# How much Spanish does someone who "doesn't know any Spanish" know? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 23, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903 "2011-05-23T15:01:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/1 "2011-05-23T15:01:07Z")
So, some English-speaking people will say they don’t know a word of Spanish. But the fact is so many have crept into casual use that even “the whitest” person around can’t really legitimately claim complete ignorance of the entire language. For example, if a friend walked up and said “Hola.”, I don’t know that people could legitimately say they had no idea that = hello. Similar to someone saying “Adios” at the end. I might even argue that, thanks to Christmas and incessant radio play, 95%+ of people have a sense “Feliz Navidad” means Merry Christmas. “How many fingers am I holding up?” “Uno.” “Uno? I have no idea what that means.” So how long of a list is the minimum amount of Spanish that is known, assuming zero isn’t an option? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/2 "2011-05-23T15:28:19Z")
If zero is not an option, I suppose the next least would be one word (most likely _adios_, at a guess). Seriously, there must be many people in the world who truly do not know one word of Spanish, and quite a few who know only one. Probably there are others who only know 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…on up to the whole darn language. What other sort of answer could one possibly give to such a question? ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/3 "2011-05-23T15:34:18Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > …What other sort of answer could one possibly give to such a question? Hasta la vista, baby! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/4 "2011-05-23T15:41:48Z")
This is an interesting topic, mainly because it’s something I’ve often wondered. 🙂 First off, I think we’re talking about American English, since this country has a large population of Spanish speakers, and Spanish phrases seem to slip easily into the language of entertainment. Who doesn’t know _uno dos tres_? Or \*dinero \*or \*nada \*or \*adios \*or _hasta la vista_? _Chico_? _Amigo_? But keep in mind that there are hundreds of Spanish loan words in English, so I assume we’re not talking about those. We’re talking about “real” Spanish words that have become common enough that almost everyone understands them, right? ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/5 "2011-05-23T15:52:03Z")
There’s a very wide range of “English speaking people” in the world too, even if you restrict it to fluent speakers or to native speakers. In the USA I would guess most Americans fall into what you call passive exposure to a lot of Spanish words and phrases - it is the second most used language in the country, and especially out West there is a long history of borrowing: _adios amigos, adios muchachos_, etc. Most if not all major American cities have large pockets of Hispanic immigrants from many different countries: Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Guatamala, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, etc., etc. On a cultural level, “Sesame Street” has been teaching American kids to count in Spanish since the beginning, and many current and recent Top 40 songs feature Spanish lyrics: “Livin’ La Vida Loca”, “Bailamos”, “La Isla Bonita”, just off the top of my head. Yet I wouldn’t be surprised to find that in the “heartland” of the country, away from these pockets, there would be people who genuinely (not out of some passive-aggressive “English only” attitude) mispronounce even common Hispanic names like “Jose” or “Castillo”. Move further away from the US and I think it becomes even less. In Canada I would assume French is the “other” language, and India has a large number of English speakers with little or no influence from Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/6 "2011-05-23T16:00:42Z")
I doubt that there is a definitive answer to this, so I’m going to move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/7 "2011-05-23T16:11:47Z")
Aside from loan words, I often find myself able to make an educated guess at a very rough translation of _written_ passages of Spanish, Dutch, Italian and other Romance or Germanic languages, just because my native English is such a mongrel of a language. ---
**Author:** ![Corrvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbce88/32.png) [@Corrvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corrvin)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/8 "2011-05-23T16:21:36Z")
I actually think that people can know a word or phrase and what situation to use it in, or have a vague sense that it’s appropriate when they hear someone else use it, and STILL not know what it means. Maybe they think “Feliz Navidad” means “it’s a lucky holiday” for instance? Tons of people know songs and phrases by sound and have no idea what the individual words mean. So would someone who knows phrases in song-Spanish, but can’t use them reliably in the right situation, or be sure they’re saying the right thing, really be said to know Spanish? (I speak a few phrases of Spanish, and my co-worker from Panama corrected me the other night-- “You’re trying to tell them they have the wrong number, but you told them it’s the same number.” “Oops. Thanks.”) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/9 "2011-05-23T16:25:46Z")
I suspect the average American knows a few words of Yiddish without even knowing that it _is_ Yiddish. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/10 "2011-05-23T16:29:07Z")
I think it definitely depends on where you’re from in the US. For example, I always knew how to correctly pronounce guacamole, jalapeno, tortilla, etc… However, my BIL (from Iowa) once ordered “Chips WHY Queso” (Chips y queso) at Taco Cabana, which gives the rest of the family (all native Texans) no end of mirth. I can’t imagine that he’s alone in not knowing how to pronounce things or what they mean. Also, I’ll say I don’t know Spanish, but that’s probably a bit of a lie compared to some- I can still conjugate my verbs and read it fairly well, and even understand most if people speak slowly, but I can’t speak it myself. I was even able to puzzle out a lot of written Italian on my recent trip due to my Spanish knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/11 "2011-05-23T16:32:01Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > Hasta la vista, baby! I’ve heard that a thousand times and didn`t know what it meant. I could have told you it was a form of goodbye but not “see you later”, which is what google says it means. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/12 "2011-05-23T16:39:29Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I doubt that there is a definitive answer to this, so I’m going to move this to IMHO. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator I would like to respond to this later today, but I looked for it in IMHO and did not see it, maybe I missed it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/13 "2011-05-23T16:47:00Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > I’ve heard that a thousand times and didn`t know what it meant. I could have told you it was a form of goodbye but not “see you later”, which is what google says it means. “A form of goodbye” is fine. I would use “goodbye” and “see you later” interchangeably. Now, technically, “goodbye” might mean “goodbye [and I may never see you again]”, but not normally. Does someone not know what “goodbye” means if they don’t know it’s a contraction of “God be with ye [you]”? ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/14 "2011-05-23T17:34:14Z")
I moved to an area in southern California where not speaking Spanish means I couldn’t even get a job at 7-11, much less anywhere else. (I ended up working for the state, but for 6 months I was jobless and ready to just leave) I’ve been here 3 years, and have picked up a tiny bit, but only a little. I joke at work about my ‘Sesame Street Spanish’, and my ‘Scrubs Spanish’; I’m sure the year of Spanish in high school 30 years ago helped somehow. What words I do know, I _really_ know, and will use them interchangeably with the english counterparts without even thinking about it. (Always have done that; it just fits here, where just about everyone speaks spanglish anyway) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/15 "2011-05-23T17:36:16Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > I’ve heard that a thousand times and didn`t know what it meant. I could have told you it was a form of goodbye but not “see you later”, which is what google says it means. First, what **John Mace** said. Your “a form of goodbye” is, at least the way I use that phrase and the way I remember hearing people from other areas and countries use it, more accurate than Google’s translation, in this case. I would say “hasta la vista” in similar contexts as I would say “adiós”: I’m not expecting to see that person within the same day. “See you later” would be “hasta luego”; I could say it in the same context as the other two, but also to someone who’s leaving for a meeting or lunch, that is, to someone I’m expecting to see later in the same day. If I said “hasta la vista” or “adiós” to someone who’s going to a meeting they’d stop and ask “what, are you leaving early or something?” ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/16 "2011-05-23T17:46:55Z")
Hasta la pasta works. Hasta la basta also. /teasing off ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/17 "2011-05-23T18:08:44Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Aside from loan words, I often find myself able to make an educated guess at a very rough translation of _written_ passages of Spanish, Dutch, Italian and other Romance or Germanic languages, just because my native English is such a mongrel of a language. It’s probably more because of the cognates than anything else, really. There are thousands and thousands of words with the same root across multiple languages, so it’s hard to read another germanic or romance language not be able to make a reasonable guess at what some of the words might be…as long as you have a large enough vocabulary in your native language, that is. But I think it’s odd how many monolingual people don’t recognize cognates because they’re so set on thinking that anything else written in another language is completely alien. For example, I was once overseeing a science question in which students were asked to label parts of a plant, and when they got non-English responses some people were baffled by what “flor” and “pétalos” could possibly mean, even though it was written right next to the flower and petals :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/18 "2011-05-23T18:25:49Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I suspect the average American knows a few words of Yiddish without even knowing that it _is_ Yiddish. Oy vey, enough kvetching already! We have enough kibbitzers as it is. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/19 "2011-05-24T15:27:48Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > Oy vey, enough kvetching already! We have enough kibbitzers as it is. I had no idea what kibbitzer meant. And the rest I learned from TV And of course knew it was Yiddish. And I have a high vocabulary compared to most of the locals. I think schmuck would be a better choice, as I knew that before I knew it was Yiddish. There’s another word that I can’t think of that was also like this. It starts with sh. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903/20 "2011-05-24T15:33:33Z")
If you’ve studied French, you can understand a surprising amount of written Spanish without much difficulty. At least that was my experience when I visited Spain. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-spanish-does-someone-who-doesnt-know-any-spanish-know/582903.md?page=2)