English Speakers, what words do you know in Spanish, but not in English?
Posted Jan 9, 2020, 3:20 AM UTC
3257
Precipicio.
Well, this isn’t exactly what you are asking, but it’s close. I put precipicio into google translate and it said it was “precipice” and I had no idea what that word meant.
Turns out it means cliff.
28
I didn't realize until now that "precipicio" was such a nice word to have in Spanish. English "precipice" is clearly cultured, but "precipicio" can be at home in any register, formal o informal. And it has that lovely verb, "precipitarse", which means both "to fall down" and "to hasten".
13
Estadounidense.
American = Americano/a but there isn’t a direct equivalent of this. Closest direct translation would be Unitedstater/ Unitedstatian
27
Yeah because if you say Americano we think that you are referring to people born in south, central or north american and if you say Estadounidense we think that you refer to people born in the united states only. Because we think that America is the whole continent not just a country
12
In my experience in Mexico, actually, many people used the word “americano” to mean “estadounidense.” Sometimes I felt like the only person who said “estadounidense” and it made me feel like a bit of a gringo.
7
Well as mexico is so close to the united states it is common that they said American instead of estadounidense to communicate easier. But if you go to other places like central or south america that wont be the case.
4
USian
2
Not only has that not caught on, but there is no clear way to pronounce it
3
Sobremesa. I studied in Northern Spain for some time, so I am very familiar with the concept, but cannot think of an English equivalent.
14
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8
Sobremesa is desert in portuguese maybe it was a google mistake
3
José asunción Silva's novel "de sobremesa" got the title "after dinner conversations" for its translation. Yeah there's straight up no single word for this
3
Yeah, that’s exactly what I mean. I’ve never known a casual single word in English that equates to sobremesa
1
After dinner talk?
3
In Colombia sobremesa is what you drink with meals (mostly juices)
2
Tutear, leismo,
10
Yeismo, ceceo
3
Well, leísmo and yeísmo probably don't have an English equivalent since they are meant to refer to phonetic and grammatical errors exclusive of our language, the same goes for dequeísmo, laísmo, and a bunch of others.
1
They’re not errors, they’re phenomena. I understand the reason why they don’t exist in English, but if you’re studying linguistics at all, particularly Spanish-language movements, then having a word can be important.
2
In the textbooks with which I have studied since, well, ever, they're listed as grammatical and phonetic mistakes, not phenomena, I never liked the labeling, but at least when I studied, that's how they were called. If it has changed, I'm more than happy to rectify. Either way, no one's gonna say anything for a leísmo (probably), but someone will probably correct you on a dequeísmo. Also, laísmos are practically a given in places like Madrid, but you'll get laughed at or immediately corrected (depending on the person and their manners) in places like Barcelona, since it sounds weird to most of us
1
Chismoso, estrenar are the ones that come to mind fast. Fijar also never made sense to me.
7
[deleted]
1
I feel like chismoso though holds a lot more weight in Spanish than it’s equivalent in English. I was under the impression that estrenar was meant for items of clothing.
2
Estrenar is also commonly used for movies, new TV shows or seasons, even things like a new hairstyle and such... It goes way beyond clothing
2
Estrenar means "to drop" in the context of music too. Like "Taylor Swift dropped her new album"
1
English doesn’t have a good word for mijo, pobrecito, mamasita/papasito
6
I'd say "pobrecito" translates beautifully as "poor thing"
7
Mijo = son. I do think this meaning and usage is pretty similar in English. Pobrecito = poor ___. Although it means the same, it definitely has a different connotation in Spanish. Mamacita = mamacita(not mamasita) I've heard this been used by English speakers in USA. I suppose its one of the few Spanish words that can be used without it seeming too out of place. (Like "adios" or "senorita") Papacito = daddy. Used in a similar way I guess
Of course these can't be translated exactly the same, I just tried
6
I know what they mean. But you can’t really use them the same way.
7
Desdoble.
Also a bunch of vocabulary relating to fonética y fonología. I took a class in that entirely in Spanish so those I don’t know the field jargon in English.
Also words relating to animals and cuts of meat (cerdo, lomo, etc) I have a an increasing familiarity with (bc I live in Spain now) but I don’t always know their English translation.
6
Words like "convivir," and "coquetear" are standouts for me. I know how they translate directly, but their actual meaning is not quite the same as their English counterparts.
4
I'm curious how coquetear is different than flirt?
1
Flirting I think is a little bit more innocent than coquetear. I have a few friends who are native speakers and they say that coquetear is somewhere between flirting and seducing. It's a little bit more obvious and intense.
I'm no authority on this though, I'm just going by what I've been told.
1
Tertulia
3
madrugada
3
Sadly, none. My vocabulary in Spanish is a tiny subset of my English vocabulary. For this reason it is quite a bit more cumbersome for me to communicate complicated ideas in Spanish.
2
Cobija
I feel like 'blanket' isn't really the same, because cobijas are those really heavy fleece blankets with things like jungle animals, images from Scarface, Eagles, soccer teams or country flags.
Edit to add a Scarface one.
If you say cobija, that's what they are, and not knitted blankets, quilts or feather comforters/duvets.
2
covers, no?
5
But cobijas are those specific covers/blankets. The really thick/heavy fleece ones with graphics on them like jungle animals, and stuff like that. I'm currently bundled up under one with an eagle motif. It is not a normal 'cover', that can be anything from a quilt, to an Afghan, to a duvet. You know them when you see them!
2
yeah lol those are just blankets, but you can refer to all blankets as cobijas.
4
But you wouldn't refer to a flimsy cotton Paw Patrol cover as a cobija; It's just not sturdy enough and doesn't have a weird/garish design on it. Anyway, this is a hill I will die on! Cobijas4Life
E: To clarify, I'm talking about talking about them in English. In English I would call anything else an Afghan, cover, blanket, quilt, duvet, comforter. But in English? A cobija is a cobija.
2
Aspiradora/ vacuum (when I was younger)
Mole, birria, other such foods bc there's no translation lol
1
Parador, albergue, etc. All the different lodgings in Spain especially.
1
Words like boludo, culiado/culiao/culiau (and the various variants like culazo, culiadazo, etc), pelotudo all have possible translations in English but it's just not the same.
1
Words that have an English translation? "Por exelencia" is the only thing that comes to mind.
There's a lot of words that don't really work in English though. "Grosero", "Maleducado", "razon", etc. have connotations in Spanish that their English equivalents don't to me.
And I don't even know how I'd describe stuff like "perrear", "tutear", "fresa", "naco", "mirrey", etc. But I also don't need to use them in English.
1
There are a lot of common phrases and expressions from Spain that I've gotten used to using in my Spanish, and have never really been able to find an English equivalent for. The two that most come to mind are madre mía and a tope. I had a really difficult time explaining to my parents what a tope meant when they first asked. Also, in Chilean Spanish, weón.
1
Chancla ... English simply fails to communicate the fearsome aspect of this.
Slipper and flipflop just don't cut it. And shoe is too harsh.
Thong.
Thong could be tanga/tanguita I think.
Chanclas are called thongs in Australia.
Well, yes it's all those things. But I'm talking about mamá or abuelita wielding the blasted thing like a weapon of justice.
sandal