B2 · Unit 12 · 46 words, 2 texts with translation
Talk about the Fallas festival
Describe Valencia's Fallas festival and recognize colloquial words with -azo, -ón, -ete and -ote, plus the intensifiers la mar de and de lo más.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Evaluative suffixes: -azo, -ón, -illo, -ete, -ote (recognize only)
You already know that -ito makes a word small and affectionate (A2, unit 12) and that -ísimo means "very" (B1, unit 11). Everyday speech has more of these endings. You don't need to use them yourself yet — the goal is to recognize them when you hear them.
English adds size and feeling with an extra word: a huge problem, an amazing car. Spanish can pack both into the ending of the word.
| Suffix | What it adds | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -azo | "amazing, wow!" | cochazo (an amazing car), exitazo (a huge hit) |
| -azo | a blow, a sudden loud noise | portazo (a door slam), petardazo (the bang of a firecracker) |
| -ón | "big, strong" | problemón (a huge problem), peliculón (a great movie), fiestón (a huge party) |
| -ón | a sudden action | empujón (a shove), madrugón (getting up really early) |
| -illo, -illa | "small, no big deal" | un momentillo (just a sec) |
| -ete | "friendly, not serious" | amiguete (a buddy) |
| -ote, -ota | "big, clumsy" | grandote (huge) |
- ¡Qué cochazo tiene tu vecino! — What a car your neighbor has!
- Encontrar piso en el centro es un problemón. — Finding an apartment downtown is a huge problem.
- Se enfadó y se fue dando un portazo. — He got angry and stormed out, slamming the door.
- Espera un momentillo, ya voy. — Hang on a sec, I'm coming.
Good to remember:
- the gender can change: la película but un peliculón; la fiesta but un fiestón;
- -azo isn't always praise: un portazo isn't "a great door" but a slammed door;
- some words "froze" long ago and carry no attitude: bolsillo — pocket, ventanilla — ticket window, bocadillo — sandwich. And camión (truck) and corazón (heart) have no suffix at all.
A common mistake is adding these suffixes to any word. They only go with some words, and this is casual talk among friends: to your landlord you write un problema grave, not un problemón.
Colloquial intensifiers: la mar de and de lo más
To say "very", you don't always need muy. In conversation, people in Spain love two intensifiers. Both go before the word they intensify (usually an adjective) and make the sentence livelier and warmer.
la mar de — really, super, incredibly. Literally "the sea of", but nobody thinks of the sea here — just as nobody thinks of weight when they say "tons of people".
- Estoy la mar de contenta con el piso nuevo. — I'm super happy with the new apartment (woman speaking).
- Tu barrio es la mar de tranquilo. — Your neighborhood is really quiet.
- Before a noun it means "tons of": Había la mar de gente. — There were tons of people.
de lo más — extremely, totally.
- Tu madre es de lo más simpática. — Your mother is really lovely.
- Fue una tarde de lo más normal. — It was a totally ordinary afternoon.
What changes and what doesn't. The intensifiers themselves never change: always la mar de and de lo más. Only the adjective after them changes, as usual, for gender and number: la mar de contenta, la mar de contentos, de lo más simpática.
Don't confuse de lo más with lo más (B1, unit 15). Lo más normal es llamar antes. — The most normal thing is to call first. Es de lo más normal. — It's totally normal. Without de it means "the most…"; with de it just means "very".
When to use them. With friends, family and neighbors. In an official application or a letter to your landlord, use only muy. And don't stack two intensifiers: not ✗ la mar de muy contenta, but la mar de contenta.
Words in this unit
la falla — falla (giant display of figures)
Esta falla es enorme. — This falla is huge.
el ninot — ninot (figure in a falla)
Cada falla tiene muchos ninots. — Every falla has lots of ninots.
la mascletà — mascletà (daytime firecracker show)
La mascletà empieza a las dos de la tarde. — The mascletà starts at two in the afternoon.
el petardo — firecracker
Los niños tiran petardos en la calle. — The children throw firecrackers in the street.
la pólvora — gunpowder
La pólvora huele muy fuerte. — Gunpowder smells really strong.
el cohete — rocket
Lanzan cohetes desde el balcón. — They launch rockets from the balcony.
