What does “intermedio” mean in Spanish?

Ir al cine en Islandia con intermedio

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A2 Spanish listening practice · Mexican Spanish · Picked for people who know a little

💡 Did you know?
intermedio
A word that looks like English but means something different here
Here it means a break in the middle of a movie — an intermission, not “intermediate.”

At the cinema in Iceland, she says “en Islandia hay intermedio” — and she means the movie literally stops halfway. “Intermedio” is the break in the middle, the pause where you go to the bathroom or buy snacks. It looks like English “intermediate,” but here it’s the word for that mid-show break. She finds it special because most countries don’t do this anymore. So “hay intermedio” = there’s an intermission.

She says: “en Islandia hay intermedio, que eso es algo que no se ve en otros países ahora” — “in Iceland there’s an intermission, which is something you don’t see in other countries now.” Then she explains: “en medio de la película, hacen una pausa” — in the middle of the movie, they make a pause. More examples: “El concierto tiene un intermedio de diez minutos” (a ten-minute break). “Hubo un intermedio en la obra de teatro” (an interval in the play). Note: when “intermedio” names the pause itself, it means a break or interval. When it describes something, it means “middle” or “in-between” — un nivel intermedio = a middle level. The sentence usually makes it clear which one.

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this A2 Spanish listening practice video?

93.3%
of words are in the top 2,000 most common Spanish words
Most of the words in this video are common Spanish words.

How common in written Spanish

91.1%
Top 1,000
93.3%
Top 2,000
93.3%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken Spanish

97.6%
Top 1,000
100%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000
👄 Words for talking
This video uses words people often say in Spanish.

Harder words in this video

These words are harder than A2. Here is what they mean.

intermedio
1×
Not in top 5,000
intermediate
islandia
1×
Not in top 5,000
(proper noun) Iceland
pausa
1×
Not in top 5,000
pause

Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-ESP 2011 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.

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