Saying or asking for the time in Spanish is one of the first basic lessons when you are learning the language. Whether it is because you are late for an interview or a movie; you are stopped on the street and asked the time or even you have an appointment and you are late!

Learning the time in Spanish, both digital and analog, is essential to further develop your knowledge of the language. Because mastering Spanish is not only about learning grammar and vocabulary, but also small details such as the time in Spanish or Spanish slang.
You can read this article in Spanish, French, Italian or Dutch.

How to tell the time in Spanish?

The most common question you will hear if you learn Spanish in Spain or Latin America is: “¿Qué hora es?” (What time is it?) This is the most direct way to ask for the time in Spanish, regardless of whether you know your interlocutor.
Also, depending on the context, you may hear several ways of asking for the time in Spanish. Here are some examples:

• Perdona, ¿qué hora es? (Excuse me, what time is it?)
• Oye, ¿qué hora tenemos? (Hey, what time do we have?)
• ¿Tienes hora? (Do you know what time it is?)
• ¿Me puedes decir qué hora es?
• Disculpa, ¿me puedes decir la hora?

Once you have understood the bulk of the question, you need to know how to answer. In Spanish, you can distinguish the time in digital or analog, as in all other languages. So, let's see how to differentiate and tell the different times in Spanish.

The hours in Spanish

The simplest way to tell the time in Spanish is when you want to tell an exact time. It's as simple as saying the time followed by “en punto”, or you can simplify it and just say the time. For example:

• 05:00 h: Las cinco en punto (Five o'clock)
• 09:00h: Las nueve ()
• 13:00 h: La una en punto (One o'clock)
• 18:00 h: Las seis (Six o'clock)

Hours with minutes

When you need to tell an hour with minutes, simply mention the hour and then the minutes. But keep in mind that, if the minutes are less than 30, you simply add the conjunction “y” (and) followed by the minutes. Whereas, if the minutes are more than 30, you can say “menos” and the time remaining until the next hour.
Here are some examples:

• 08:15h: Las ocho y cuarto (Quarter past eight)
• 11:25h: Las once y veinticinco (Twenty-five minutes past eleven)
• 14:30h: Las dos y media (Half past two)
• 15:50h: Son las cuatro menos diez (Ten to four o'clock)
• 20:45h: Las nueve menos cuarto (Quarter to nine)
• 22:10h: Las diez y diez (Ten past ten)

Difference between digital and analog format

The digital format is the most used nowadays to see the time since everyone has a mobile phone or a watch with a screen. This time format in Spanish is read as it is written:

• 07:12h: Las siete y doce (Seven twelve o’clock)
• 12:47h: Las doce cuarenta y siete (Twelve fourty-seven)
• 13:30h: Las trece treinta or La una y media de la tarde (Thirteen thirty o'clock)
• 16:45h: Las dieciséis cuarenta y cinco (Sixteen forty-five o'clock)

On the other hand, the analog format is the traditional clock with hands, and, in this case, the time is told in the manner explained above. Examples:

• 04:30h: Las cuatro y media ()
• 06:15h: Las seis y cuarto (Quarter past six)
• 10:55h: Las once menos cinco ()
• 19:35h: Las ocho menos veinticinco ()

It should be noted that, in Spanish, the AM and PM format is not used as in English. So, to differentiate the hours in Spanish, we say “de la mañana”, “de la tarde” or “de la noche”. Also, for 12:00h, you can say “es mediodía” or “es medianoche”. Here are some examples:

• 09:00h: Son las nueve de la mañana (It is nine o'clock in the morning)
• 20:00h: Son las ocho de la tarde (It is eight o'clock in the evening)
• 12:00h: Son las doce del mediodía ()
• 00:00h: Son las doce de la noche ()
• 18:00h: Las seis de la tarde ()
• 05:00h: Las cinco de la mañana ()
• 14:00h: Las dos de la tarde (Two o'clock in the afternoon)

Below, you will find some phrases where the hours are used in Spanish so that you can see various contexts:

1. La reunión empieza a las diez en punto (10:00 am) - The meeting starts at ten o'clock.
2. Llegué al aeropuerto a las cinco y media de la mañana (5:30 am) - I arrived at the airport at half past five in the morning.
3. El tren sale a las cuatro menos diez de la tarde (3:50 pm) - The train leaves at ten to four o'clock in the afternoon.
4. Nos vemos a las siete de la tarde en las taquillas del cine (7:00 pm) - Meet me at 7:00 p.m. at the cinema box office.
5. La obra de teatro empieza a las ocho y cuarto (8:15 pm) - The play starts at a quarter to eight.
6. Tengo una reserva para comer a las dos y media de la tarde (2:30pm) - I have a lunch reservation at 2:30 pm.
7. Mi vecino se despierta a las seis de la mañana para pasear a su perro (6:00 am) - My neighbor wakes up at six o'clock in the morning to walk his dog.

