Spanish short stories
Short, real-life dual-language stories that put lesson vocabulary into a scene — from first-week small talk to a night out. Tap any sentence to reveal its translation.
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beginner9 stories
Nueva en Madrid: A Neighbor Says Hello
Follow Claire's first week in Madrid as a neighbor strikes up a conversation on the stairs and the two arrange to meet up again.
13 sentences
En el Mercado
A learner buys mangoes at a Mexico City market and gets a warm crash course in how vendors really talk.
15 sentences
Perdido en el Centro
A tourist with a dead phone asks three friendly madrileños the way to the Prado — and gets three different answers.
14 sentences
Café con el Nuevo Compañero de Piso
Two new flatmates share a coffee on their first morning together and get past the awkward small talk.
11 sentences
Cambio de Planes por WhatsApp
Two friends reschedule their plans over a quick WhatsApp exchange, the way most plans in Spain actually get made.
8 sentences
Charlando en la Cola del Supermercado
A slow supermarket line turns into a short, friendly chat between two strangers waiting to pay.
9 sentences
Desayuno en la Cafetería del Barrio
A simple neighborhood breakfast order becomes a lesson in ordering food the way locals actually do.
10 sentences
Primera Cita en una Cafetería
A first date at a café starts with nerves and small talk, and ends with both people hoping to see each other again.
12 sentences
Sacando Dinero en el Cajero
A quick trip to the ATM turns into a lesson in basic Spanish money vocabulary when the machine has other plans.
11 sentences
intermediate17 stories
Domingo de fútbol en el bar de siempre
Tres amigos ven el partido en su bar de siempre: un golazo, un penalti polémico y el eterno debate sobre quién jugó mejor.
13 sentences
Fiebre y un trancazo: un día en el centro de salud
Marta se despierta con fiebre y dolor de garganta, consigue cita el mismo día y termina en la farmacia con receta en mano.
14 sentences
Un Piso con Vistas en Valencia
Sara visita un piso con el agente Javier y pregunta lo esencial antes de decidir si merece la pena firmar el contrato.
12 sentences
Domingo en Casa de la Abuela
Diego visita a la abuela de su novia para la comida del domingo y descubre que decir que no a un segundo plato no es tan fácil.
12 sentences
Una Caña Después del Curro
Two coworkers escape the office for a quick beer, order like locals, and argue over who's paying the bill.
14 sentences
Ahorita — Episodio 4: La Suegra
Season 2 opens with a video call from Madrid: Diego's mother has bought a ticket to Mexico City. Between a secret trip to a jewelry shop, a spice-training program and a fonda-wide cleaning operation, Diego learns that some arrivals cannot be scheduled — not even ahorita.
20 sentences
Ahorita — Episodio 5: Las Dos Doñas
Doña Pilar walks into the fonda armed with two jamones and a family recipe; Grandma Chela receives her with mole and a poker face. A spice test, a tortilla summit and one hidden ring later, the two matriarchs discover they agree on everything — especially about Diego.
22 sentences
Ahorita — Episodio 1: La Llegada
Diego lands in Mexico City to meet his girlfriend's family, and discovers that vale is sale, tortillas contain no potato, and Grandma Chela does not hand out compliments.
20 sentences
Ahorita — Episodio 2: La Fonda
Diego's first shift at the fonda: a dawn trip to the tianguis, a kitchen ultimatum from Grandma Chela, a tortilla cooked under pressure — and a letter nobody wanted to receive.
19 sentences
Ahorita — Episodio 3: La Neta
With the rent doubled and three months to live, the fonda bets everything on a Noche Madrileña — croquetas de mole, a viral video, and a landlord who shows up hungry.
20 sentences
Asado del Domingo
A Buenos Aires Sunday asado in full swing: friends heckle the grill master, fernet flows, and the mate comes out after lunch.
15 sentences
La Bronca de los Platos
Two flatmates, a sink full of dirty dishes, and a proper telling-off — how a Spanish argument flares up and how it gets patched over.
14 sentences
Una Mesa Para Cuatro
Booking a table by phone, ordering raciones to share, and fighting over the bill — a Friday dinner out in Madrid, straight from the book.
14 sentences
El Tren Llega Tarde Otra Vez
A delayed commuter train pushes two regular passengers past politeness and into genuine, colorful Spanish frustration.
11 sentences
Organizando el Viaje de Fin de Semana
Two friends plan a weekend getaway over a phone call, using the everyday verbs natives lean on constantly but textbooks barely mention.
10 sentences
Reunión de Equipo el Lunes por la Mañana
A Monday morning team meeting runs through the week ahead, complete with the deflections and diplomatic phrasing every office needs.
12 sentences
Un Café en Palermo, Buenos Aires
Two old friends catch up over coffee in a Buenos Aires café, voseo and lunfardo included, the way Argentines actually talk.
10 sentences
advanced7 stories
El Río y la Gran Vía — Episodio 4: La Libreta Verde
Julia learns to pull a caña, takes her uncle's little green notebook of neighborhood debts literally, and discovers that in Madrid old debts are paid in every currency except money — while Robles's deadline keeps ticking.
32 sentences
El Río y la Gran Vía — Episodio 5: Dos Orillas
Julia's mother lands at Barajas with a suitcase, a shoebox and forty years of unfinished sentences. Between an empanada night and Robles's deadline, the family debt gets settled — in every sense — and a stranger from Logroño walks in asking for Aurelio.
28 sentences
El Río y la Gran Vía — Episodio 1: La Carta
A notary's letter from Madrid breaks a forty-year family silence, and Julia quits the job she hates to claim a bar she has never seen.
35 sentences
El Río y la Gran Vía — Episodio 2: Bar Casilda
The stranger with the keys has been keeping her uncle's bar alive — and the books, the regulars, and a locked back room all have something to say about it.
33 sentences
El Río y la Gran Vía — Episodio 3: El Cuarto de Atrás
Behind a door painted the color of the wall: forty years of unsent letters, the truth about why Aurelio left Buenos Aires, and a developer with a checkbook.
33 sentences
El Último Colectivo
On the last night bus through Buenos Aires, an exhausted nurse's terrible day is quietly undone by three small encounters with strangers who are not quite strangers.
28 sentences
La Sobremesa
A yellowed train ticket surfaces during a long Sunday sobremesa in Zaragoza, revealing the life Grandma Pilar almost lived — and the family that almost never was.
28 sentences