Barajamos el mazo.

Here, barajamos means we shuffle.

It comes from the verb barajar, which is commonly used for shuffling cards. In other contexts, barajar can also mean to consider, to weigh up, or to handle different possibilities, but in Barajamos el mazo, the card meaning is the natural one.

Because barajamos is the first person plural form of the verb — in other words, we.

For the present tense of barajar:

• yo barajo = I shuffle
• tú barajas = you shuffle
• él/ella baraja = he/she shuffles
• nosotros/nosotras barajamos = we shuffle
• vosotros/vosotras barajáis = you all shuffle
• ellos/ellas barajan = they shuffle

So barajamos el mazo = we shuffle the deck.

Because Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The verb form barajamos already tells you the subject is we, so nosotros is usually unnecessary.

• Barajamos el mazo. = normal, natural
• Nosotros barajamos el mazo. = also correct, but more emphatic

You might include nosotros if you want contrast, for example:

• Ellos reparten, pero nosotros barajamos.
  They deal, but we shuffle.

It is the present indicative.

In this sentence, it usually means:

• we shuffle the deck
• or, depending on context, we are shuffling the deck

Spanish present tense is often broader than English present tense. It can describe:

• a general action
• a current action
• a habitual action

So context decides whether English should use shuffle or are shuffling.

Spanish often uses the definite article (el, la, los, las) where English might use the or sometimes no article.

Here, el mazo means the deck. In a card-playing context, that sounds natural because both speakers know which deck is meant.

So:

• Barajamos el mazo = We shuffle the deck

Leaving out the article here would usually sound incomplete or unnatural.

Not always. Mazo has several meanings depending on context.

Common meanings include:

• deck (of cards)
• mallet
• bundle
• handle or shaft in some specific contexts

In Barajamos el mazo, the verb barajar makes it clear that mazo means deck of cards.

A related word is baraja, which can also mean deck of cards. Depending on region and context, both may appear, but barajar el mazo is perfectly understandable.

Both can refer to a deck of cards, but there can be a slight difference in nuance depending on speaker and context.

Very roughly:

• baraja often refers to the set of cards as a deck
• mazo can suggest the stack/pile of cards

In everyday use, especially in card contexts, the distinction is not always strict. A learner should mainly know that el mazo here means the deck and is completely natural with barajar.

In standard Peninsular Spanish, approximately:

ba-ra-JA-mos el MA-tho

More carefully:

• ba-ra-ja-mos el ma-zo
• the j in barajamos is a strong throaty sound, like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach
• in much of Spain, z in mazo is pronounced like th in think

So in Spain:

• barajamos ≈ bah-rah-KHAH-mos
• mazo ≈ MA-tho

If you’re aiming for Spain Spanish, that z = th pronunciation is important.

The stress falls on ja:

ba-ra-JA-mos

That is because it ends in -s, and words ending in a vowel, n, or s are normally stressed on the second-to-last syllable unless there is a written accent mark.

Since there is no accent mark in barajamos, the natural stress is:

• ba
• ra
• JA
• mos

Yes, absolutely.

It has:

• a conjugated verb: barajamos
• a direct object: el mazo

That is enough for a full sentence in Spanish.

Spanish does not need an expressed subject pronoun, so Barajamos el mazo is fully complete and natural.

Yes, barajar is a regular -ar verb.

Its endings follow the normal present-tense pattern for -ar verbs:

• barajo
• barajas
• baraja
• barajamos
• barajáis
• barajan

So if you already know verbs like hablar or trabajar, this one behaves in the same general way.

Because al only happens when a + el come together.

For example:

• Voy al mercado = I’m going to the market

But here there is no a before el. The sentence is:

• Barajamos el mazo

So el stays exactly as it is.

Not very naturally in this exact form.

The verb barajar can be figurative, as in:

• Barajamos varias opciones. = We’re considering several options.

But with el mazo, the image is strongly literal and points to cards. So this sentence is normally understood as a real physical action: we shuffle the deck.