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Lesson 157 of 238

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Free Spanish CourseLesson 157 of 238

What I mean is in Spanish

Justin takes a broken lamp to the repair shop, and Alex explains how the whole process works.

You'll learn the phrases Mexican speakers use to make an explanation simple: what I mean is, basically, in a few words, it works like this, and it's a way to.

By the end, you can explain something plainly and check that the other person follows you.

By the end of this lesson

Explain something in a simple way and check that it makes sense.

  • Lo que quiero decir es ___What I mean is ___
  • En pocas palabras, ___In a few words, ___
  • Básicamente, ___Basically, ___
  • Funciona asíIt works like this
  • Es una forma de ___It's a way to ___

Scene — one broken lamp

A small electronics repair shop in El Laurel. Justin has just carried in a lamp that stopped working last night.

Alex is behind the counter, and behind him waits a line of blenders, fans, and radios.

Justin carries a broken lamp into a small electronics repair shop where a repairman waits behind a counter stacked with blenders, fans, and radios.

Learn — say it plainer

Five phrases that make any explanation easier to follow: restate your point, cut to the core, promise the short version, lay out the steps, or say what something is for.

Learn each one as a single piece.

  1. Alex holds up the lamp plug and begins to explain something to Justin across the counter.

    Lo que quiero decir es ___

    What I mean is ___

    When to use it: Use this to restate the point you were trying to make.

    Learn it as one piece; decir stays in the infinitive after quiero.

    Say it: decir: deh-SEER, with a soft d like the th in “the”.

  2. Alex sums up his explanation with a short chopping gesture while Justin nods.

    En pocas palabras, ___

    In a few words, ___

    When to use it: Say this right before giving a short summary of a longer explanation.

    Palabras is feminine plural, so it takes pocas.

    Say it: POH-kahs pah-LAH-brahs

  3. Alex gestures simply with an open palm, laying out the basic idea of the repair.

    Básicamente, ___

    Basically, ___

    When to use it: Use it to strip an explanation down to its core idea.

    Words ending in -mente stress the -men syllable; the accent on á is kept from básico, as in rápidamente.

  4. Alex traces a step-by-step path in the air with his finger, showing how the repair works.

    Funciona así

    It works like this

    When to use it: Say this just before describing a process step by step.

    The thing works; the person doesn't. Funciona comes from funcionar.

  5. Alex gestures toward the lamp and the waiting appliances, describing it as a way of fixing them.

    Es una forma de ___

    It's a way to ___

    When to use it: Use it to describe what something is for, in simple terms.

    After de, use the infinitive: una forma de asegurar.

Story — three steps

Watch how Alex keeps his explanation simple with the highlighted phrases. Justin asks the questions and Alex does the explaining.

Turn on Show English if a step gets away from you.

  1. Justin carries in a lamp that stopped working last night.
  2. JustinHola. Esta lámpara ya no prende. ¿La reparan aquí?Hi. This lamp won't turn on anymore. Do you repair it here?
  3. AlexSí, pero el proceso tiene tres pasos.Yes, but the process has three steps.
  4. Justin¿Cómo? Mejor explícamelo fácil.How? Better explain it to me simply.
  5. AlexFunciona así: primero la revisamos y te cotizamos.It works like this: first we check it and give you a quote.
  6. Justin¿Y el depósito de la puerta?And the deposit at the door?
  7. AlexLo que quiero decir es que el depósito aparta tu lugar en la fila.What I mean is, the deposit holds your place in line.
  8. JustinAh, o sea, no es el pago.Oh, I mean, it isn't the payment.
  9. AlexExacto. Es una forma de decir que vas a volver.Exactly. It's a way of saying you'll come back.
  10. Justin¿Y si no regreso?And if I don't come back?
  11. AlexBásicamente, pierdes el depósito. Nada más.Basically, you lose the deposit. That's all.
  12. JustinO sea: revisión, cotización y depósito.So: checkup, quote, and deposit.
  13. AlexEn pocas palabras, sí: la dejas, la revisamos, te avisamos.In a few words, yes: you leave it, we check it, we let you know.
  14. Alex¿Tiene sentido?Does that make sense?
  15. JustinSí, tiene sentido. La dejo.Yes, it makes sense. I'll leave it.
  16. Justin picks up an umbrella to leave — it's Alex's.
  17. JustinPerdón, casi me llevo su sombrilla.Sorry, I almost took your umbrella.
  18. AlexPasa seguido. Ya hasta le pongo etiquetas.It happens a lot. I'm about to start putting labels on things.

Practice — pick the plain one

Eleven quick exercises: listen, match, pick the right phrase for each situation, and put a short chat in order.

Watch out for basically and in a few words — they sound alike but do different jobs.

0 of 11 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    Spanish

    Lo que quiero decir es ___Drop the English here
    En pocas palabras, ___Drop the English here
    Es una forma de ___Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its Spanish, or tap one and then the other.

  3. What does it mean?

    Básicamente, ___

  4. What do you say?

    Alex took your first sentence to mean the deposit is the payment. You restate your real point.

  5. Pick the reply

    Alex says:

    Uf, fue mucha información. ¿Me la resumes?

    Wow, that was a lot of information. Can you sum it up for me?

    And you reply with:

  6. What do you say?

    You explain what the café's points program is for: its way of thanking the regular customers.

  7. Fill the gap

    It works like this

    Funciona ____

  8. Swap the word

    You point at the paper in your hand — the idea at hand, not the one across the room.

    A ____ me refiero

  9. What do you say?

    You want to make your explanation concrete with one real case, like Monday's morning rush.

  10. True or false?

    This line says that an explanation is clear and holds together.

  11. Put the chat in order

    1. JustinWhat comes first?
    2. Alex…
    3. Justin…
    4. Alex…

    Tap the line that comes next, or drag it into the chat.

Say it — explain it yourself

Now the roles flip: you're the one explaining, and Alex asks the questions. Tap the microphone when it's your turn.

Tap ▶ first to hear the model line. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. AlexJustin, ¿cómo funciona lo de los puntos? Me perdí con tu explicación.Justin, how does the points thing work? I got lost in your explanation.
  2. Justin (you)Restate your point: you get a point for every coffee.

    Lo que quiero decir es ___

    What I mean is ___

0 of 5 said

Recap — what you can say now

SpanishEnglish
Lo que quiero decir es ___What I mean is ___
En pocas palabras, ___In a few words, ___
Básicamente, ___Basically, ___
Funciona asíIt works like this
Es una forma de ___It's a way to ___
Next: lesson 158The short version

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