Determining the best possible word to express a concept among several choices.
21
votes
10answers
2k views
How should I ask someone to repeat something they've said?
When I learned Spanish in school, I was taught to never say ¿Qué? when I needed someone to repeat something they just said. Rather I was taught to say ¿Cómo? Later, my wife taught me to say ¿Mande? ...
18
votes
4answers
295 views
Question words: “qué” versus “cuál”
English
Often "qué" is translated to English as "what" and "cuál" is translated as "which." However, I know that this is not always the case. Here are some examples. (Please correct me if I am ...
17
votes
8answers
507 views
How should I translate “table” (as in a data table)?
What should be the correct word in Spanish to translate "table" (as in an arrangement of text or data in rows and columns)?
Somewhere I've read that "cuadro" should be preferred to "tabla", but which ...
17
votes
5answers
522 views
What's the difference between “dentro” and “adentro”?
English:
How can I tell whether I should be using Dentro vs. Adentro? I've read that they both mean 'inside' and looked at some examples, but I still can't always figure out which one to use. Are ...
16
votes
6answers
1k views
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre tú, usted, y vos?
Ya he oido las palabras tú, usted, y vos, pero la traducción de todas esas palabras a Inglés es la misma: you.
¿Cuándo es mejor usar tú o vos en vez de usted, o viceversa?
16
votes
5answers
3k views
When to use ya and todavía
What are the rules for when to use ya and todavía? (Or ya no and todavía no)?
In many contexts, ya translates to yet or already, and todavía translates to still, but this simple understanding has ...
16
votes
3answers
414 views
Ser and estar for location
The edge-cases of ser and estar still seem to get me. My understanding is that when speaking of a location, I should use estar.
La biblioteca está aquí.
However, a student I am tutoring had a ...
15
votes
6answers
426 views
“vaso de agua” or “vaso con agua”? Which is correct?
English
What's the correct way to express that something "serves as a container for something else"?
Example:
¿Quieres un vaso de/con agua?
Should we use de or con? Are both correct? Why?
If ...
14
votes
2answers
259 views
What is the difference between: “aquel” and “aquél”
I see both "aquel" and "aquél" used in similar context and was wondering if there is any difference in meaning of those two words.
14
votes
4answers
789 views
When to use “igual” and “lo mismo”?
English
I often get corrected when using either the word igual or mismo, and haven't really figured out when to use which yet.
What are the rules for when and how to use igual, and when and how to ...
14
votes
4answers
1k views
“Está hecho de…” why not “es hecho de”?
I've seen "Está hecho de ..." used to mean "It's made of ...".
Why is the verb estar and not ser? Isn't this an adjective that's permanent and not going to change?
I can understand phrases like "la ...
13
votes
5answers
620 views
Why is 'estar muerto' used instead of 'ser muerto'?
I know it is rather rude to think of it this way and I don't want to offend anyone religiously, but being dead is usually thought of as a very permanent condition in the United States. So why does ...
13
votes
3answers
151 views
Is the use of @ instead of 'a' or 'o' in order to refer to both masculine and femenine accepted?
I have seen several times the use of @ instead of 'a' or 'o' for refering masculine and femenine words at the same time. For example:
Hola a tod@s.
Is this an accepted use?
12
votes
4answers
473 views
Is “¿Qué hora es?” or “¿Qué horas son?” preferred?
Admittedly, it has been a very long time since I've studied Spanish, but I distinctly recall that we always used "¿Que hora es?" for "what time is it?".
However, on a trip to the Dominican Republic, ...
12
votes
4answers
174 views
What's the correct way to say printed?
What's the preferred past participle of imprimir, imprimido or impreso?
For example:
Tengo imprimido el email que me enviaste.
Tengo impreso el email que me enviaste.
12
votes
4answers
753 views
I forgot how to say “I forgot”
Okay, so I didn't really forget how to say it... I just wanted a clever question title.
In my Spanish class I was taught that olvidarse is reflexive:
Me olvidé (de la cita).
Me olvidé (las ...
