Stand out with your Spanish / Destácate con tu español / 5 minutes o f Spanish + Podcast- English version

 

Destacar- to highlight/ to underline

Hello, how are you! Good morning, good afternoon or good evening, depending on where you are or what time you're listening to us.

 

Welcome to episode 217 of the 5 minutes of Spanish! What's our topic?

 

I've been thinking about a verb that catches the attention of many students and it's destacar

Did you notice how many times we use the word “destacar” in Spanish?

 

Yes, it's true! “Destacar” is one of those words that has a lot of uses. It basically means to highlight or emphasize something. Destacar in English means: to stand out, to highlight, to distinguish.

 

Exactly. For example, when you say "Este mueble destaca por su diseño moderno", you are saying that it attracts attention because of how different or special it is. In English it would be something like “This piece of furniture stands out for its modern design”.

 

Of course, you can also use it with people. As in “Ella se destaca en su trabajo por su dedicación”, which would be something like “She stands out at work because of her dedication”.

 

Yes, and there are a lot of synonyms that mean pretty much the same thing:

Subrayar – to highlight, to underline

Recalcar – to emphasize,

Remarcar - to remark,

Acentuar - to accent

Resaltar...

 

For example, if you want to emphasize the importance of something, you can say "Quiero recalcar la importancia de practicar todos los días", “I want to emphasize the importance of practicing every day”.

 

Sure! And you can also use it in its pronominal form, “destacarse”. Like when you say “Juan se destaca en el equipo de fútbol por su velocidad". Juan stands out on the soccer team for his speed.

 

That is, “sobresale”,

Sobresalir – to excel, to stand out

 

Another synonym is “descollar”, have you heard of it?

 

This verb descollar comes from the union of the preposition des with cuello (neck) and is conjugated as “contar”, changing the o for ue: 

Descollar - to stand out

 

"En la fiesta de disfraces, Juan decidió ir vestido de plátano gigante... y claro, descolló entre todos los invitados. ¡Nadie podía ignorarlo!" / At the costume party, Juan decided to go dressed as a giant banana... and of course, he stood out among all the guests. No one could ignore him!"

 

Let's continue with our verb destacar. You can also say that a book or an article is featured, as in "Este es un autor destacado en literatura contemporánea", This is a prominent author in contemporary literature.

 

"Este artículo ha sido destacado en la revista". This article has been featured in the magazine.

And the same with situations, such as "En la reunión de hoy, su presentación destacó por su claridad". Es decir, sobresalió entre todas las demás. / At today's meeting, your presentation stood out for its clarity.

 

Speaking of standing out... Can you imagine standing out for your Spanish among your friends and family?

 

Imagine the look of surprise on your travel group's face when they see that you are the interpreter on your next trip to Latin America. You will be the hero of the group!

 

Do you want to be the traveler who excels at speaking Spanish in different contexts?

Join our club! In just a few months, you'll be able to improve your Spanish and stand out in any conversation.

 

Thanks for making it this far in the Podcast.

 

And thank you for your comments, participation and responsibility with Spanish.

 

We look forward to seeing you in our classes or workshops or next Wednesday.

 

See you soon

 

Bye, bye.