As in any language, learning to tell time in Spanish is a matter of practice. Remember that it is important to learn the basic ways to tell the hours in minutes or to differentiate between digital and analog format, since both are still used to tell the time in Spanish. With a little practice, you will master it quickly. Good luck!

This is probably not the first time you find us talking about linguistic economy. When we shorten words, either using apocopes, acronyms or other types of abbreviation, we make language more economical. In other words, we express ourselves quicker. In today’s post, we bring you a list with some of the most used abbreviations in Spanish, so you can easily identify them.

Keep on reading to learn the most commonly used Spanish abbreviations or click here to switch to continue reading in Spanish.

Before Getting Started: Differences Between Sigla and Acrónimo

Both siglas and acrónimos are shortened forms of words. In Spanish, siglas are a type of abbreviation formed by the initial letter of each term in the string. They are spelled letter by letter. By contrast, acrónimos can be spelled by syllable.

• Sigla: ECB > BCE (European Central Bank > Banco Central Europeo). Spelling: B-C-E.
• Acrónimo: UN > ONU (United Nations > Organización de Naciones Unidas). Spelling: O-NU.

In this article by RAE (which is by the way an abbreviation of Real Academia Española) you’ll find the most common Spanish abbreviations.

Country and Language Abbreviations

Let us introduce you the ISO 3166 system in case you didn’t know it. This is a standard coding system that assigns three letters to each country. This way, the code for Spain is ESP, the code for Mexico is MEX and the code for Costa Rica is CRI.

And because not all countries have just one language, the international community has created another abbreviated system called ISO 639 to identify all languages around the world using only two letters. Here’s the name of all official languages spoken in Spain according to this system:

• Spanish: ES
• Catalan: CA
• Basque: EU
• Galician: GL

International Organizations Abbreviations in Spanish

One of the biggest challenges when learning a new language is being able to understand abbreviations. Some cultures tend to keep the official abbreviation (in the source language), but we all know that in Spanish we translate everything, even movie titles.

However, most of the times organizations abbreviations are made of English or French terms, which are not that different from Spanish. Thanks to this, the Spanish abbreviation usually differs from the English one only in the order of the elements. Let’s see the abbreviation of some of the most popular organizations in the media:

Time Abbreviations

Charts, calendars, reports and official documents usually contain dates that we tend to shorten to save time and space. To do so, we can use only numbers following the format dd/mm/yyyy or shorten the name of the month and the weekday. Although there are discrepancies between the different short forms, Fundéu recommends the use of the following ones:

Month Abbreviations in Spanish

Weekday Abbreviation in Spanish

Texting Abbreviations in Spanish

Since the SMS (abbreviation of Short Message Service) appeared, the use of abbreviations increased. Afterwards, social media and instant messaging did they part and, nowadays, abbreviations are an ordinary thing in our daily chats. Twitter’s character limit and WhatsApp’s immediacy are good reasons why you should learn to identify (and use) texting abbreviations.

Let’s leave aside academic formality for a while and have a look at some of the most popular digital abbreviations.

Hope you found this post useful. Next time you face an unknown Spanish abbreviation, breath deeply and don’t panic! You can use the tips above to find out its meaning.

Sergio Leone said that “La vita è un'attesa tra un esame e l'altro” (“Life is a wait between one exam and another”).

The wait is now over and the next call for the official Spanish exam of the Cervantes Institute (the most internationally recognized, the DELE exam) is upcoming very soon.  At don Quijote, we know that this test is necessary for many reasons, we want you to be super prepared so that you can get the best grade you can!

Continue reading if you want to know more or click here to change to the Spanish version.

We assume that you have already completed the DELE exam preparation course with us, but since we do not want you to miss anything, today we bring you a lot of practice (sample DELE Exam Papers divided by levels) with which you will reinforce your skills and review the contents and exercises for the test.

