Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Quiero grabar un video en español con mis amigos. - I want to record a video in Spanish with my friends.

querer + infinitive = to want to do something
- Quiero grabar = I want to record
- Quiero comer = I want to eat
- Quiero estudiar = I want to study

You cannot say yo querer grabar in Spanish. You must conjugate the first verb:

✅ Yo quiero grabar un video…
❌ Yo querer grabar un video…

Using yo is optional because quiero already implies “I”:

Quiero grabar un video… = Yo quiero grabar un video… (same meaning; the first is more natural in conversation).

Why is it grabar and not recordar, since in English we say “record a video”?

In Spanish:

grabar = to record (audio, video, etc.)
recordar = to remember

So:

Quiero grabar un video = I want to record a video.
Quiero recordar este día = I want to remember this day.

Using recordar for “to record video/audio” is always wrong in Spanish.
If you want to emphasize filming with a camera, you can also say:

filmar un video (to film a video)
grabar un video (to record a video) – this is the most common and neutral.

Can I say hacer un video instead of grabar un video?

Yes, but there’s a nuance:

grabar un video – focuses on the act of recording (using a camera/phone).
hacer un video – more general: to make a video (planning, recording, editing, etc.).

Both are very common in Latin America.

Examples:

Quiero grabar un video en español con mis amigos.
I want to physically record it, probably right now or soon.
Quiero hacer un video en español sobre mi vida.
I want to make a video project (idea, script, recording, editing…).

Why is it un video and not una video?

In Spanish, video (often written video in Latin America) is masculine:

el video – the video
un video – a video
los videos – the videos
unos videos – some videos

So you must use un, not una:

✅ un video
❌ una video

Do I really need the un? Could I say Quiero grabar video?

In normal, neutral Spanish, you need the article here:

✅ Quiero grabar un video en español.

Saying “grabar video” without un sounds incomplete or unnatural in standard Spanish, because video is a countable noun here (one video).

There are some patterns where you can drop the article (especially in some technical or informal contexts), but for a learner and in this sentence, always use:

un video

Why is it en español instead of en el español?

When you talk about the language you are using with verbs like:

hablar (to speak)
escribir (to write)
or with en (in) to indicate the language of something

Spanish normally drops the article:

Hablar español = to speak Spanish
Un libro en español = a book in Spanish
Un video en español = a video in Spanish

You would use el español when talking about the language as an object or topic, more “abstractly”:

El español es un idioma muy hablado.
Spanish is a widely spoken language.

So in your sentence the correct form is:

✅ …un video en español…
❌ …un video en el español… (unnatural here)

Is there a difference between español and castellano in Latin America?

In Latin America:

español is by far the most common word for the language.
castellano is also used, but less universally, and can sound a bit more formal or regional.

In many places (and in most everyday contexts), they are treated as synonyms:

Hablar español = hablar castellano

For a learner focusing on Latin America, you’ll be completely fine using español almost all the time.

Why is it con mis amigos and not a mis amigos?

Because here your friends are companions, not direct objects.

con = with (indicates company / accompaniment):
- Quiero grabar un video con mis amigos.
  I want to record a video with my friends.
a is used:
- as the personal “a” before a human direct object:
  - Veo a mis amigos. = I see my friends.
- to indicate direction:
  - Voy a la casa de mis amigos. = I’m going to my friends’ house.

In your sentence, you’re not acting on your friends; you’re doing something together with them. So con is correct.

What does mis mean here, and why not míos amigos or something similar?

mis means “my” for plural nouns:

mi amigo = my friend (singular)
mis amigos = my friends (plural)

In Spanish, possessive adjectives agree with the number (singular/plural) of the noun:

mi libro / mis libros (my book / my books)
mi amigo / mis amigos (my friend / my friends)

You don’t say míos amigos before a noun. The stressed forms (mío, míos, mía, mías) are used mostly after the noun or alone:

Son amigos míos. = They are friends of mine.
Estos son los míos. = These are mine.

So in your sentence:

✅ mis amigos
❌ míos amigos

If my friends are all female, should I say amigas instead of amigos?

Yes:

amigos – a group of all males or mixed gender
amigas – a group of all females

So:

Quiero grabar un video en español con mis amigos.
-> male group or mixed group.
Quiero grabar un video en español con mis amigas.
-> only female friends.

This gender rule is very regular in Spanish for people and many animals.

What’s the difference between un video en español and un video español?

un video en español = a video in Spanish (language)
- The video’s audio / subtitles are in Spanish.
un video español = a Spanish video, i.e. a video from Spain or related to Spain (nationality/origin), not Latin America.

So for “a video in Spanish (language) with my friends”, you must say:

✅ un video en español…
not:
❌ un video español… (this sounds like a video from Spain)

How would I say “I’m going to record a video” instead of “I want to record a video”?

Change quiero (I want) to voy a (I am going to):

Voy a grabar un video en español con mis amigos.
= I’m going to record a video in Spanish with my friends.

Structure:

ir (voy, vas, va, etc.) + a + infinitive
expresses a near future / planned action.

Compare:

Quiero grabar un video…
I want to record a video (desire).
Voy a grabar un video…
I’m going to record a video (intention/plan).

How can I make this sentence more polite, like “I would like to record a video…”?

Use Me gustaría (I would like) instead of Quiero:

Me gustaría grabar un video en español con mis amigos.

Nuance:

Quiero… – more direct: I want… (neutral, common)
Me gustaría… – softer, more polite: I would like…

Both are fine, but Me gustaría… sounds more courteous in many contexts.

How do I pronounce quiero, video, and español in Latin American Spanish?

Approximate pronunciation (Latin American):

quiero → KYEH-roh
- qui ≈ “ky-eh” (like kye in sky + eh)
- Stress on -e-: KYEH-roh
video → bee-DEH-oh
- In Latin America typically vi-DE-o, with the stress on -de-: vi-DE-o
- v is pronounced like a soft b.
español → es-pa-NYOL
- ñ = “ny” as in canyon
- Stress on the last syllable: es-pa-ÑOL

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like:

KYEH-roh gra-BAR oon BEE-de-o en es-pa-ÑOL kon mees a-MEE-gos (very approximate).