la hoguera — bonfire
Las fallas acaban en una gran hoguera. — The fallas end in a big bonfire.
la explosión — explosion, blast
Se oye una explosión en la plaza. — You can hear an explosion in the square.
explotar — to explode, to burst, to blow up
El petardo explota con mucho ruido. — The firecracker explodes with a loud bang.
lanzar — to throw, to launch, to set off
Lanzan cohetes a las diez. — They launch rockets at ten.
arder — to burn (in flames)
La falla arde en pocos minutos. — The falla burns in a few minutes.
la multitud — crowd, multitude
En la plaza hay una multitud. — There's a crowd in the square.
el desfile — parade, procession
El desfile pasa por mi calle. — The parade goes down my street.
la bandera — flag
En la fiesta hay banderas en todas las calles. — During the festival, there are flags on every street.
la ceremonia — ceremony
La ceremonia empieza a las ocho. — The ceremony starts at eight.
el concurso — contest, competition
Hay un concurso de paella en la plaza. — There's a paella contest in the square.
el/la artista — artist, performer
Mi tía es artista. — My aunt is an artist.
representar — to depict, to represent, to perform
La falla representa un cuento. — The falla depicts a story.
popular — popular, folk
La paella es un plato muy popular. — Paella is a very popular dish.
disfrutar — to enjoy, to have a good time
Disfruto mucho de las fiestas. — I really enjoy festivals.
espectacular — spectacular, stunning
La falla es espectacular. — The falla is spectacular.
la paella — paella
Mi madre hace una paella muy rica. — My mother makes a really tasty paella.
el churro — churro
Desayuno chocolate con churros. — I have hot chocolate with churros for breakfast.
el buñuelo — fritter, buñuelo
Los buñuelos de calabaza son típicos de las Fallas. — Pumpkin buñuelos are typical of Fallas.
la figura — figure
La falla tiene figuras de cartón. — The falla has cardboard figures.
el jaleo — racket, commotion, fuss
¡Qué jaleo hay en la calle! — What a racket there is in the street!
tapar — to cover, to block
Tapa la olla, que se enfría la comida. — Put the lid on the pot, the food's getting cold.
el origen — origin, beginning
¿Cuál es el origen de la fiesta? — What is the origin of the festival?
el cochazo — amazing car
Mi tío tiene un cochazo. — My uncle has an amazing car.
el exitazo — huge hit, huge success
La fiesta fue un exitazo. — The party was a huge success.
el portazo — door slam
Dio un portazo y se fue. — He slammed the door and left.
el problemón — huge problem
Tenemos un problemón con el coche. — We have a huge problem with the car.
el peliculón — great movie
Anoche vimos un peliculón. — Last night we watched a great movie.
el fiestón — huge party
Anoche hubo un fiestón en mi calle. — Last night there was a huge party on my street.
el madrugón — very early start, getting up at dawn
Mañana tengo un madrugón. — Tomorrow I have to get up really early.
el empujón — push, shove
Me dieron un empujón en el metro. — Someone shoved me on the metro.
el amiguete — buddy, pal
Voy al fútbol con unos amiguetes. — I'm going to the soccer game with some buddies.
grandote — huge, really big
Su perro es grandote. — His dog is huge.
la mar de — really, super
La paella estaba la mar de buena. — The paella was really good.
de lo más — extremely, totally
La fiesta fue de lo más divertida. — The party was extremely fun.
no pegar ojo — to not sleep a wink
Con el ruido no pegué ojo. — With all the noise, I didn't sleep a wink.
hasta las tantas — until all hours, until late at night
Ayer estuvimos de fiesta hasta las tantas. — Yesterday we partied until all hours.
a lo grande — in a big way, in style
En Valencia celebran las Fallas a lo grande. — In Valencia they celebrate Fallas in a big way.
valenciano — Valencian
La paella es un plato valenciano. — Paella is a Valencian dish.
no caber ni un alfiler — to be packed, to have no room to move
En el metro a las ocho no cabe ni un alfiler. — At eight o'clock, the metro is packed.
pasárselo bomba — to have a blast
En la fiesta de Dani nos lo pasamos bomba. — We had a blast at Dani's party.
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