The Spanish Learner’s Guide To ‘El Misterio De La Calle De Cervantes’ Episode 5

In the last episode of the season, the roommates get to the bottom of the neighbor mystery. Or do they?
The exterior of an apartment in Madrid

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It’s the final episode of the first season of Palabras Bravas! In El Misterio de la Calle de Cervantes episode 5, we finally get out answers to what Carlota, Lola and Diego’s neighbor is up to. Paula and Fidi dive once again into the key vocabulary, and invite Babbel didactics team member David on to give some Latin American equivalents. As always, you can listen to the Spotify embed or find the episode wherever you listen to podcasts. Or, if you want some more guidance through the episode, you can check out our guide below.

El Misterio De La Calle De Cervantes Episode 5

Introduction

Paula and Fidi welcome you to the last episode of the show and review everything that’s happened this season. 

Listen To The Introduction [1.5 Minutes]

First Dialogue

The neighbor explains the source of the diabolical laughing, the wolf’s howl and the woman’s screaming. Is he actually a murderer, or is the explanation more innocent?

Listen To The First Dialogue [1.5 Minutes]

Key Vocabulary

After reacting to the dialogue, Paula and Fidi introduce us to the vocabulary for the episode. The theme this time is refranes, which roughly translates to “sayings.” They are short phrases that have some kind of wisdom embedded in them. Listen to the discussion about each term by clicking on them below.

Listen To The Introduction To The Key Vocabulary [3 Minutes]

a lo hecho pecho [1 Minute] — literally means something like “to the chest,” but as a refrán, it means to take responsibility for something that’s been done

las apariencias engañan [1 Minute] — literally means “appearances deceive,” and means something like “everything is not as it seems” or “don’t judge a book by its cover”

sobre gustos no hay nada escrito [1 Minute] — literally means “about tastes, there is nothing written,” which means something along the lines of “to each their own” or “all opinions are valid”

más vale tarde que nunca [1 Minute] — literally means “better late than never,” which is a phrase that also exists in English

Quiz

Like the last episode, Paula quizzes Fidi on the refranes in this episode, asking her to answer when each refrán would be used. Play along by listening below!

Listen To The Quiz [3 Minutes]

Vocabulary Review

A very brief review of the four key phrases from this episode.

Listen To The Vocabulary Review [0.5 Minutes]

Latin American Spanish Insights

Paula and Fidi welcome David one more time to explain how the four key phrases differ in Latin American Spanish.

Listen To Latin American Spanish Insights [6 Minutes]

a lo hecho pecho — this phrase is used in Latin America, and other versions include lo hecho, echo está (“what’s done is done”) and, more popular in Argentina and Mexico, a mal hecho, ruego y pecho (“to a bad fact, prayer and chest”)

las apariencias engañan — a popular variation on this phrase in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras, Peru, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic is no todo lo que brilla es oro (“not all that glitters is gold”)

sobre gustos no hay nada escrito — there are a lot of variations on this phrase both in Spain and Latin America, including sobre gustos, los colores, entre gustos no hay disgustos and de/entre/sobre gustos y colores no han escrito los autores (the last of which is popular in Costa Rica, Peru and Venezuela)

más vale tarde que nunca — this phrase is pretty much the same in Latin America

Second Dialogue

The conclusion to the mystery! Carlota, Lola and Diego enjoy a lovely evening with their neighbor. That is, until another horrifying sound comes from nearby.

Listen To The Second Dialogue [2 Minutes]

Wrapping Up El Misterio De La Calle De Cervantes Episode 5

Angry about the cliffhanger ending, Paula and Fidi decide to go in search of more dialogues. Perhaps the story continues? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out! And if you want to check out Babbel lessons related to this season’s episodes, just click here.

Listen To Wrapping Up El Misterio De La Calle De Cervantes Episode 5 [3 Minutes]

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