La cruz en los pechos

La cruz en los pechos, y el diablo en los hechos.

Vocabulary: cruz: cross. pecho: chest, breast. diablo: devil. hecho: fact, act, deed.

Notes: This is a rhyming proverb: pechos-hechos.

Oración de perro

Oración de perro no va al cielo.

Vocabulary: oración: prayer, sentence. perro: dog. ir: to go, get to, come. cielo: sky, heaven.

Notes: Compare a similar Italian saying about the donkey: Raglio d’asino non arriva mai in cielo.

Del árbol caído

Del árbol caído todos hacen leña.

Vocabulary: árbol: tree. caer: to fall. todo: all, every. hacer: to make, do. leña: wood, firewood.

Notes: The form "caído" is a participle meaning "fallen."

Agua pasada

Agua pasada no muele molino.

Vocabulary: agua: water. pasar: to pass, go by. moler: to grind. molino: mill.

Notes: The word "pasada" is a passive participle, meaning "passed, gone by." The Spanish the verb "moler" and the noun "molino" come from the same root. The English words "meal" (ground grain, like oatmeal) and "molar" (grinder teeth) also come from that same root.

source

No se debe vender la piel

No se debe vender la piel antes de matar el oso.

Vocabulary: deber: must, ought. vender: to sell. piel: skin, fur. matar: to kill. oso: bear (animal).

Notes: The pronoun "se" makes this an impersonal construction: "No se debe" meaning "One ought not..." or "You should not..."

source

No seáis hornera

No seáis hornera si tenéis la cabeza de manteca.

Vocabulary: ser: . hornera: baker. tener: to have. cabeza: head. manteca: fat, lard.

Notes: The subjunctive "no seáis" is being used as a polite imeprative: "You should not be, you should not become." The subjunctive "tenéis" is being used in a hypothetical: "si tenéis,"if you have." The danger, of course, is that your head might melt!

Vrangtante Brun at Flickr

Quien piedra arriba echa

Quien piedra arriba echa, cáele en la cabeza.

Vocabulary: piedra: stone, rock. arriba: up, above, over. echar: to throw, toss. caer: to fall, fall down. cabeza: head.

Notes: The word "le" in "cáele" is an indirect pronoun referring back to the subject of the verb "echa," the person who's throwing the rock: the rock will come back on their head. The accent marked is added to the compound form to indicate the stressed syllable in the verb: cáe-le. Compare a similar saying about arrows: Quien al cielo tira flechas, vuélvensele a la cabeza.

source

Quien al cielo tira flechas

Quien al cielo tira flechas, vuélvensele a la cabeza.

Vocabulary: cielo: sky, heaven. tirar: to throw, shoot, launch. flecha: arrow. volver: to return, turn, come back. cabeza: head.

Notes: The verb "volver" can be transitive, "to return (something)," but here it is reflexive: "volverse," meaning "to return, come back." The word "le" in "vuélvensele" is an indirect pronoun referring back to the subject of the verb "tira," the person who's shooting the arrows: the arrows will come back on their head. The accent marked is added to the compound form to indicate the stressed syllable in the verb: vuélven-se-le. Compare a similar saying about rocks: Quien piedra arriba echa, cáele en la cabeza.

source

Aunque la mona se vista de seda

Aunque la mona se vista de seda, mona se queda.

Vocabulary: aunque: although. mona: monkey, female monkey. vestir: to dress, clothe, wear. seda: silk. quedarse: to be, be left, remain.

Notes: This is a rhyming proverb: de seda... se queda. The verb "vestir" means "to dress (someone)" and in the reflexive form, "vestirse," it means "to be dressed, get dressed, wear." You can also find this proverb with "el mono" instead of "la mona."

source

Por su mal y su ruina

Por su mal y su ruina nacen alas a la hormiga.

Vocabulary: mal: evil, harm. ruina: ruin, downfall. nacer: to be born, grow. ala: wing. hormiga: ant.

Notes: The proverb implies a story: when the ants get wings, they fly around... and birds devour them! The French poet Desbillons wrote a Latin fable, "Formica et Jupiter," where the ant begs Jupiter to give her wings, and she dies as a result, eaten by a bird.

source

Chi va a letto coi cani

Chi va a letto coi cani, si leva colle pulci.

