Sobremesa and Other Spanish Words English Should Steal

Every language has gaps — things its speakers do every day and have never bothered to name. English is full of them, and Spanish, by luck or by long lunches, has filled a surprising number. Learning these words is one of the small pleasures of the language: you get the vocabulary, and you also get a new way of noticing your own life.

Here are twelve that English should simply take.

1. La sobremesa

The time spent at the table after a meal has finished — talking, drinking coffee, not going anywhere. Literally over the table. In Spain it can easily outlast the meal itself, and a long Sunday sobremesa is less an absence of plans than the plan. English has after-dinner conversation, which is a description. Spanish has an institution.

2. Madrugar

To get up early. One verb, where English needs four words. It comes with a proverb every Spanish child hears: no por mucho madrugar amanece más temprano — getting up earlier won’t make the sun rise any sooner.

3. Trasnochar

The opposite: to stay up late, or to be up all night. Ayer trasnoché y hoy no soy persona — I stayed up late last night and today I’m not a functioning human.

4. Estrenar

To use or wear something for the first time. New shoes, a new flat, a new pan. Estreno camisa — I’m wearing this shirt for the first time. The same word is used for a film premiere, which tells you something about the ceremony Spanish attaches to first times.

5. La vergüenza ajena

The embarrassment you feel on someone else’s behalf. The best man’s speech that goes wrong, the colleague who replies-all. English borrowed Fremdschämen from German for this and nobody uses it. Vergüenza ajena is two words everyone understands, and ¡qué vergüenza ajena! is said with a wince.

6. El puente

Literally a bridge: the extra day off that joins a bank holiday to the weekend. When a holiday falls on a Thursday, you hacer puente by taking the Friday too. The word does the logistics for you — and in early December, when two national holidays fall close together, Spaniards talk about the acueducto.

7. Friolero / friolera

A person who feels the cold easily. Not a temporary state — a personality. Soy muy friolera explains the cardigan in August, and it is a far kinder description than anything English offers.

8. Los consuegros

The parents of your child’s spouse. English has no word at all for this relationship, which is odd given how many Christmases depend on it. Spanish gives it a noun, which makes it considerably easier to complain about.

9. Tocayo / tocaya

Someone who has the same first name as you. ¡Somos tocayos! is a small social bond, instantly formed. English has namesake, but it is formal and usually about being named after someone; tocayo is the friendly, sideways version.

10. Anteayer

The day before yesterday, in one word. English lost its equivalent, ereyesterday, centuries ago. Spanish kept it, along with pasado mañana for the day after tomorrow.

11. Empalagoso

So sweet it becomes too much — of a cake, a song, or a couple on the next table. Cloying comes close but it sounds like a food critic. Empalagoso is what you say to your friend under your breath.

12. ¡Que aproveche!

Said to people who are eating — including strangers, including the table next to yours as you walk past. English falls back on the French bon appétit or on nothing at all. The verb underneath, aprovechar, to make the most of something, is itself one English lacks: aprovecha el sol, make the most of the sunshine.

Why this matters for learners

Words like these are a shortcut to sounding fluent, because they are exactly the ones a translation-minded learner avoids. If you think in English, you will say me levanto temprano — correct, and faintly textbook. Someone who has absorbed the language says madrugo. The meaning is the same; the message about your Spanish is not.

They are also unusually easy to remember. Vocabulary sticks when it is attached to something you recognise, and every word on this list names an experience you have already had — you just never had a label for it.

Vocabulary

• la sobremesa — lingering at the table after a meal
• madrugar — to get up early
• trasnochar — to stay up late
• estrenar — to use or wear for the first time
• la vergüenza ajena — embarrassment on someone else’s behalf
• hacer puente — to take the day off between a holiday and a weekend
• friolero / friolera — someone who feels the cold
• los consuegros — your child’s parents-in-law
• el tocayo / la tocaya — someone with the same first name
• anteayer — the day before yesterday
• pasado mañana — the day after tomorrow
• empalagoso — sickly sweet, too much
• aprovechar — to make the most of

Where to go next

Pick two from the list and use them this week, out loud, in a real sentence — anteayer trasnoché will do nicely. Words you have said stay; words you have only read drift away.

A tutor is the easiest place to try them, because they will tell you when a word lands and when it sounds forced. You can book a single Spanish lesson on Parlazo — one lesson, paid on its own, no subscription. Long sobremesa optional.