11
votes
4answers
236 views
Translation of “bug” to Spanish
What is the best way to translate "bug", as in a misfeature of a computer program or device?
Google translate offers a few options, none of which quite seem to fit, except the term itself:
bug ...
11
votes
3answers
346 views
What is the difference between “personas” and “gente”?
I was translating a sentence for school en Español and I came across the word "people." I looked it up on Google Translate and it gave me "personas" and also "gente." What is the difference between ...
11
votes
3answers
187 views
Quizás or quizá, which one is preferred?
RAE redirects the definition of quizás to quizá but I wonder if there's any implicit, secret rule that I am not aware of as to whether quizás is preferred over quizá.
I've seen both forms used ...
11
votes
3answers
111 views
Is there any subtle difference between the two forms of the imperfect subjuntive?
The imperfect subjuntive has two forms. For example:
Ojalá viniera.
Ojalá viniese.
I think both has the same meaning. However, is there any subtle difference?
11
votes
3answers
166 views
“My kind of ___” in Spanish
Español
He estado buscando una manera de decir "My kind of _" en español. O una frase equivalente (que creo que es más adecuado y preferible). Como la manera que un americano (EE. UU.) diría: "this ...
11
votes
4answers
293 views
Difference between “por” and “para”
Even after taking 4 years of college Spanish and living abroad, I still don't have a very firm control of when to use por or para. What are the basic rules on when to use either.
10
votes
3answers
729 views
When to use “que” and “de que”
Español
En ciertas oraciones no sé si es más correcto usar que o de que. ¿Cuáles son las reglas para utilizar que/de que?
Ejemplos:
Estoy seguro que me fue bien.
Estoy seguro de que me ...
10
votes
2answers
617 views
Bueno as hello or greeting?
In the US State I live in, I sometimes hear Spanish speakers greet one another by simply staying "Bueno". I didn't hear this when I was recently in Mexico, although I realize I may just have not ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
How do you differentiate between walnuts and pecans in Spanish?
It recently occurred to me that the Spanish nuez can be translated to English as both "walnut" and "pecan." Is the same word really used for both types of nuts? How would you specify which nut you're ...
10
votes
3answers
220 views
adjectives for “same thing” vs. “same kind of thing”
In German,
das gleiche refers to
We both read the same (das gleiche) book (everyone has its own, but they look exactly the same)
while das selbe refers to
We both read the same book ...
10
votes
1answer
129 views
¿Cuándo usar “excusa” o “pretexto”?
Aparentemente, "excusa" y "pretexto" significan lo mismo.
¿Cuándo usar uno o el otro? Por ejemplo, comparando estas 2 frases:
Buscó una excusa para no venir.
Buscó un pretexto para no venir.
...
10
votes
2answers
134 views
Traer and llevar - what is the reference point?
I always have problems concerning traer and llevar. I think I understand the general meaning:
Llevar means "to take", such as when an object is being taken (generally by you) to a place other than ...
10
votes
3answers
176 views
Is there a Spanish equivalent for “OP”?
The English abbreviation OP for the term Original Poster is widely used over the internet. Do the abbreviation and/or the term have widely used equivalents in Spanish?
9
votes
3answers
543 views
Spanish abbreviation for the United States of America
What is (or are?) the suggested abbreviation(s) for the United States of America in Spanish? I've seen:
E.E.U.U.
EE.UU.
EEUU
EUA
USA
(And only the last two actually makes any sense to me!)
9
votes
2answers
333 views
When is it written with and without accent: porqué/porque/por qué?
Can anybody explain to me when each of this variations of "porque" should be used?
9
votes
4answers
2k views
Is there a difference between “claro” and “por supuesto”?
Both "claro" (or "claro que sí") and "por supuesto" appear to be used to say 'of course' in one way or another.
Are there any differences in how they are used? Is one formal and the other informal? ...
9
votes
3answers
223 views
How to say “My old teacher”
If you say "Mi profesor viejo," your indicating your teacher old age-wise. I was wondering how you indicate that your talking about a past teacher.