When is the DELE exam?

In previous blog posts, we’ve already given you some tips on how to sing up for the DELE exam in 5 easy steps, and we’ve also talked about the exam dates and registration deadlines for 2019.

As for the next (and last) dates for the DELE exam, these will be next November. The levels convened are the following:

• A1 and A2 / B1 for the youngest

• A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2 for adults.

But if you have not registered yet, we regret to tell you that it is already too late for now, since the last day to register was October. However, if this is your case and you have not arrived on time, do not worry! The dates for next year will come out soon and you will be able to complete your registration. Stay tuned, because we will notify you as soon as we have news.

Sample DELE Exam Papers

Here you can find some sample DELE Exam Papers, which have been broken down into the different levels according to the European Framework Language Levels. Click on each link to go directly to the Instituto Cervantes’ DELE webpage and download the sample exam papers for each level:

DELE Exam Sample Papers A1

DELE Exam Sample Papers A2

DELE Exam Sample Papers B1

DELE Exam Sample Papers B2

DELE Exam Sample Papers C1

DELE Exam Sample Papers C2

We trust that these exercises will be useful and can serve as a guide for preparing the DELE exam. We can only wish you the best of luck and encourage you to continue studying Spanish or other languages. We'll be waiting for you!

Last week, we talked about Spanish indefinite adjectives. In today’s blog post, we are going to dive deeper into the topic by learning how to use algo (something), alguien (someone), nadie (no one) and nada (nothing). Click here if you want to keep on reading in Spanish. Let’s do it!

Algo (something)

Algo is a very frequent indefinite adjective. It can refer to an animate and to an inanimate object, as well as to a non-specific action.

Examples:

- ¡Cuidado! Creo que hay algo detrás de la cortina. (Watch out! I think there’s something behind the curtain)

[algo = animate / inanimate object]

- Juan quedó en llamarme cuando llegara a Sevilla y todavía no lo ha hecho, ¿crees que le habrá pasado algo? (Juan said he would call me as soon as he arrived in Seville, but he hasn’t done it yet. Do you think something happened to him?)

[algo = non-specific action]

Alguien (someone)

This word is always used to talk about a non-specific person, no matter singular or plural.

Examples:

- Hoy la avenida principal estaba llena de coches oficiales, así que creo que alguien muy importante ha venido a la ciudad. (Today the main avenue was full of official cars, so I guess someone very important must be in town)

[alguien = singular non-specific person]

- Alguien ha entrado en casa porque todo está desordenado (Someone has been home, because everything is a mess)

[alguien = singular or plural person]

Nada (nothing)

Nada refers to things, and it means ‘nothing’ We could say it is the opposite of something.

Examples:

- ¿Tiene algo que ofrecerme por este precio? (Do you have something to offer for that price?)

-Lo siento, por ese precio no podemos ofrecerle nada. (Sorry, we can’t offer you anything for that price)

-He ido a la nevera a por un yogur y no hay nada. Tenemos que hacer la compra hoy mismo. (I wanted to grab a yogurt from the fridge but there was nothing. We need to go grocery shopping today)

Nadie (no one)

It refers to people again but meaning ‘no one’. It is the counterpart of the word alguien.

Example:

- A veces pienso que nadie me entiende cuando hablo en inglés, ¡es una sensación horrible! (Sometimes I think no one understands me when I speak English. It’s such a horrible feeling!)

- El año pasado nadie vino a mi cumpleaños, así que este año no pienso celebrarlo. (Last year no one came to my birthday party, so I’m not celebrating it this time)

Thank you very much to Lucas, one of our teachers in Seville’s Spanish school, for helping us better understand how indefinite adjectives work.

Traveling abroad to learn Spanish can be a great challenge, but it can also help you open new doors and paths, both academically and professionally. In order to make the challenge a little easier for you and taking advantage of the fact that we are in the month of computer learning, today we are going to talk about computer vocabulary in Spanish.

Click here to read this blog post in Spanish.

The Advancement of New Technology

You already know that emerging technologies are increasingly present in our routines, so we are forced to memorize new concepts frequently, even when we learn another language. New technology has really become part of our every day’s life, whether we are sitting in front of a laptop, using a desktop computer, or even surfing the web on our tablet or smartphone. Besides, it is also important to be able to hold a conversation and to use these concepts in a general context as they may come up time and time again!

