The month of May is the favorite for Madrileños since we have the Community of Madrid festival and the one from the city itself. At Jaleo, we carry the word “Madrid” in the name of our school, so we are very happy to celebrate this month with all of you.
If there is an important animal in Madrid – with the bear’s permission – it’s the cat. At Jaleo, as you already know, we love these animals, so we bring you some unusual uses of the word “gato.”
- The first meaning is the obvious one: a carnivorous animal of the feline family. For example: “En casa tengo tres gatos y están todo el día durmiendo.”
- The second meaning is the one we mentioned above: a person born in Madrid whose two parents were born in the city. There are different theories about the origin of this nickname. Some sources speak precisely of the uprising of May 2, 1808, and the ease with which Madrileños moved across the rooftops that day. However, other sources trace the legend back to the eleventh century.
- The third one refers to the instrument we use to lift a heavy weight to a low height. For example: “Siempre hay que llevar un gato en el coche por si tenemos que levantarlo para cambiarle la rueda.”
- From now on, we move on to expressions like “cuatro gatos.” This means a small amount of people. For example: “Canta fatal y por eso a sus conciertos sólo van cuatro gatos.”
- The last one we tell you about is “dar gato por liebre” (to give cat for hare). This means to deceive someone by giving them something of poor quality in exchange for a lot of money. For example: “Se compró un coche de segunda mano y siempre está roto. Le dieron gato por liebre.”
At Jaleo Madrid, we’re not going to give you cat for hare, and we invite you to come to one of our classes. Remember that you have 30 minutes of free trial.
