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Spanish word of the day: 'Cobra'

The Local Spain
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Spanish word of the day: 'Cobra'
Photo: nito103/Depositphotos"

When learning Spain, you will come across words with the same spelling that mean completely different things depending on the context.

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Why do I need to know cobra?

It also has other meanings and means both a noun and a verb, as well as a colloquial expression.

What does it mean?

Cobra in Spanish means the same as the animal in English - a type of snake

As a verb!

In Spanish, the third person of a verb ending in -ar usually simply removes the -r and ends in -a.

The verb cobrar means to earn money so cobra is the 3rd person of the verb cobrar.

  • Ella cobra mucho dinero, pero se quiere cambiar de trabajo pronto.

            She earns a lot of money but she wants to change jobs soon.

 

It also colloquially refers to the action of turning your face away when somebody tries to kiss you:

  • Me quería dar un beso, pero le hice una cobra, no era mi tipo.

        He wanted to kiss me but I turned my face away, he was not my type at all.

 

Pronunciation: 

koh-brah

Check out our other word of the day posts

This word of the day has been contributed by LAE Madrid, the leading Spanish academy in Madrid. Accredited by the Insitituto Cervantes, it offers Spanish courses for all levels and also has Spanish classes for kids and familiesRead their blog for more Spanish!

READ MORE: Ten Spanish slang phrases you never learn at school 

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