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Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Using the dictionary

Parts of speech

Answer key

Spanish – English

Language plus

Animals

Body

Clothes

Colours

Family

Days and dates

Weather

Places

Food

Fruit and vegetables

Drinks

Furniture

Jobs

At school

Rooms

Numbers and time

Spanish verbs

Illustrations

English – Spanish

About the Publisher

Introduction

The Collins Primary Illustrated Spanish Dictionary is a new bilingual dictionary aimed at primary school children who are starting to learn Spanish.

Access to a dictionary which is pitched at an appropriate level is a vital part of the language-learning process. The content of this dictionary has been carefully selected to reflect current trends in primary education and help children with acquiring basic language-learning skills.

The key aims of the Collins Primary Illustrated Spanish Dictionary are:

• to develop both language skills in Spanish and language learning skills in general

• to cover the four key areas of language attainment: listening, speaking, reading and writing

• to reinforce key aspects of the language by the use of notes and feature boxes throughout the entries

• to extend cultural awareness by providing information about Spain, especially where traditions differ from those in Britain

The Collins Primary Illustrated Spanish Dictionary supports language learning in a number of specific ways:

• it develops children’s knowledge of how language works by encouraging them to understand, analyse and use simple aspects of grammar

• it develops children’s individual learning skills by using a wide range of notes that explain things in a simple but interesting way

• it enables children to make comparisons between Spanish and English by encouraging them to explore the similarities and differences between the two languages and cultures

• it introduces young learners to all the basic elements of a bilingual dictionary and provides detailed instructions on how to get the most out of using the dictionary

The Collins Primary Illustrated Spanish Dictionary is presented in an easy-to-use format which is intended to appeal to children of primary school age. It provides lots of simple, relevant examples and tips on how to remember words, and how to avoid some of the pitfalls of translation. It also features key phrases, illustrations and information about life in Spain, making it an invaluable and exciting new resource.

Using the dictionary

Step one:

Pick the right side

Remember there are two halves to the dictionary. If you want to know what a Spanish word means, look in the first half of the dictionary.

If you want to translate an English word into Spanish, look in the second half, which is English-Spanish. It comes after the supplement in the middle of the dictionary.

1 Which of these words would you look up on the Spanish-English side of the dictionary?

ver brother horse teléfono

2 Look at page 51 of the dictionary. Is this the Spanish side or the English side? How can you tell?

3 Look at page 150 of the dictionary. What is shown at the top of the page, down the side?

4 Is invite the first or the last word on page 437?

Remember that you do not read across the whole page in a dictionary – you have to read down the columns.

5 Which word comes immediately after aburrido?

Step two:

Find the right word

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Words are in alphabetical order in the dictionary – like names in the phone book, and in a school register. The alphabet is shown down the edge of each page of the dictionary. You can sort words into alphabetical order by looking at the first letter of each word.

6 Can you put these names in alphabetical order?

María, Isabel, Juan, Jorge, David, Arturo, Carmen

When two words start with the same letter, look at their second letters.

7 In alphabetical order which comes first – Juan or Jorge?

8 This is the order of the days of the week on a calendar:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Which day comes first in a dictionary? Which comes last?

9 Thursday comes before Tuesday in a dictionary. Why?

10 Put the seven days of the week into alphabetical order. If the first letters are the same, and the second letters are the same, look at the third letters.

11 June, July, August: which comes last in the dictionary?

Step three:

Pick the right translation

The translations are easy to spot in this dictionary because they are blue on the English-Spanish side and red on the Spanish-English side.

Spanish words can be masculine or feminine, and singular or plural. In the dictionary you will come across the abbreviations masc and fem, which tell you the gender of a Spanish word. PL tells you the word is plural. The dictionary also shows you the Spanish word for ‘the’ (this can be el, la, los or las). In the Language plus supplement, NOUN is abbreviated to N and ADJECTIVE is abbreviated to ADJ.

When you look up ‘doll’ you can see that the word for ‘doll’ in Spanish is muñeca. You can tell that the Spanish word for ‘doll’ is feminine because it is given with la and the dictionary says that it is ‘fem ’ (feminine).

