The Lingoberry Blog
Language-learning tips, culture, and stories from Pip
Every time you say "ojalá," you're speaking Arabic
When a Spanish speaker sighs *ojalá*, they're unknowingly uttering an 8th-century Arabic prayer. It's one of around 4,000 Arabic words hiding in plain sight in modern Spanish — and the story of how they got there spans seven centuries, a medieval superpower, and a piece of fruit that travelled from ancient India to a Seville market.
Read more →What do bats and Italian supercars have in common?
A Lamborghini named after a bat? The story of murciélago connects a legendary Spanish bull, a Latin etymology hiding a "blind little mouse," Valencia's coat of arms, and a Mayan death god — all in one word. Here's why it's the most unforgettable vocabulary item in Spanish
Read more →How it all started?
I was stuck at B1 and couldn't find an app that made me produce language instead of just consuming it. So I built one.
Read more →