Learn Spanish (Latin America): Esas montañas rusas tienen unas vueltas loquísimas. - Those rollercoasters have some extremely crazy loops.

Esas montañas rusas tienen unas vueltas loquísimas.

Those rollercoasters have some extremely crazy loops.

Breakdown of Esas montañas rusas tienen unas vueltas loquísimas.

Questions & Answers about Esas montañas rusas tienen unas vueltas loquísimas.

Why is it spelled loquísimas instead of "locísimas"?

To keep the hard "k" sound of the original word loco (crazy). In Spanish, if you put a c directly in front of an i or an e, it sounds like an "s". To keep the original "k" sound, the c changes to qu before adding the superlative ending -ísimo/a. Other words do this too, like rico becoming riquísimo. Note that it also ends in -as here to agree with the feminine plural noun vueltas.

Wait, does montañas rusas literally translate to "Russian mountains"?

Yes! That is the standard term for "rollercoaster" in Spanish. The name comes from the 17th-century Russian winter ice slides that eventually inspired modern amusement park rides.

Does vueltas specifically mean "loops"?

Not always. Vuelta is a very versatile word that generally means a "turn," "spin," "lap," or "return." In the specific context of a rollercoaster, "loops" or "turns" is the most natural translation. You will also see this word in common phrases like dar una vuelta (to take a walk or go for a spin).

I sometimes mix up esas and estas. Which one is this?