Language through Literature

One sentence of «Las medias de los flamencos»


Sentence 47 of 83 · Las medias de los flamencos, Horacio Quiroga, 1918

Pero no eran medias, sino cueros de víboras de coral, lindísimos cueros recién sacados a las víboras que la lechuza había cazado.

But they were not stockings — they were the skins of coral snakes, lovely skins freshly stripped from snakes the owl had killed.

Every word in it

As printedDictionary formMeaning
Pero perobut (conj.)
no nono, not (adv.)
eran serto be — what a thing IS, against estar, how it is right now (v.)
medias mediastocking (n., f.)
sino sinobut rather (conj.)
cueros cuerohide, skin (n., m.)
de deof, from (prep.)
víboras víborasnake, viper (n., f.)
coral coralcoral; víbora de coral — coral snake (n., m.)
lindísimos lindolovely, pretty (adj., the everyday River Plate word for nice)
recién reciénjust, newly (adv.)
sacados sacarto take out, pull out; to remove (v.)
a ato; at; on (prep.)
las elthe (masculine)
que quethat, which, who; than (conj./rel. pron.)
lechuza lechuzaowl (n., f.)
había haberto have (auxiliary); hay — there is, there are (v.)
cazado cazarto hunt (v.)

Read «Las medias de los flamencos» in the room → Every word glossed where it stands, the English a tap away. The whole tale is free and asks for no account.

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Cuentos de la selva, all eight tales · Horacio Quiroga