Lessons for English speakers
Learn to read Spanish
A short, active path into reading Spanish: five vowels that never move, nine real words decoded before the alphabet, ser against estar, the verb ending that replaces the pronoun, and two short stories before your first book.
13 core sections · ≈ 34 min + 3 optional lookups · ≈ 50 min with everything
15
A new reading: try it before revealing help
≈ 3 min
What you'll learn
- This time the pronunciation and the English begin hidden.
- The story is in the past: events in -ó, scenery in estaba tenía.
- Aim for the scene, not a perfect translation.
- If you can recover who did what, you are ready for the first book.
Two new shapes before you start
| se llamabaseh yah-MAH-bah“her name was” | the background past of se llama — in a story, a name is scenery |
| conmigokohn-MEE-goh“with me” | con and me fused into one word |
Tika y el árbol
Read each scene aloud, say what happened, then reveal. When a line resists, find the doing word and its ending: -ó means it happened once and is over.
- Había una vez un pájaro. Se llamaba Tika.
once upon a time · her name was
Show answer +Hide answer −
Había una vez un pájaro. Se llamaba Tika.ah-BEE-ah OO-nah behs oon PAH-hah-roh. seh yah-MAH-bah TEE-kah“Once upon a time there was a bird. Her name was Tika.” - Su casa estaba en un árbol grande. Un día vino el viento, y el árbol cayó.
Scenery first, then two events in -ó shapes.
Show answer +Hide answer −
Su casa estaba en un árbol grande. Un día vino el viento, y el árbol cayó.soo KAH-sah ehs-TAH-bah ehn oon AHR-bohl GRAHN-deh. oon DEE-ah BEE-noh ehl BYEHN-toh, ee ehl AHR-bohl kah-YOH“Her house was in a big tree. One day the wind came, and the tree fell.” - —¿Por qué estás triste? —preguntó Dara. —Mi árbol cayó —dijo Tika.
A question in dashes, and its answer.
Show answer +Hide answer −
—¿Por qué estás triste? —preguntó Dara. —Mi árbol cayó —dijo Tika.pohr KEH ehs-TAHS TREES-teh — preh-goon-TOH DAH-rah. mee AHR-bohl kah-YOH — DEE-hoh TEE-kah““Why are you sad?” asked Dara. “My tree fell,” said Tika.” - —Ven conmigo —dijo Dara. Esa noche vino la lluvia, y Tika no estaba triste.
Show answer +Hide answer −
—Ven conmigo —dijo Dara. Esa noche vino la lluvia, y Tika no estaba triste.behn kohn-MEE-goh — DEE-hoh DAH-rah. EH-sah NOH-cheh BEE-noh lah YOO-byah, ee TEE-kah noh ehs-TAH-bah TREES-teh““Come with me,” said Dara. That night the rain came, and Tika was not sad.”