Do it Yourself
Name the tools, give the measurements, and explain the fix — out loud, in Spanish.
The hardware store is la ferretería, and the trick to shopping in one is knowing your region's word: pliers are los alicates in textbooks, las pinzas in Mexico and la pinza in Argentina. When you don't know a tool's name, describe it — el que sirve para... (the one that's for...) gets you understood every time. And always give measurements with units: cinco centímetros de ancho, never just a number. &Be teaches this vocabulary with no flashcards and no drills — you learn each tool by asking for it out loud in a real conversation.
Below: the tools and materials each lesson gets you saying, the words that change from Mexico to Argentina, and a way to rehearse the whole shopping trip out loud.
Say this
Regional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| pliers | las pinzas | la pinza |
| washer | la rondana | la arandela |
| drywall / plaster | el yeso | el durlock |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
Nothing to drill, nothing to fill in — in the Do it Yourself lessons you talk your way through a project. Olivia plays it out with you: you're buying supplies for a small fix, so you list what you need — el martillo, los tornillos, la cinta métrica — then explain the plan step by step: primero measure, luego cut, después sand, finalmente glue. When you hit a tricky step, you ask her advice out loud, the way you would at the counter of a real ferretería.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Do it Yourself is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
La ferretería — it's where every DIY conversation in Latin America starts, whether you need un taladro (a drill), tornillos (screws) or una lámina de triplex (a sheet of plywood, as they say in Colombia).
El destornillador is the standard word, but in Colombia and Venezuela casual speech prefers el desarmador. For a wrench, most people drop the 'inglesa' and just ask for la llave.
Describe its job: el que sirve para... — 'the one that's used for...' — and mime or point. It's the recommended move when tool names fail you, and shopkeepers fill in the word instantly.
The drill is el taladro and the bit is la broca. In Mexico a hammer drill is el rotomartillo, and saws get named by type: la caladora (jigsaw) or la circular (circular saw).
Sequence words carry it: primero, luego, después, finalmente — with the verbs medir, cortar, lijar and pegar. Include exact measurements (cinco centímetros de ancho) — the eternal debate is doing it a ojo (by eye) versus con metro.