Although the vocabulary of technology, especially that of information technology, is full of English origin words which you should identify, many of these terms have been translated or adapted to Spanish so they sound more natural to native speakers. Since it’s important to be accurate and to have a good command of vocabulary, this list will be very useful for you, particularly if you are interested in working in a Spanish speaking office environment or in doing business with Spanish clients or partners that might be using new technology items.

In this section, you will find the most commonly used words in Spanish to refer to hardware, software and interaction with programs which you might have to put in practice in computer related situations. If you are going to be in a situation where it is likely that you need these words, we recommend that you keep them close at hand until you have learned them off by heart, so that you can refer back to them in whatever situation may arise.

Computer Terms in Spanish

And if you want to write the word español properly when using a computer, you will need a keyboard that contains the letter <ñ>. The other options are to copy and paste it or even enter its own symbol code:

• <Ñ> Uppercase: ALT + 0209
• <ñ> Lowercase: ALT + 0241

At don Quijote, we hope you’ve enjoyed this blog post and, especially, that you put these terms into practice so that you will be able to use them as a real native speaker.

The letter "ñ" is one of the hallmarks of the Spanish language. It is present in many words and helps us distinguish them from others that are quite similar in terms of their spelling. Some of the most common examples are: caña/cana, pena/peña, cuna/cuña, campana/campana.

If you want to learn more about this beautiful letter, showing up next, you’ll discover some interesting details. You can continue reading this post in Spanish.

What is the name of the symbol over the letter “ñ” in Spanish?

The elegant headdress that lays on top of the "ñ" is called virgulilla. However, most Spanish speakers do not know this detail, so it’s very common that they refer to this spelling sign as the hat over the “ñ”, the accent mark, or even the eyebrow.

However, those who are dedicated to computer programming usually know the real name, since it turned out to be a big headache for some of them. The letter "ñ" and its virgulilla made it necessary to increase the number of bits used to represent it on the computer screens, although many times this is still a challenge to achieve.

Where does the letter “ñ” come from?

The letter "ñ" arises from the need to represent a new sound that, although did not exist in Latin, appeared in different Romance languages with the spelling of different groups of consonants, such as the double "n" (anno-“año”), the letters "gn" (lignu-“leño”), or the combination "ni" followed by vowel (Hispania-“España”).

But linguistic economy has always been very important, and since there were too many options for the same sound, medieval scribes (those who copied the books when there was no printing press) decided to simplify. Finally, the group of consonants “nn” was chosen, which was later abbreviated into a single one, and distinguished by the placement of this upper-line called virgulilla.

Later, in the thirteenth century, King Alfonso X the Wise set the first rules of Castilian language, and the "ñ" was established as the preferred spelling to reproduce the phoneme /ɲ/. Thus, its use was extended and included in the first grammar of Spanish, written by Antonio de Nebrija and published in 1492.

In the same way, other Romance languages ​​that emerged from Latin adopted other ways of representing the sound /ɲ/: Italian and French opted for the “gn” combination, Portuguese decided on “nh” and Catalan “ny”.

How many languages contain the letter “ñ”?

This is the fifteenth letter of the Spanish ABC, but it does not belong to the basic Latin alphabet. However, it is not an exclusive letter of Spanish, as it is present in many other languages ​​such as Aymara, Asturian, Breton, Bubi, Chamorro, Basque, Filipino, Galician, Guarani, Iñupiaq, Kiliwa, Mixtec, O'Dham, Otomi, Papiamento, Quechua, Rohingya, Tagalog, Crimean Tatar, Tetun, Wolofmapuche, and Zapotec.

Besides, the sound /ɲ/ can also be found in languages from every continent. Some remote examples are the Nile-Saharan and the Australian Aboriginal languages.

