no anava bé la mida
“no anava bé la mida” — the size didn't fit in Valencian. Phrase, level B1, topic — shopping and money. Literally the size didn't go; I returned the jacket because of it. In a live sentence: “Vaig tornar la jaqueta perquè no anava bé la mida” — I returned the jacket because the size didn't fit. One of 85 words in the set “shopping and money” in the Valencian course.
In short
| Written in Valencian | no anava bé la mida |
| Translation | the size didn't fit |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally the size didn't go; I returned the jacket because of it
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.
- Vaig tornar la jaqueta perquè no anava bé la midaI returned the jacket because the size didn't fit
Nearby words: shopping and money
How much it costs, whether there is a smaller one, whether cards are accepted. A shop forgives mistakes: miss a word and they will show you the thing with their hands anyway.
- quant costa?how much is it?One thing: quant costa? Several: quant costen? — the verb agrees with the goods, not the buyer
- l'euroeuroIt changes in the plural: un euro, dos euros. The cents are els cèntims
- la botigashopThe local word — Spanish tienda is not used here. Botiga de tot — a little shop of everything
- el mercatmarketThe indoor city market is el mercat; the street one on set days is el mercadillo, a word borrowed from Spanish
- el taulellcounterThe seller's slab in the market stall: the fish counter sits at the back
- el venedorsellerThe person behind the taulell. Feminine: la venedora
- el compradorbuyerThe mirror of venedor: who pays rather than sells
- la balançascalesThe market scales; every price is per kilo
- el quilokilogramThe unit the whole market trades in: un quilo de taronges, si us plau
- la meitathalfHalf of anything: la meitat del camí — half the way
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “shopping and money”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “the size didn't fit” in Valencian?
Literally the size didn't go; I returned the jacket because of it
- How do you say “buyer” in Valencian?
The mirror of venedor: who pays rather than sells
- How do you say “shop” in Valencian?
The local word — Spanish tienda is not used here. Botiga de tot — a little shop of everything
- How do you say “half” in Valencian?
Half of anything: la meitat del camí — half the way
- How do you say “seller” in Valencian?
The person behind the taulell. Feminine: la venedora
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 “the size didn't fit” in Valencian?
«no anava bé la mida». In a live sentence: “Vaig tornar la jaqueta perquè no anava bé la mida” — I returned the jacket because the size didn't fit. Phrase, level B1, from the set “shopping and money”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Literally the size didn't go; I returned the jacket because of it. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.