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A2 Spanish Culture Lesson

The Siesta

La siesta

6:08 min video · 20 sentences · 7 key words

Transcript with English

Click a line to hear it, or loop it to shadow it.
  1. 0:01
  2. 0:09
  3. 0:19
  4. 0:26
  5. 0:48
  6. 0:57
  7. 1:08
  8. 1:20
  9. 1:40
  10. 1:48
  11. 1:59
  12. 2:08
  13. 2:19
  14. 2:33
  15. 2:41
  16. 2:50
  17. 3:10
  18. 3:23
  19. 3:31
  20. 3:39

About this lesson

This lesson explains what the siesta is, where it comes from, and how Spaniards rest in the middle of the day today.

How to practise

  1. Read what you will learn on the first card, then follow the lesson section by section with English.
  2. Repeat every sentence out loud in the Te toca · Your turn pause: you learn the facts and the words together.
  3. At the end, check the recap and answer the question in the YouTube comments.

La siesta

The Siesta

In this lesson

  • What the siesta is
  • Where the word comes from
  • Why farmers needed it
  • How Spaniards rest today

Key takeaways

  • Siesta comes from the Latin sexta hora, the sixth hour.
  • It began as a midday rest in hot weather.
  • Today many Spaniards only nap on weekends.
  • A short siesta is often twenty minutes.

Your turn: Do people rest in the middle of the day in your culture?

Key words

SpanishEnglishLevel
la siestamidday nap or rest
el mediodíamidday
el campothe countryside
los agricultoresfarmers
la sombrashade
el sofásofa
descansarto rest

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