surprise – la sorpresa

(Pronounced sohr-preh-sah)

To remember that surprise is pronounced sohr-preh-sah (sorpresa) in Spanish, use the following mnemonic:

What a surprise present. The saw impressed her (sorpresa). No one else would have thought to get her one.

Sorpresa is feminine, so it's la sorpresa. Imagine a lady expressing surprise when she's presented with a fantastic gift.