When You Freeze in Spanish… Say This

When You Freeze in Spanish… Say This

From Real Spanish Conversations, by Notes in Spanish by Ben Curtis and Marina Diez

March 11, 2026 · 6 min

About this episode

This episode discusses muletillas, the small words and phrases used by Spanish speakers to buy thinking time while speaking.

Do you ever freeze when speaking Spanish and need a moment to think? In this episode we talk about muletillas — the small words and phrases Spanish speakers use all the time to buy themselves a little thinking time.They also make you sound much more Spanish, because native speakers use them all the time! Free '15 Spanish Slang Phrases Every Intermediate Learner Must Know!' report: https://www.notesinspanish.com/op/fluent/ Get our REAL Intermediate Course: https://www.notesinspanish.com/sp/real-intermediate/ Ben & Marina – Notes in Spanish • Teaching real Spanish online since 2006 • 40+ million podcast, audio & video downloads • 25,000+ students learning with our courses

People in this episode

Hosts: Ben Curtis, Marina Diez

Topics covered

  • Spanish language
  • muletillas
  • thinking time
  • intermediate learners
  • Spanish slang

Keywords

  • muletillas
  • Spanish speaking
  • thinking time
  • intermediate Spanish
  • Spanish slang phrases

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Notes in Spanish

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