To break barriers- Romper barreras- 5 minutes of Spanish (English version) + Podcast

 In this episode of the podcast we look at the uses of the verb romper (to break) in Spanish. We focus on the idea of breaking beliefs that limit us in order to achieve our goals.
We also talk about common expressions with this verb. How about breaking the monotony?
Hello, how are you?

Romper . to break

To break barriers
Good morning, good afternoon or good evening, depending on where you are or what time you hear us.

 For the Spanish version click here

We are Malena and Eduardo from Spanish in Cabo and Spanishup2U.com Your Spanish friends in Los Cabos and online. Thank you for practicing your new language with us.

 

In episode 161 of 5 minutes of Spanish we are going to talk about 1 verb that has many meanings in Spanish, this language that 490 million people speak and that is the second in the world in international communication. If you want to learn more click here and you will see all the options you have.

 

What is today’s verb?

 

The verb is romper, it comes from the Latin rumpiere, the participle is irregular: roto, but as a verb it is regular: romper.

 

What does “to break” mean?

 

It is to separate with more or less violence the parts of a whole. It also means to break or tear to pieces, to destroy. In English: to break.

 

Is romper different from romper?

 

No. They are synonyms, to break is used more than to break. For example: to break a glass is the same as to break a glass. But we don't say to break a watch, we say: romper un reloj.

 

In other words, romper is the verb you are going to hear more in everyday Spanish. An example?

 

El carro se rompió, no arranca, uff voy a llamar un Uber. / The car broke down, it won’t start, uff I’m going to call an Uber.

 

Or estas sillas están rotas, tenemos que repararlas / These chairs are broken, we have to repair them.

 

We also use breaking as crossing a boundary.

 

También usamos romper como traspasar un límite.

Durante la pandemia muchos de nosotros rompíamos las reglas y salíamos sin tapabocas, por ejemplo…

During the pandemic many of us broke the rules and went out without a mask, for example...

Romper las reglas,    to break the rules

 

Or many times you can break a promise.

 

It is a very ugly thing to break promises.

 

romper una promesa - to break a promise

Puedes romper con una novia o un novio – to break up with a girlfriend or a boyfriend

He is very sad because he broke up with his girlfriend a few days ago and he feels weird.

 

In the case of business or international relations you can break a negotiation. - to break a negotiation

 

Sometimes it is very good to break the monotony with a trip, for example. In this case, of course, if you want to travel at your own pace, we recommend you to consult Unique trips, your travel agency. To do so, click here.

 

You can break the monotony by traveling to Argentina and at the same time practice your Spanish.

 

Romper la monotonía - Break the monotony

Sometimes it is very good to break the monotony with a trip, for example. If you want to tailor your trip, we recommend you to consult Unique trips, your travel agency. Click here

 

In the workshops we always say: ¿quién rompe el hielo y es el primero en hablar? who breaks the ice and is the first to speak?

 

We mean speaking Spanish, of course, and how well Spanishup2U members speak it!

Come this Friday to the free Spanish workshop and see for yourself.

 

Any other uses? In nature, for example: las olas rompen con fuerza contra el muelle. The waves break hard against the dock.

O para los ingenieros: romper las barreras del sonido, pero esto es más complicado. / Or for the engineers: break the sound barriers, but this is more complicated...

También puedes romper barreras sociales o las barreras que tu mismo con tus creencias te pones. You can also break social barriers or the barriers that you put yourself with your beliefs.

It's great to break these barriers because it empowers you, it gives you courage.

 

Empoderarse- To empower yourself

 

Do you want to empower yourself and break the language barriers? This means talking to your neighbors, reading books in Spanish, being able to speak Spanish when traveling with ease. For this click here and you will see that with our method you will do it in no time.

 

We say goodbye, see you soon

 

Bye-bye.

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