and the r in -rin- is soft.

What does desenvolver mean in Spanish?

It means to unwrap, to remove the paper or wrapping from something.

How do you say bat in Spanish?

Murciélago, an animal that flies at night and sleeps hanging upside down.