17 Interesting and Strange words in Spanish

Every language has some quite interesting words which people tend to notice. If you’d like to be the knowledgeable person at a party who shows off their wisdom about languages, we have some very cool Spanish terms that you might like to memorize to share with your friends whenever someone starts a “Did you know that…?” conversation.

Our stage and funny Spanish word selection:

1. Arrebol: red color that is seen in clouds illuminated by the sun, especially at dawn and dusk.
   
   
2. Madrugada: time after midnight and before sunrise
   
   
3. Crápula: man who leads a licentious life and has customs that are considered unethical, basically “a rake”
   
   
4. Imberbe: literally, “no beard”, it’s used to describe someone who does not have the maturity or experience of adulthood
   
   
5. Desvelarse: to stay awake during the night
   
   
6. Empalagoso: used to describe something that is annoyingly sweet, be it a food or a situation
   
   
7. Sobremesa: after dinner conversation
   
   
8. Anteayer: the day before yesterday
   
   
9. Friolento/a: this adjective describes someone who gets cold easily or who’s always cold
   
   
10. Alumno: it literally means “someone who has no light”. However, the term is used a synonym for “student”. Basically, it connotes that students are people with no metaphorical “light” or knowledge and the teacher is supposed to provide it.
    
    
11. Tocayo: a person who has the same first name as you
    
    
12. Trámite: each of the administrative steps and procedures that must be followed in a matter until its conclusion
    
    
13. Amazona: it means a woman who rides a horse, a horsewoman
    
    
14. Morbo: unhealthy interest in a morbid person, thing or situation
    
    
15. Parrandear: to party really hard
    
    
16. Alfajor: a snack composed of two thin slices of dough adhered to each other with dulce de leche –caramel– and sometimes covered in chocolate
    
    
17. Narizón: adjective used to describe someone who has a big nose

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Interesting, right? Let’s try to make a couple of sentences using some of them!

Anteayer el imberbe alumno se desveló toda la madrugada parrandeando con su crápula tocayo

(The day before yesterday the immature student stayed up all night with a licentious person who has the same name as he)

La amazona narizona se empalagó con un alfajor bajo el arrebol

(The horsewoman with a big nose thought the snack was too sweet under the redish clouds illuminated by the sun)

I can guarantee no non native Spanish speaker will understand what on Earth you’re talking about!