Why I Tackled “Side” in Spanish
Honestly, I kept mixing up “lado” and “costado” when chatting with my Spanish tutor last week. Felt super awkward when I said “left costado of the bed” instead of “lado.” So this weekend, I grabbed my notebook, a coffee, and decided to break down real-life uses of “side” in Spanish.
How I Started Digging In
First, I checked my phrasebook app for “side” translations. Saw like five options! Paused and listed the top two:
- Lado – for directions/locations
- Costado – for body/object sides
Then I opened Spanish cooking blogs to find food examples. Boom – found tons of “lado” in recipes: “grease lado de la sartén” (grease side of the pan). Confirmed my guess about physical surfaces.
Next, I called my Mexican buddy Carlos. Asked how he’d translate “park on the side.” He instantly said “estacionarse al lado” using… yep, “lado.” Also dropped this gem: “La caja tiene daño en el costado” (The box has damage on the side). That clinched it – costado for tangible edges.
Testing Phrases Hands-On
I practice by talking to my cat (don’t judge). Said these out loud:
- “Tu juguete está al lado del sofá” (Your toy’s on the side of the couch) → Used “lado” for location.
- “Acuéstate de tu costado” (Lay on your side) → Switched to “costado” for body position.
- Made flashcards with pics: Drew arrows to building sides ➔ “costados,” street sides ➔ “lados.”
What Actually Stuck
Honestly? Messed up twice while texting Carlos later. Still wrote “lado derecho de mi cuerpo” (should’ve used costado). But now I remember this rule:
Use “costado” ONLY if you can touch or see a defined edge. Everything else? Probably “lado.” Will still double-check medical contexts – heard “parte” sometimes replaces “side” in anatomy.
Weirdly, the food/blog hunting helped most. When I see “freír ambos lados” (fry both sides) now, it clicks why “lado” wins there. Gonna drill menu phrases next week!