🍅 Where there's a will, there's a way (Day 2)

August 11, 2026

Morning! 😃 ☕️ 

Yesterday you got the full phrase.

Today, one word steps out. Your brain already has the shape of this sentence. Let's see if it holds without all the pieces.

In today's email…

📧 subscribe here |manage subscription | 📩  free upgrade (14 days) | 📆 yesterday’s newsletter 

☕ FREE REFILLS

More free reads — on the house.

We teamed up with a few brands to pour you something extra: a short list of genuinely great newsletters.

Every one is free, and every one actually sends emails worth opening.

Help yourself. ☕

Grab your free reads →

MEMORIZE 🧠

Querer es ______

As always, the answer key and audio are at the bottom of this email.

CULTURAL MOMENT 🍅

This exact phrase travels well, you'll hear some version of it from Mexico to Argentina to Spain but the flavor around it changes by region.

In Mexico, you'll often hear it stretched into a fuller line: "Querer es poder, y poder es hacer" (to want is to be able, and to be able is to do), especially from parents pushing a kid to finish something. It's common enough that shortening it to just "querer es poder" is understood as the whole idea, no explanation needed.

In Spain, the phrase tends to show up more in sports contexts. Locker rooms, coaches, radio commentary during a close match. It's said with more edge there, closer to "dig in" than "you've got this."

In the Río de la Plata region (Argentina, Uruguay), you'll sometimes hear "querer es poder" swapped for "el que quiere, puede," same idea, different construction, and just as common in daily conversation.

None of these versions are more correct than another.

The rest is for paid readers.

Paid already? Open this from the link in any of your emails and the rest unlocks.

Not a paid reader yet? See what you are missing →

There's a better way to learn.

Phrase Café delivers one memorable disappearing Spanish phrase to your inbox daily. It’s a simple, effective way to build fluency without the frustration.

More emails