Vocabulary: andare: to go. letto: bed. cane: dog. levarsi: to get up, stand up. pulce: flea.

Notes: The word "coi" is an abbreviation of "con i" and the word "colle" is an abbreviation of "con le."

Taro the Shiba Inu at Flickr

Cane affamato

Cane affamato non teme bastone.

Vocabulary: cane: dog. affamato: starving, famished. temere: to fear. bastone: stick, club.

Notes: The root in the word "affamato" is "fame," hunger.

source

A cattivo cane

A cattivo cane, corto legame.

Vocabulary: cattivo: bad, wicked. cane: dog. corto: short. legame: link, bond, tie.

Notes: Compare the English phrase about keeping someone "on a short leash."

source

Non tutti sono cacciatori

Non tutti sono cacciatori, quelli che suonano il corno.

Vocabulary: tutto: every, all. cacciatore: hunter. suonare: to sound, play (an instrument). corno: horn, antler.

Notes: The word "corno" refers to an animal's horn and also to a musical instrument made from that horn. You might find the proverb easier to understand with this word order: "Non tutti quelli che suonano il corno sono cacciatori.

source

Bue vecchio

Bue vecchio, solco diritto.

Vocabulary: bue: ox. vecchio: old. solco: furrow. diritto: straight.

Notes: The verb is implied, the idea being that the old ox "knows how to plow" a straight furrow.

ILRI at Flickr

In bocca chiusa

In bocca chiusa non entran mosche.

Vocabulary: bocca: mouth. chiudere: to close. entrare: to enter. mosca: fly (insect).

Notes: The form "chiusa" is a passive participle, meaning "closed." The form "entran" is a shortened form of "entrano," and you can also find the proverb in this form: In bocca chiusa non entrano le mosche.

Melissa Wiese at Flickr

A nessuno piovono

A nessuno piovono le lasagne in bocca.

Vocabulary: nessuno: no one, nobody. piovere: to rain. lasagna: lasagna. bocca: mouth.

Notes: In Italian, the plural "lasagne" is used to refer to what we call lasagna in English.

source

Raglio d’asino

Raglio d’asino non arriva mai in cielo.

Vocabulary: raglio: bray, braying. asino: donkey. arrivare: to reach, arrive. mai: never, ever. cielo: sky, heaven.

Notes: By itself Italian "mai" can mean never, and it can also be used together with "non" as here: "non...mai" which means "not...ever," "never."

Sharyn Morrow at Flickr

L’asino non conosce la coda

L’asino non conosce la coda se non quando non l’ha più.

Vocabulary: asino: donkey. conoscere: to know, recognize. coda: tail. avere: to have. più: more, any more.

Notes: Don't let all the negatives trip you up; the "se non quando" works like the English "until." If the donkey loses his tail, how will he flick away the flies? You don't know what you've got till it's gone.

source

L’asino e il mulattiero

L’asino e il mulattiero non hanno lo stesso pensiero.

Vocabulary: asino: donkey. mulattiero: driver, mule-driver. avere: to have. stesso: the same. pensiero: thought.

Notes: This is a rhyming proverb: mulattiero... pensiero.

source

Text-to-Speech Browser Extensions

You can find browser extensions now that will read text aloud for you, and many of these extensions allow you to select different speakers in different languages, often with a choice of gender and also of regional languages. Two browser extensions that I have used — Speechify and ReadMe — offer a variety of Spanish women's and men's voices from Spain, Mexico, U.S., etc.

You just install the browser extension and then when you right-mouse click on a highlighted selection of text, you will hear the voice read the text to you. Depending on the app, you can also adjust the speed so that the voice reads more slowly.

Here's a screenshot of how the Speechify extension looks in my Chrome browser:

To change the spekaer, I click on the little person icon, and I can also adjust the speed.

This is an amazing tool for language learners! You can also use these apps to read documents, PDFs, etc. It's definitely worth exploring the different text-to-speech apps available for your web browser and also for your phone to see which app is the most helpful for you.