Equivalent Letters in Other Languages

In other languages, the double "n" has derived in different spellings:

• in Oromo, Aragonese, Venetian, Walloon, Catalan, Ewe, Gã, Ganda, Hungarian, Hmong, Indonesian, Ladino, Lingala, Malay, Quenya, Sesotho, Swahili, Walloon, Zhuang and Zulu.
• in French, Breton, Walloon, Jèrriais, Italian, Corsican, Sardinian, Genoese, Piedmontese, Lombard, Venetian, Friulan, Latin and Sicilian.
• in Occitan, Mirandés, Portuguese and Vietnamese.
• in Dutch, Croatian, Faroese, Friesian, Arumanian, Serbian, Cimbrian, Finnish and Albanian.
• <Ň> in Czech, Slovak and Roma.
• <Ń> in Polish, where, in addition, the digraph has the same value (the same happens in Basque, where apart from the <ñ>, in some dialects it is not even read as a <ñ>).
• <Ņ> in Latvian.
• (at the beginning of the word when it is palatized) in Gaelic.
• in Leonese possible solution in ñ at the beginning of the word (ñube nnube).
• and in Scottish Gaelic when pronounced palatized.
• <ɲ> in Bambara.
• in Basque (sometimes also the spelling or <ñ>).
• in gagauz before ä, e, i, ö and u.
• <に ゃ> in Japanese (hiragana), (ニ ャ, katakana) although its sound is not identical, it is borrowed for better pronunciation, since the sound <ñ> does not exist in Japanese. For example <ベ ゴ ニ ャ> translated into Spanish “Begonya ”(Begoña), as you can see it cannot be translated as is the <ñ>.
• <Нь> in Ukrainian, Russian and Bulgarian.
• <њ> in Serbian.
• <ஞ்> in Tamil.
• <νι> in Greek.
• <ኝ> in ge'ez, amharic, tigriña, tigré, harari, blin and me'en, among other languages ​​that use the Ethiopian writing system.
• <ञ> in Hindi, Marathi, among other languages ​​that use Devanagari.

Some Words Written with <Ñ>

Here are some of the most used examples of words that are written with the letter <ñ>. Among the words with positive connotations, we find: soñar (dream), retoño (tot, sprout), aliñar (dress, season), buñuelo (fritter, profiterole), compañero (partner), hazaña (feat), cariño (love), enseñar (teach) o entrañable (endearing). On the other hand, we also use the language to describe unpleasant situations. In this way, we find: daño (damage), ponzoña (poison), puñal (dagger), arañar (scratch), niñato (immature person), ñoño (cheesy, tacky), engaño (trickery, lie), migraña (migraine), añoranza (nostalgia, longing), huraño (shy, hermit-like) o carroña (carrion).

And now, tell us ... what is your favorite word written with <ñ>?

Call me by your name

There are few things more frustrating than arriving to your first day of work or meeting a new group of friends and finding that someone there has the same name as you. From that moment on, what’s most likely to happen is that you will stop being known by the name your parents racked their brains for during 9 long months. You will be renamed with any possible derivation of your first name, with a nickname, or with a pseudonym. And all of this because you were the second one to join the group. But at least they’ll call you by a different name to differentiate you.

However, there exists something worse. Think about the previous situation, you come to a new place, nobody is named like you, and yet, against all odds, everyone calls you by the name of someone who was there before you. This is something that happens to a lot of brand creators: after weeks or years of thinking up a catchy name for their “baby,” they come in second at the market and their product is forever known by the name of another, more famous brand.

Here we always call things by their name, and this phenomenon is called lexicalization. To discover more about it, keep reading in English, or click here to switch to Spanish.

This process of brand lexicalization happens when a corporation, brand, or company is so famous, or it was the first to become popular, that its name is used to refer to all other products of the same genre. The curious thing about this concept is that you probably use this it daily and, like our friend Robert, you haven’t noticed it.

The other day, when Robert headed home in his jeep, he stopped by in a nearby gas station to buy Scotch tape and kleenex. He seized the opportunity to refuel with diesel. When he got in the car again, and took out his thermos to take a sip of coffee, he realized that there was a post-it on the dashboard and stopped to read it. The car that was waiting behind him honked. Startled, Robert hit his head and, sore, started driving. The road home was longer than a day without bread, and when he finally arrived, he had to take an aspirin. Then he thought that it was the best time to use his new jacuzzi for the first time while he enjoyed of a bit of music with his old walkman.

As you may have imagined, the products that appear in this little story starring Robert are examples of brand lexicalization. These brand names have worked their way into everyday language, and can often be used interchangeably in both English and in Spanish. 

Jeep

All four-wheel drives (made by any company) can be called jeeps in English and Spanish despite the fact that the name Jeep is a trademark registered by the Chrysler company.

