el contratiempo
“el contratiempo” — setback in Spanish. Noun, level B1, topic — basic words. A small hitch that derails the plans — not a disaster and not grief: hemos tenido un contratiempo. A real misfortune is una desgracia, and a problem in general is un problema. In a live sentence: “Llegamos tarde por un contratiempo con el coche” — We were late because of a setback with the car. You can hear how it sounds right here.
In short
| Written in Spanish | el contratiempo |
| Translation | setback |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
- el contratiemposetback
Why it looks that way
A small hitch that derails the plans — not a disaster and not grief: hemos tenido un contratiempo. A real misfortune is una desgracia, and a problem in general is un problema
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Llegamos tarde por un contratiempo con el cocheWe were late because of a setback with the car
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- síyesSí with the accent mark means 'yes'; si without it means 'if'. Only the written stress separates them
- nonoOne word serves as both 'no' and as the verb negator: no entiendo means 'I don't understand'
- bienwellAn adverb — it answers 'how?'. The adjective 'good' is a different word, bueno
- malbadlyThe partner of bien, also an adverb. 'Bad' as in a bad thing or person is a different word, malo
- muy bienvery wellMuy means 'very' and always stands right before the word it strengthens
- más o menosso-soLiterally 'more or less'. The same phrase also means 'about': más o menos veinte — about twenty
- la mitadhalfHalf of some whole. Half a kilo is said differently: medio kilo
- otro másone moreLiterally another more. About a feminine thing: otra más
- suficienteenoughIt doesn't change for gender. In conversation people cut it shorter: ya está or basta
- en totalin totalThe till total: son doce euros en total. Merely, just only — that's a different word, solo
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “setback” in Spanish?
A small hitch that derails the plans — not a disaster and not grief: hemos tenido un contratiempo. A real misfortune is una desgracia, and a problem in general is un problema
- How do you say “half” in Spanish?
Half of some whole. Half a kilo is said differently: medio kilo
- How do you say “well” in Spanish?
An adverb — it answers 'how?'. The adjective 'good' is a different word, bueno
- How do you say “in total” in Spanish?
The till total: son doce euros en total. Merely, just only — that's a different word, solo
- How do you say “so-so” in Spanish?
Literally 'more or less'. The same phrase also means 'about': más o menos veinte — about twenty
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “setback” in Spanish?
«el contratiempo». In a live sentence: “Llegamos tarde por un contratiempo con el coche” — We were late because of a setback with the car. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level B1, from the set “basic words”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
A small hitch that derails the plans — not a disaster and not grief: hemos tenido un contratiempo. A real misfortune is una desgracia, and a problem in general is un problema. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.