So ‘the doll’ is la muñeca and ‘a doll’ would be una muñeca.

Sometimes there is more than one translation, and each one has a number. If there is more than one translation, don’t just pick the first one! Check to see which is the right one.

12 Which is the Spanish word for a ball that you kick – la pelota or el balón? Look for the clue.

ball NOUN

1 la pelota fem (for tennis, golf, cricket) Hit the ball! ¡Dale a la pelota!

2 el balón masc (PL los balones) (for football, rugby) Pass the ball! ¡Pasa el balón!

Parts of speech

Step four:

Parts of Speech

Sometimes, to pick the right translation, you need to know the part of speech of a word, for example whether a word is a noun, an adjective, an adverb or a verb.

NOUNS

Nouns are naming words for things or people. You often use the words ‘a’ or ‘the’ with a noun – eg a girl, a boy, the school, the windows.

Nouns can be singular, eg an accident, the playground, my dad, football – or plural, eg sweets, the children, my friends.

13 How many nouns are there in this sentence? What are they? The car has got a flat tyre and a big dent in the door.

ADJECTIVES

An adjective is a describing word which tells you what things are like: flat shoes are shoes that don’t have high heels. A flat tyre is a tyre with no air in it.

14 How many adjectives are there in this sentence? What are they? She’s got brown hair and blue eyes.

Some words have a noun meaning and an adjective meaning. In the dictionary there is a box to tell you about this. The different meanings usually have different translations in Spanish.

patient

patient can be a noun or an adjective.

A NOUN

el/la paciente masc/fem

B ADJECTIVE

paciente masc & fem The teacher is very patient. El maestro es muy paciente. Be patient, Joshua. Ten paciencia, Joshua.

ADVERBS

An adverb is a word which describes a verb or an adjective:

She writes neatly. The film was very good.

15 How many adverbs are in this sentence? What are they? The children sat quietly and played happily.

VERBS

Verbs are sometimes called ‘doing words’. They often go with words like ‘I’ and ‘you’, and with names, eg I play football, what do you want?, Hugo likes mashed potato.

Verbs tell you about the present,

eg I’m listening – the past, eg I scored a goal – and the future, eg I’m going to get an ice cream.

16 How many verbs are there in this sentence? What are they? School starts at 9.00 and finishes at 3.30.

Some words have a noun meaning and a verb meaning. In the dictionary there is a box to tell you about this. The different meanings have different translations in Spanish.

rain

rain can be a noun or a verb.

A NOUN

la lluvia fem in the rain bajo la lluvia

B VERB

to rain llover It’s going to rain. Va a llover. It rains a lot here. Llueve mucho aquí.

It’s raining. Está lloviendo.

17 What is the Spanish word for ‘rain’?

18 Why is ‘It’s going to rain.’ in part B?

19 How do you say ‘It’s raining.’ in Spanish?

20 Is ‘llover’ a noun or a verb?

Learn useful phrases

In the dictionary you’ll see phrases that are especially important in orange boxes. Try to learn these when you come across them, and you’ll soon know lots of useful things to say in Spanish.

What time is it? Qué hora es? It’s lunch time. Es la hora de comer. How many times? ¿Cuántas veces? Have a good time, Amanda! ¡Que lo pases bien, Amanda!

Find out about life in Spain

There are also boxes which tell you about Spanish customs, and about differences between life in Spain and Britain.

Did you know?

churros are a kind of fritter that people often eat on the streets in a paper bag or order in a café typically with a cup of thick, hot chocolate: chocolate con churros.

Even more words

At school you will learn to talk about subjects such as the time and the weather, your family, your pets, and your clothes. The most important words for talking about these subjects are shown in the dictionary itself, and even more words are given in Language Plus, the middle part of the dictionary. Have a look!