Scotch tape

In the United States and Canada, transparent pressure-sensitive tape is commonly known as Scotch tape because of 3M’s trademark. In Spain the lexicalized name for clear tape is Celo, which comes from the British brand Sellotape.

Kleenex

The Kleenex brand name is used in English and Spanish to refer to disposable tissues. Surprisingly, the product’s first aim was to alleviate the shortage of cotton in U.S. hospitals during World War I. After the war many units were left, and they were repurposed, without much success, as women’s sanitary products. In 1924, the company Kimberly-Clark began selling Kleenex as disposable makeup remover wipes. In 1930 a study revealed that 60% of women used them to blow their noses.

Diesel

This kind of fuel is named after the German mechanical engineer Rudolf Diesel, famous for the invention of the Diesel engine.

Thermos

The vacuum flask was created in 1892 by James Dewar for scientific uses in the field of cryogenics. The glassblower Reinhold Burger discovered the commercial use of the product and, in 1904, he announced a contest to put a name to it. The winner was a student who suggested "thermos," which means “hot” in Greek. In Spanish, the word is termo.

Post-It

The Post-It brand name is often used in English and Spanish to describe brightly colored sticky notes. The Post-It was invented by Arthur Fry, a 3M worker who found a use for the low-quality glue created by his friend Spencer Silver. The glue turned out to be enduring and residue-free, despite the fact that it wasn’t a very strong adhesive.

Claxon

In Spanish, a car horn is called a claxon, which comes from the Klaxon brand.

Aspirin

Acetylsalicylic acid is known around the world as Aspirin (Aspirina in Spanish), a trademark registered by the German multinational pharmaceutical company Bayer after its creation in 1897.

Its time as a trademark was brief because in 1917, after World War I, Bayer had to give up some of its patents and trademarks.

Jacuzzi

The hot tub, or whirlpool, was created by the Italian Cándido Jacuzzi in the ‘50s after he emigrated to U.S., where he worked manufacturing hydraulic pumps. Jacuzzi’s son suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and, to ease his pain, he decided to use one of his pumps to treat him with whirlpools.

Walkman

In 1978, Sony’s Honorary President, Massaou Ibuka, made an appearance in a meeting room with a compact device and headphones assuring his audience that it was the ideal invention to listen to music in private. After reducing the size of the headphones and the weight of the cassettes, the device was launched on the Japanese market with the Walkman name.

In this post we have told you about just a few examples of generic trademarks. From now on, we’re sure you will be more careful and you will call brands and their products by their proper name.

Although you may have learned a few new Spanish words with this post (¿tienes un Kleenex?), if you want to speak Spanish properly, you’ll need to take a Spanish course. And don’t worry, even if your class has another student with your name, for us you will always be unique.

If you want to learn more about how brands are around the world, don’t forget to take a look at this video we've put together.

It is well known that there’s a Spanish saying for just about any kind of situation. There’s a phrase that fits today’s topic perfectly (“como anillo al dedo”): “Hombre prevenido vale por dos.” (A well prepared man is worth two — or as we say in English, forewarned is forearmed).

The meaning of this popular saying is that a person who is informed and well organized has an advantage over the others. With this in mind, let’s take good note of the next official DELE exam dates in 2019. You can keep reading this article in English or, if you want to be well prepared and train your Spanish skills for the exam, click here to change to the Spanish version.

While it is true that we have talked before about how to sign up for the DELE exam in 5 easy steps, today we will be focusing strictly on what to do before you sign up. To have things clear as crystal, we will take a look at the exam dates and registration deadlines because, unlike SIELE, DELE is more strict in terms of timing when you want to get a date for the exam. That’s why we have to take a glance at the calendar from time to time.

SEPTEMBER

Levels: ADULTS A2.

Registration Deadlines: until July 24^th.

Exam Dates: Friday September 13^th.

OCTOBER

Levels: ADULTS A2, B1, and B2.

Registration Deadlines: until August 21^st.

Exam Dates: Friday October 4^th.

NOVEMBER

Levels: YOUNG LEARNERS A1 and A2/B1. ADULTS A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.

Registration Deadlines: until October 9.

Exam Dates: Friday November 22 and Saturday November 23.

