En resumen (the short version)
- Going through English first is normal. It's also the reason your Spanish comes out slowly.
- Spanish builds lots of sentences in a different shape from English. Learn the shape and there's nothing to translate.
- Link new words to real things, describe what you're doing in Spanish, and when you get stuck, ask for help in Spanish.
✌🏼 ¡Hola aventurero!
Little confession: I studied Translation at university. Turning one language into another was literally what I trained to do 😅
So trust me on this one. Translating is great when you're writing an email. It's a real problem when someone is standing in front of you, waiting for an answer.
If you want to stop thinking in English when speaking Spanish, you're in the right place. Vamos a ver (let's see) why your brain takes the English route, and what you can do about it.
Why your brain goes through English first
When you speak your own language, there are two steps. You have an idea, and the words come out.
When you speak Spanish through English, there are a lot more:
- You have an idea.
- You put it into English.
- You swap each English word for a Spanish one.
- You fix the grammar: gender, verb ending, word order…
- You finally say it.
That's a lot of work just to ask for un café con leche ☕
Your brain isn't doing anything wrong. English is the language it knows best, so it goes there first. Es normal.
The goal is to make that English step smaller and smaller, until for everyday things it just… isn't there anymore.
Catching yourself translating doesn't mean you're bad at Spanish. It means that bit of Spanish is still new. The phrases you use all the time already skip the English step. You don't translate hola or gracias anymore, ¿verdad?
Spanish doesn't build sentences the English way
Here comes the teacher bit (quick and not boring, I promise 🤓).
Spanish often says things in a completely different forma (shape) from English, so translating word by word breaks the sentence.
| In English | In Spanish | What Spanish does differently |
|---|---|---|
| My head hurts. | Me duele la cabeza. | The head hurts to me. And Spanish says la (the), not "my", for parts of your body. |
| I dropped my phone. | Se me ha caído el móvil. | The phone "fell on me". Spanish often makes accidents something that happens to you. |
| I've been waiting for twenty minutes. | Llevo veinte minutos esperando. | Llevar + time + a verb ending in -ando or -iendo, for something that started earlier and is still going on. |
| I'm sorry I'm late. | Siento llegar tarde. | No "be late" here. Spanish says "I'm sorry to arrive late". |
| There are four of us. | Somos cuatro. | Literally "we are four". Short, and very handy when you walk into a restaurant. |
If you build these from the English, you end up with things like Mi cabeza duele or Estoy esperando por veinte minutos. People might understand you, but it sounds like a translation… because it is one 🙈
So when you learn something new, don't just learn what it means. Notice the shape: which verb Spanish picks and who the action happens to. That's how I explain grammar in my Visual Spanish Grammar Book, with charts instead of long rules.
When you write a new phrase in your notes, put a second Spanish example next to it instead of the English. Me duele la cabeza goes next to Me duele la espalda, not next to "my head hurts". That way your brain links Spanish to more Spanish.
Link new words to real things, not English words
If you learn la sartén as "frying pan", you've connected it to English. So every time you need it, your brain goes to English first to find it.
Instead, connect the word to the real thing. Look at the frying pan in your own kitchen and say la sartén. When you review your vocab, picture the object, no la palabra en inglés (not the English word).
If you use flashcards, put a photo on the front instead of the English. There's more on this in how to make Spanish flashcards that actually work.
Write sticky notes with Spanish words, like la nevera (fridge), el grifo (tap), la sartén (frying pan), el horno (oven) and la taza (mug), and stick each one on the real thing. Every time you open the fridge you'll read la nevera. No English involved 🏷️
Say what you're doing, in Spanish
This one feels a bit silly for about two days. Then it works suuuper well.
While you do something simple, like making breakfast, describe what you're doing in short Spanish sentences. Out loud if you're alone, in your head if you're on a bus.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Enciendo la cafetera. | I switch on the coffee maker. |
| Saco la leche de la nevera. | I take the milk out of the fridge. |
| Corto un poco de pan. | I cut a bit of bread. |
| Le pongo tomate y aceite. | I put tomato and oil on it. |
| ¡Uy! Se me ha caído el cuchillo. | Oops! I've dropped the knife. |
See the last one? That's the se me ha caído shape from the "Same idea, different shape" table, used for real 😄
Why it works: there's no English sentence to start from. You're describing what you can see, so the Spanish comes first. And when a word is missing, you know exactly what to look up later.
Present tense and short sentences are completely fine. If you enjoy this one, read why talking to yourself in Spanish works.
Stuck? Ask for help in Spanish
The moment a word goes missing is when English comes rushing back. You stop, think "how do you say…?", and suddenly the whole conversation is in English.
So have a few Spanish phrases ready for exactly that moment. That way, even asking for help keeps you in Spanish.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Cómo se dice "…" en español? | How do you say "…" in Spanish? |
| ¿Se dice así? | Is that how you say it? |
| ¿Qué significa…? | What does … mean? |
| Perdona, ¿puedes repetirlo? | Sorry, can you say that again? |
| Déjame pensar un momento. | Let me think for a second. |
Sí, ¿Cómo se dice "tin opener"? has an English word in it. That's fine! One English word inside a Spanish sentence keeps the conversation in Spanish. Switching the whole conversation to English doesn't.
And if you'd rather describe the word you can't remember, I shared some phrases for that in why your Spanish won't come out when you speak.
Don't try to get rid of every English thought at once. Start with simple, everyday things, like greetings, ordering a coffee or your morning routine. Lo importante is doing a little every day.
Three habits to start with this week
You don't need to do everything at once. Here's a small plan:
Learn one new phrase as a Spanish shape
Pick one phrase, like Me duele la cabeza, and write a second Spanish example next to it, like Me duele la espalda, instead of the English translation.
Describe two minutes of your day in Spanish
While you make breakfast or get dressed, say what you're doing in short Spanish sentences, like Enciendo la cafetera or Me pongo los zapatos.
Get one "I'm stuck" phrase ready
Choose one phrase for when a word goes missing, like ¿Cómo se dice…?, and say it out loud a few times so it's ready next time you need it.
Poco a poco. The English won't disappear overnight, but every time Spanish comes out first, it gets a little easier the next time 💛
Recap ✨
- Going through English first is normal, but it's what makes your Spanish slow.
- Spanish builds many sentences in a different shape, so learn the Spanish shape (like Me duele la cabeza) instead of translating word by word.
- Link new words to real things and pictures, not English words.
- Describe simple things you're doing in short Spanish sentences.
- When you get stuck, ask in Spanish with phrases like ¿Cómo se dice…?
If you want somewhere to practise all this out loud, come and join us in the Aventureros Club. It's full of aventureros working on exactly this, and nobody minds if you need a déjame pensar or two 😄
Now tell me 👀 Which Spanish phrase still makes you go through English every single time? Cuéntame in the comments!
¡Un abrazo!
Lucía ☕
Lucía · Linguist, translator, Spanish teacher and author of the Visual Spanish Grammar Book.
Come and learn Spanish with me and other aventureros like yourself at skool.com/learnspanish 🎉