Answer key
Answer key

1 ver and teléfono

2 It is the Spanish side. It has Spanish words on it and Spanish–English written at the side near the top.

3 Spanish-English

4 The last word

5 aburrirse

6 Arturo, Carmen, David, Isabel, Jorge, Juan, María

7 Jorge – because ‘o’ comes before ‘u’

8 Friday; Wednesday

9 Because the second letter of Thursday is ‘h’, which comes before ‘u’, the second letter of Tuesday.

10 Friday, Monday, Saturday, Sunday, Thursday, Tuesday, Wednesday

11 June

12 el balón – The clue is (for football, rugby).

13 four – car, tyre, dent, door

14 two – brown and blue

15 two – quietly and happily

16 two – starts and finishes

17 la lluvia

18 It is an example of the verb and so is in the verb section of the entry.

19 Está lloviendo.

20 a verb

Spanish – English

A a

a PREPOSITION

Language tip

When a is followed by a masculine noun, a and the article el turn into al.

1 to (with places) Fueron a Madrid. They went to Madrid.

2 (with movement) Me caí al río. I fell into the river. Se subieron al tejado. They climbed onto the roof. Marta llegó tarde a la estación. Marta arrived at the station late.

3 (with distances) Está a quince kilómetros de aquí. It’s fifteen kilometres from here.

4 at (with time, ages, speed) a las diez at ten o’clock a medianoche at midnight

a los veinticuatro años at the age of twenty-four Íbamos a más de noventa kilómetros por hora. We were going at over ninety kilometres an hour.

5 (with dates) Estamos a nueve de julio. It’s the ninth of July.

6 (with prices) Los huevos están a un euro con cincuenta la docena. Eggs are one euro fifty a dozen.

7 (before an infinitive or a direct object) Voy a verla. I’m going to see her. Vine a decírtelo. I came to tell you. Me obligaban a comer. They forced me to eat. Nos cruzamos al salir. We bumped into each other as we were going out. Se lo di a Ana. I gave it to Ana. Le enseñé a Pablo el libro que me dejaste. I showed Pablo the book you lent me. Se lo compré a él. I bought it from him. Vi a Juan. I saw Juan. Llamé al médico. I called the doctor.

abajo ADVERB

1 below Los platos y las tazas están abajo. The plates and cups are below. La montaña no parece tan alta desde abajo. The mountain doesn’t seem so high from below. Mete las cervezas abajo del todo. Put the beers right at the bottom. El estante de abajo. The bottom shelf.

2 downstairs Abajo están la cocina y el salón. The kitchen and lounge are downstairs. Hay una fiesta en el piso de abajo. There’s a party in the flat downstairs.

la abeja NOUN

bee

el abeto NOUN

fir tree

abierto

abierto can be an adjective or a verb.

A (FEM abierta) ADJECTIVE

1 open ¿Están abiertas las tiendas? Are the shops open?

2 on No dejes el gas abierto. Don’t leave the gas on.

B VERB ▷see abrir He abierto la puerta. I’ve opened the door.

abrazar VERB

to hug Al verme me abrazó. He hugged me when he saw me. ¡Abrázame fuerte! Give me a big hug!

■ abrazarse to hug Se abrazaron y se besaron. They hugged and kissed.

el abrazo NOUN

hug ¡Dame un abrazo! Give me a hug!

un abrazo love

Did you know…?

Did you know that Spanish speakers sometimes end e-mails, postcards, and letters to friends with un abrazo?

abrigar VERB

Esta chaqueta abriga mucho. This jacket’s really warm.

■ abrigarse to wrap up well

el abrigo NOUN

coat

un abrigo de pieles a fur coat ropa de abrigo warm clothing

abril MASC NOUN

April

Language tip

Months are not spelled with a capital letter in Spanish.

Nació el veinte de abril. He was born on the twentieth of April.

en abril in April

abrir VERB

1 to open Las tiendas abren a las diez. The shops open at ten o’clock. Abre la ventana. Open the window. ¡Abre, soy yo! Open the door, it’s me!

2 to turn on Abre el gas. Turn the gas on.

