Romance, it seems, is not dead! Two of our students Gary and Phillipine have made the biggest gesture for love by getting their tongues around their partner’s native Spanish. They are two of our Level 2 students who graduated with the winter/spring 2019 cohort and gave us an insight into their motivation. If you are also motivated by love read on to the bottom where we’ve also left you some fun expressions to try out with that special someone.

What made you start learning with Stripey Spanish?

Gary: My partner is half Argentinian half Cuban so its been great to communicate with her. Her family are all native speakers so I really want to be able to talk to them.

Phillipine: I’ve used the Spanish to communicate with my boyfriend who is Spanish. I’m French so he is learning French. Hopefully in the future we will be able to talk to both families with ease!

What phrases have you practised most?

Gary: Me and my partner have been cooking together and trying to cook entirely in Spanish using Spanish instructions. It helps me to practice the names of the ingredients and communicate in a conversation format. Phrases that have been the most useful are ‘¡qué guay!’ (it’s cool!) and ‘¡está puta de madre!’ (it’s ‘da sh*t!) for when we cook something delicious!

Phillipine: Me and my partner try to talk about what weve been doing, including work, sport and other things that have happened during the day. We are also in a group chat with his family so I can now start to read the conversation!

Now a chance for you to impress that special someone with a few romantic Spanish idioms: