Advanced Spanish with Spanish Obsessed

Know the rules but freeze when you need the subjunctive? Get the free cheatsheet of phrases you'll actually use:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Rob sits down with Javi from Valladolid, a good chance to tune your ear to Castilian Spanish from central Spain. Javi has lived in London for six years and thinks English food doesn't deserve its bad name, and he says what's really missing. He shares a four-ingredient soup from hard times and a rice dish he insists is not a paella. And Rob has one complaint about restaurants in Spain.

Do you know what these mean?
arma de doble filo · rehogar · me da mucha pereza · darle la vuelta

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/javi-spanish-food

Rob says a real paella has to be cooked in a "sartén paella". Can you catch the proper name Javi gives the pan?

Unlock the full transcript of this episode, plus 2 more, free. Don't miss a single word of Javi's accent from Valladolid, and get everyday phrases like "me da pereza" and "chaval", every line in Spanish and English, and what happened to his Italian:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Javi from Valladolid came to London just to learn English, went home to Spain, and found he missed life abroad. Now he teaches Spanish at a London secondary school, and he's clear about which classes he enjoys and which feel like hard work. Tune your ear to Spanish from Castile as he tells Lis what happened to his Italian, and gives the answer about moving home that Rob didn't expect.

Do you know what these mean?
me da pereza · te enganchan · chaval · echaba de menos

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/javi-valladolid

FREE: (Finally) master the subjunctive. Get our cheatsheet of the most common subjunctive phrases and triggers:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

It took Spanish Obsessed a surprisingly long time to interview someone from Spain. Nuria, from Alicante, finally puts that right, and her accent from Spain's Mediterranean coast is a good one to tune your ear to. She tells Rob why she swapped a house by the sea for London with her teenage son, what she finds hardest about the city (not the weather), and why learning a language is about more than translating words.

Do you know what these mean?
quieras que no · no son pocos · un sueldecito normal · pille el idioma

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/nuria-alicante

Read this episode word for word, free, plus 2 more of your choice. Don't miss a single word of that Argentine "sh", and get how "vos" sounds in everyday speech, the English for every line, and what went wrong with an asado on a trip to Spain:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Vanessa, from Córdoba in the heart of Argentina, tells Rob how working with Italians in London showed her where Argentines really get their character from. Rob tries to get his head round vos and admits he's getting confused. Then Vanessa reveals what went wrong with an asado on a recent trip to Spain. It's a good chance to tune your ear to the Argentine "sh" and that sing-song accent.

Do you know what these mean?
jetón · lo tengo que retar · ¿Vos, qué decís? · se nota un montón

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/vanessa-argentina

Rob thinks he knows who the porteños are. What did he have in mind, and how does Vanessa set him straight?

Ready to break into advanced Spanish? Start with the subjunctive. Free cheatsheet of the key phrases and triggers:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Lis sits down with Mexican guest Mariana, whose surname suits her perfectly, for the kind of chat saved for drinks with the girls: Latin men versus European men. Colombia and Mexico each have their own way of saying a man is making a move, Mariana compares a relationship to a plant, and she sums up what European men lack in three words. A chance to tune your ear to Mexican and Colombian Spanish side by side.

Do you know what these mean?
caerle a una chica · le está llegando · aventados · les falta picante

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/latin-romance

Get this episode's full transcript free, plus 2 more of your choice. Don't miss a single word as Rob's stereotypes about Mexico get put right, and get how to say "cool" like a local, the Mexican expressions explained, and the beer drink some people compare to seafood soup:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Rob has never been to Mexico, so he lays his stereotypes on the table for Mariana from Veracruz to put right. Is mezcal just bad tequila, and did salt and lime really start in Mexico? Mariana describes the beer drink some people compare to seafood soup, and teaches Rob a Mexican expression even she can't quite explain. A chance to tune your ear to Mexican Spanish.

Do you know what these mean?
¡Qué padre! · ¡Qué chido! · ¡Está de poca madre! · ¿A poco?

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/mexico-stereotypes

Rob thinks only one country in South America produces wine. Which one does he forget, and who puts him right?

Free for listeners: the subjunctive cheatsheet, with the most common phrases and triggers in one download:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

In the neighbourhood where Lis's family lives, a guard whistles every minute, all night, while Rob tries to sleep, and there's a reason for it. Next comes a traditional breakfast served with chocolate and cheese, a restaurant where horses 'dance' past as you eat, and a boozy family welcome cut short by a 4am start, all because of the last digit on a number plate. A good workout for your ear with Lis's Colombian Spanish.

Do you know what these mean?
si das papaya · darle trago · le llaman la nevera · muy chévere

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/bogota-trip

When Lis explains Bogotá's number-plate rule, Rob calls the plates "los platos". What word does Lis use instead?

Unlock the full transcript of this episode, plus 2 more, free. Don't miss a single word of Lis's surprise trip home, and get Colombian expressions like "¡Ay china!" and "muy chévere", every line in Spanish and English, and the plan to post herself to her mum in a box:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

After three years away, Lis flies home to Bogotá in secret, and her first plan is to post herself to her mum in a box. Instead she turns up at the door in a 1960s-style afro wig, asking about a room to rent. Her older sister gets the box, and kicks it before opening it. Then Rob lands, and a five-year-old nephew's first words to him start a debate Rob refuses to lose.

Do you know what these mean?
se juagaron de la risa · ¡Ay china! · con pinta de mesera · muy chévere

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/bogota-surprise

Still tripping over the subjunctive? Our free cheatsheet gives you the most common phrases and triggers, ready to use:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Rob asks Lis which country has the most Spanish speakers, and her answer isn't the one he's looking for. Then come the surprises: a Spanish-language TV network that outdrew Fox, NBC, CBS and ABC for a month, and a friend of Lis's who went to the US to practise English and found there was no need. Plus, the TV drama that opened Rob's eyes.

Do you know what these mean?
¿Qué más? · muy al tanto · ganarse la vida · era una lotería

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/spanish-usa

Lis corrects Rob's pronunciation of one everyday word in the first minute. Can you hear what he gets wrong?