■ abrirse to open De repente se abrió la puerta. Suddenly the door opened.

abrocharse VERB

to do up Abróchate la camisa. Do your shirt up. Abróchense los cinturones. Please fasten your seatbelts.

la abuela NOUN

grandmother mi abuela my grandmother ¿Dónde está la abuela? Where’s Gran?

el abuelo NOUN

grandfather mi abuelo my grandfather ¿Dónde está el abuelo? Where’s Granddad? mis abuelos my grandparents

aburrido (FEM aburrida) ADJECTIVE

1 bored Estaba aburrida y me marché. I was bored so I left.

2 boring No seas aburrida y vente al cine. Don’t be boring and come to the cinema. una película muy aburrida a very boring film

aburrirse VERB

to get bored Me aburro viendo la tele. I get bored watching television.

acabar VERB

to finish Ayer acabé de pintar la valla. Yesterday I finished painting the fence. Acabo de ver a tu padre. I’ve just seen your father.

■ acabarse to run out La impresora te avisa cuando se acaba el papel. The printer tells you when the paper runs out.

acaso ADVERB

por si acaso just in case

el accidente NOUN

accident los accidentes de carretera road accidents Han tenido un accidente. They’ve had a car accident.

la acción (PL las acciones) NOUN

action una película llena de acción an action-packed film

el aceite NOUN

oil el aceite de oliva olive oil

la aceituna NOUN

olive aceitunas rellenas stuffed olives

el acento NOUN

accent ‘Té’ lleva acento cuando significa ‘tea’. ‘Té’ has an accent when it means ‘tea’. Tiene un acento cerrado del sur. He has a strong southern accent.

aceptar VERB

to accept Acepté su invitación. I accepted his invitation. Acepté ayudarles. I agreed to help them.

la acera NOUN

pavement

acerca ADVERB

acerca de about un documental acerca de la fauna africana a documentary about African wildlife

acercar VERB

1 to pass ¿Me acercas la sal? Could you pass me the salt?

2 to bring over Acerca la silla. Bring your chair over here. ¿Acerco más la cama a la ventana? Shall I put the bed nearer the window? Nos acercaron al aeropuerto. They gave us a lift to the airport.

■ acercarse

1 to come closer Acércate, que te vea. Come closer so that I can see you.

2 to go over Me acerqué a la ventana. I went over to the window. Acércate a la tienda y trae una botella de agua. Go over to the shop and get a bottle of water.

acertar VERB

1 to get … right

He acertado todas las respuestas. I got all the answers right. No acerté. I got it wrong.

2 to guess Si aciertas cuántos caramelos hay, te los regalo todos. If you guess how many sweets there are, I’ll give you all of them.

el acierto

acierto can be a noun or a verb.

A NOUN

right answer Tuve más aciertos que fallos en el examen. I got more right answers than wrong ones in the exam.

B VERB ▷see acertar No acierto a entenderlo. I can’t understand it at all.

aclarar VERB

to clear up Necesito que me aclares unas dudas. I need you to clear up some doubts for me. Con tantos números no me aclaro. There are so many numbers that I can’t make head nor tail of it.

acompañar VERB

acompañar a alguien to come with somebody/to go with somebody

Language tip

acompañar a alguien has two meanings. Look at the examples.

Si quieres te acompaño. I’ll come with you if you like. Me pidió que la acompañara a la estación. She asked me to go to the station with her.

aconsejar VERB

to advise Te aconsejo que lo hagas. I’d advise you to do it.

acordarse VERB

to remember Ahora mismo no me acuerdo. Right now I can’t remember. acordarse de to remember ¿Te acuerdas de mí? Do you remember me? Acuérdate de cerrar la puerta con llave. Remember to lock the door.

acostado (FEM acostada) ADJECTIVE

estar acostado to be in bed

acostarse VERB

1 to lie down

2 to go to bed

acostumbrarse VERB

acostumbrarse a to get used to No me acostumbro a la vida en la ciudad. I can’t get used to city life. Ya me he acostumbrado a trabajar de noche. I’ve got used to working at night now.

el acto NOUN

ceremony

en el acto instantly

el actor NOUN

actor

la actriz (PL las actrices) NOUN

actress

la actuación (PL las actuaciones) NOUN

performance Fue una actuación muy buena. It was a very good performance.

actual (FEM actual) ADJECTIVE

present la situación actual del país the country’s present situation uno de los mejores pintores del arte actual one of the greatest painters of today

Language tip

Be careful! actual does not mean the same as actual.

actualmente ADVERB

1 nowadays Actualmente apenas se utilizan las máquinas de escribir. Typewriters are hardly used nowadays.