Now that you have the exam dates saved in your mind, you just need to decide which one suits you best, register, and make sure you’re 100% ready on the day of the exam. At this point it’s clear that you like to be well prepared, and at don Quijote we can help you out with that. Choose one of our DELE exam preparation courses, DELE 20 or DELE 30, and you’ll pass the exam with flying colors. Our students’ success rate is 95%.

And don’t forget to take a look at the video that we've put together about DELE and other official Spanish exams.

Are you a Spanish student wanting to certify your level? Do you wish to attend a university in Spain or Latin America? Do you have to present a certain level of Spanish to study abroad or participate in Erasmus? Are you doing paperwork to get your Spanish citizenship?

There are plenty of reasons for why you might want to take an official Spanish exam. There’s a sea of possibilities when it comes to types of tests you can take, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But thanks to us, you’ll no longer have to worry about that! We´ll help you find the Spanish exam that best fits your needs. Read this post in Spanish or keep reading in English so you don’t miss any of the important details to come. Let’s get started!

Do I need an official exam?

It depends on why you want to certify your Spanish level. If all you’re simply looking to substantiate your Spanish skills without any legal claim, then the certificates attained upon finalizing a don Quijote course are more than enough. These certificates reflect the number of class hours you’ve attended and the level of Spanish you’ve reached, amongst other things.

All our schools have the Cervantes Institute accreditation and form part of the FEDELE association. Therefore, if you’re looking to give yourself a boost in your academic or professional career by adding a new language to your college application or résumé, this can be done through the don Quijote certification. For students under 18 who are moving to Spain, a don Quijote certificate will be useful in getting into primary or secondary schools in the national school system. Get informed on the requirements in your specific case. If you can use the don Quijote certificate, you’ll be able to save on costs by not taking an official exam.

Differences between DELE and SIELE

Now if what you need is an official certification, you’ll need to look into DELE or SIELE. Both exams have been designed by the Cervantes Institute and they have international recognition. Below, we will touch on their biggest differences, so you can choose the program that may be in your best interest.

Levels

DELE is a diploma that certifies Spanish proficiency according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Before taking the exam, you’ll have to choose which level you’d like to test for: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, or C2. In each part of the exam you’ll be asked to demonstrate that you are in fact at that level in all the language skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. And just like that, you either pass or fail.

On the other hand, SIELE is a certificate indicating one’s Spanish skillset based on a point system. The number of points you are awarded depends on how many questions you get right. You also don’t have to demonstrate all of your language competencies. Instead, you have the choice of selecting which part of the exam you would like present. For example, if you’d like to only do the writing portion of the exam, that’s fine. Through this system, it’s impossible to fail the exam: everyone who takes the exam will earn a certificate stating the Spanish level demonstrated. If you get all the questions wrong, you will receive an A1 certificate. If you get all the questions right, you will receive a C2 certificate.

Dates

If you’d like to do the DELE, you must strive to stay on top of your calendar. This exam can only be taken on official exam dates, and each exam date only has certain level exams available.

When it comes to timing, SIELE is the more flexible option. You can get an appointment to take the exam, wait for it.. anytime. Just choose the date and time that works best for you.

Place

In order to take the DELE, you’ll have to go an accredited center, where you’ll be given a paper exam. If you are a don Quijote student, you’re in luck! You can take the DELE at any of our schools in Spain and save yourself the trouble of looking for a center.

If you end up deciding to go for the SIELE, you’ll also need an accredited center to take the exam. Again, you’ll be able to choose from any our schools in Spain. There is just one slight difference with this exam: instead of being on paper, it is done on a software application.

Validity

This is one of the most important aspects when it comes down to choosing which of the two exams you would like to take. While the DELE diploma never expires, the SIELE certificate is only valid for two years. So, we think it’s safe to say that if you know you’ll be needing to use your certification for a long period of time, it should be obvious which option you should go with, don’t you think?

Prepare for the exam

With a pass rate at about 95%, don Quijote students have a fairly easy time. We offer courses that are specifically designed to for students preparing for the DELE and SIELE, with options of 20, 25, or 30 hours of weekly classes in small groups. Our teachers share all their expert tips and advice about the exam, and you’ll even be able to take the exam itself in your classroom.

In this video you’ll find a summary of the most important differences between the DELE and SIELE. If you still aren´t sure which you should take, visit our website and contact us. We will help you choose which exam is your best fit and meets all your needs!