9
votes
3answers
187 views
“Antier” para expresar el día anterior a ayer
Hace unos días mientras me encontraba cambiando de canal en la televisión por cable, escuche una conversación de una pelicula americana doblada al español. Dos personas estaban en un bar conversando. ...
9
votes
4answers
250 views
How to decide between “ahora” and “ya” for the sense “now”?
I know that ya has additional meanings besides simply now, such as already.
But considering just the sense of ya which does mean now, when should I use it and when should I use ahora, which only has ...
9
votes
1answer
430 views
How should I discuss my wife's due date?
How do I tell people when my wife's due date is? I usually say something like "el bebé se debe nacer el cuatro de junio" but I don't know if that's the correct way to say it.
9
votes
2answers
466 views
Why is it 'Santo' Tomás/Domingo, not 'san'?
As far as I know, those two are the only exceptions. Is there a particular reason for this?
9
votes
3answers
267 views
“De donde fue” instead of “De donde estaba”
In Nicaragua, addresses are usually given as directions from a landmark, for example:
From the stadium, go 5 blocks south, then 3 blocks east
Sometimes the landmark is a place that used to be ...
9
votes
1answer
287 views
Words for “East” and “West” in Spanish?
The words I learned when beginning Spanish for east and west are este and oeste, which are basically cognates of their English equivalents.
But I've been told that there are other words to denote ...
9
votes
3answers
114 views
idioma, lengua and lenguaje
The words idioma, lengua and lenguaje can all be translated as "language".
Are they interchangeable? If not, what are the differences among them? When to use which?
9
votes
1answer
98 views
Usage of “llevar a trabajar” vs “llevar al trabajo”
I have found this example (which is counterintuitive, in my opinion) in "Uso de la gramática española. Elemental", Francisca Castro, Edelsa 2000:
Yo no llevo el coche a trabajar normalmente.
Why ...
9
votes
3answers
434 views
Cuándo usar “usar” o “utilizar”
Español
Ambos términos tienen un significado muy parecido. Según la RAE, el único uso de 'utilizar' es "Aprovecharse de algo" y el significado que me interesa de 'usar' es "Hacer servir una cosa para ...
9
votes
2answers
200 views
“Aún” vs. “todavía”, what's the difference?
Somebody just asked me to correct something, and I found that I changed one of their instances of todavía to aún. I didn't do this because todavía wouldn't have worked in the sentence, but rather ...
8
votes
3answers
313 views
Difference between “broma” and “chiste”
Both words broma and chiste translate to the English word joke. What's the difference between these two Spanish words, and how do I know when to use each one?
8
votes
4answers
1k views
“ir a «infinitive»” vs. future tense
There are two ways to indicate a future action, ir a «infinitive» and the future tense. How do I decide which to use when? Is one form more common when spoken or in writing? Is there a regional ...
8
votes
3answers
186 views
How does one chain noun adjuncts in Spanish?
A noun adjunct is a noun that modifies another noun. For example, the word "baby" in the phrase "baby food" is a noun adjunct. In this simple case, you can translate it into Spanish as "comida de ...
8
votes
4answers
505 views
Waterfall: cascada vs. catarata
What is the difference between cascada and catarata as translations for the English "waterfall"? Are they synonyms, or is there a difference?
8
votes
2answers
208 views
What is the spanish translation for “Account” when referring to a user account on a website?
The English > Spanish translation of account on Google Translate comes up with various forms of the word cuenta.
However, the Spanish > English translation of cuenta returns words relating to ...
8
votes
5answers
226 views
Is “tobogán” an acceptable word for “slide” throughout the Spanish speaking world?
English
I'm trying to learn words to talk to my baby at the playground in Spanish. WordReference.com gives the following as part of its definition for "slide."
slide 2 sustantivo 1. (in ...
8
votes
2answers
334 views
Armpit: sobaco vs. axila
"Armpit" in English can be translated as either sobaco or axila in Spanish. Is each term used in different regions, or are they both used across the Spanish-speaking world? What is the difference, or ...