2 currently Es geólogo, pero actualmente está en el paro. He’s a geologist but he’s currently out of work.

Language tip

Be careful! actualmente does not mean the same as actually.

actuar VERB

1 to act Es difícil actuar con naturalidad delante de las cámaras. It’s hard to act naturally in front of the cameras. No comprendo tu forma de actuar. I can’t understand your behaviour. No actuó en esa película. He wasn’t in that film.

2 to perform Hoy actúan en el Café del Jazz. Today they’ll be performing at the Café del Jazz.

el acuario NOUN

1 aquarium

2 fish tank

el acuerdo

acuerdo can be a noun or part of the verb acordar.

A NOUN

agreement

llegar a un acuerdo to reach an agreement ¡De acuerdo! All right!

B VERB ▷see acordar Ahora no me acuerdo. I can’t remember it now.

acusar VERB

to accuse Su novia lo acusaba de mentiroso. His girlfriend accused him of being a liar.

adelantado (FEM adelantada) ADJECTIVE

1 advanced Suecia es un país muy adelantado. Sweden is a very advanced country. los niños más adelantados de la clase the children who are doing best in the class

2 fast Este reloj va adelantado. This watch is fast.

adelantar VERB

1 to bring … forward Tuvimos que adelantar la boda. We had to bring the wedding forward.

2 to overtake Adelanta a ese camión cuando puedas. Overtake that lorry when you can.

3 to put … forward El domingo hay que adelantar los relojes una hora. On Sunday we’ll have to put the clocks forward an hour.

adelantarse VERB

to go on ahead Me adelanté para coger asiento. I went on ahead to get a seat.

adelante

adelante can be an adverb or an exclamation.

A ADVERB

Se inclinó hacia adelante. He leant forward. más adelante further on/later

Language tip

más adelante has two meanings. Look at the examples.

El pueblo está más adelante. The village is further on. Más adelante hablaremos de los resultados. We’ll discuss the results later.

B EXCLAMATION

1 come on!

2 come in!

adelgazar VERB

to lose weight ¡Cómo has adelgazado! You’ve really lost weight! He adelgazado cinco kilos. I’ve lost five kilos.

además ADVERB

1 as well Es profesor y además carpintero. He’s a teacher and a carpenter as well.

2 what’s more El baño es demasiado pequeño y, además, no tiene ventana. The bathroom’s too small and, what’s more, it hasn’t got a window.

3 besides Además, no tienes nada que perder. Besides, you’ve got nothing to lose.

adentro ADVERB

inside Empezó a llover y se metieron adentro. It began to rain so they went inside.

adhesivo (FEM adhesiva) ADJECTIVE

sticky cinta adhesiva sticky tape

adiós EXCLAMATION

goodbye!

decir adiós a alguien to say goodbye to somebody

adivinar VERB

to guess Adivina quién viene. Guess who’s coming. adivinar el pensamiento a alguien to read somebody’s mind

el adjetivo NOUN

adjective

admirar VERB

to admire Todos la admiran. Everyone admires her. Me admira lo poco que gastas en ropa. I’m amazed at how little you spend on clothes.

admitir VERB

1 to admit Admite que estabas equivocado. Admit you were wrong.

