Spanish idioms are essential in order to understand every day Spanish. Moreover, if you learn how to use them, they will make your Spanish sound more like a native speaker. This will also increase the nuances you can transmit with your vocabulary and make your communication more precise and correct.
Why are idioms important for DELE C1?
Taking into account the huge benefits mentioned above, it’s no wonder they are crucially important for DELE C1. Indeed, to be able to reach the C1 level in the DELE exam idioms will particularly be useful in these tasks:
- Listening tasks 2 and 4. They will help you recognize feelings, attitudes and intentions in brief daily conversations (task 2). They will also help you understand the pragmatic and sociolinguistic connotations in a series of dialogues (task 4).
- Speaking tasks 1, 2 and 3. One of the descriptors used to grade your ability to express yourself specifically states you should “have a good command of idiomatic and colloquial expressions”.
Where can I find useful Spanish idioms?
A great book to work with these expressions is A debate, from Edelsa. In it, you will find 10 topics with a section called Más palabras”. The section includes the expressions in context and exercises to practice with them.
The topics will be particularly helpful when preparing for the DELE C1 exam: social media, journalism, science, work, health and economy among others.
How can I memorize Spanish idioms?
As we’ve mentioned before, flashcards are a great way to remember vocabulary. For advanced learners, I recommend using the target language in both sides of the flashcard. This way, you can memorize synonyms and other reformulations. Take, for example, this set of flashcards based on the topic of economy
What about you? How do you memorize fixed expressions in Spanish? Do you have any to add to the list? Comment below and don’t forget to check us at crisol.espanol