2 to accept La máquina no admite monedas de dos euros. The machine doesn’t accept two-euro coins. Espero que me admitan a la universidad. I hope I’ll get a place at university.

el/la adolescente NOUN

teenager

adónde ADVERB

where ¿Adónde ibas? Where were you going?

adornar VERB

to decorate

el adulto la adulta NOUN

adult

el adverbio NOUN

adverb

advertir VERB

to warn Ya te advertí que sería difícil. I warned you it would be difficult. Te advierto que no va a ser nada fácil. I must warn you that it won’t be at all easy.

aéreo (FEM aérea) ADJECTIVE

air un ataque aéreo an air raid

el aeropuerto NOUN

airport

afectar VERB

to affect Esto a ti no te afecta. This doesn’t affect you.

afeitar VERB

to shave

■ afeitarse to shave Voy a afeitarme. I’m going to shave. Se afeitó la barba. He shaved off his beard.

la afición (PL las aficiones) NOUN

hobby Su afición es la filatelia. His hobby is stamp collecting. Tengo mucha afición por el ciclismo. I’m very keen on cycling.

aficionado aficionada

aficionado can be a noun or an adjective.

A MASC/FEM NOUN

1 enthusiast un libro para los aficionados al ciclismo a book for cycling enthusiasts

2 amateur un partido para aficionados a game for amateurs

B ADJECTIVE

1 keen Es muy aficionada a la pintura. She’s very keen on painting.

2 amateur un equipo de fútbol aficionado an amateur football team

aficionarse VERB

aficionarse a algo to take up something/to become interested in something

Language tip

aficionarse a algo has two meanings. Look at the examples.

Raúl se aficionó al tenis. Raúl took up tennis. Me he aficionado al teatro. I’ve become interested in theatre.

afirmar VERB

afirmar que … to say that … Afirmaba que no la conocía. He said that he didn’t know her.

aflojar VERB

to loosen

■ aflojarse to come loose Se ha aflojado un tornillo. A screw has come loose.

afónico (FEM afónica) ADJECTIVE

Estoy afónico. I’ve lost my voice.

afortunado (FEM afortunada) ADJECTIVE

lucky Es un tipo afortunado. He’s a lucky guy.

afuera ADVERB

outside Vámonos afuera. Let’s go outside.

las afueras NOUN

outskirts en las afueras de Barcelona on the outskirts of Barcelona

agacharse VERB

to crouch down

agarrar VERB

1 to grab Agarró a su hermano por el hombro. He grabbed his brother by the shoulder.

2 to hold Agarra bien la sartén. Hold the frying pan firmly.

■ agarrarse to hold on Agárrate a la barandilla. Hold on to the rail.

la agenda NOUN

1 diary

2 address book

Language tip

Be careful! agenda does not mean the same as agenda.

agitar VERB

to shake Agítese antes de usar. Shake before use.

agosto MASC NOUN

August

Language tip

Months are not spelled with a capital letter in Spanish.

en agosto in August el ocho de agosto the eighth of August Nació el ocho de agosto. He was born on the eighth of August.

agotado (FEM agotada) ADJECTIVE

1 exhausted Estoy agotado. I’m exhausted.

2 sold out Ese modelo en concreto está agotado. That particular model is sold out.

agotar VERB

1 to use up Agotamos todas nuestras reservas. We used up all our supplies.

2 to tire out Me agota tanto ejercicio. All this exercise is tiring me out.

■ agotarse to run out Se está agotando la leña. The firewood’s running out. Se agotaron todas las entradas. The tickets all sold out.

agradable (FEM agradable) ADJECTIVE

nice

agradecer VERB

agradecer algo a alguien to thank somebody for something Te agradezco tu interés. Thank you for your interest.

la agresión (PL las agresiones) NOUN

attack

el agricultor la agricultora NOUN

farmer

la agricultura NOUN

farming

el agua FEM NOUN

water

agua corriente running water agua potable drinking water

aguantar VERB

1 to stand No aguanto la ópera. I can’t stand opera. Su vecina no la aguanta. Her neighbour can’t stand her. Últimamente estás que no hay quien te aguante. You’ve been unbearable lately.

2 to take La estantería no va a aguantar el peso. The shelf won’t take the weight.

3 to hold Aguántame el martillo un momento. Can you hold the hammer for me for a moment? Aguanta la respiración. Hold your breath. No pude aguantar la risa. I couldn’t help laughing. Si no puede venir, que se aguante. If he can’t come, he’ll just have to lump it.

agudo (FEM aguda) ADJECTIVE

1 sharp

2 high-pitched