The vocabulario tag has no wiki summary.
1
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3answers
79 views
Ordinary, regular, run-of-the-mill, average, etc
In English, there are a lot of ways to express that someone or something is standard and not particularly special or extraordinary. For example:
Ordinary people like you and me can sometimes ...
0
votes
1answer
140 views
Packing material vocabulary
In English, there are quite a few words to describe materials used to pad and insulate packages that are being shipped from one place to another:
packing peanuts or foam peanuts are individual ...
0
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2answers
106 views
Words for “grave”: tumba vs. sepultura
English has several words for burial places, many of which have specific, distinct meanings:
grave
tomb
vault
crypt
mausoleum
sepulcher
As far as I know, Spanish has at least two words for ...
5
votes
2answers
285 views
Different words for “stop”
In English, we have a fairly generic verb "to stop" that can be used in many different contexts. For example:
Stop talking to me!
The driver saw the red light and stopped his car.
You really need to ...
7
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3answers
570 views
How can I distinguish between “girlfriend,” “fiancée” and “bride”, which are all “novia”?
I am a native Portuguese speaker, where noiva means "bride" or "fiancée." So I was very confused when someone asked me if a girl was my novia, since she didn't have an engagement ring (thank goodness ...
4
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1answer
117 views
Translating “break” (during work)
In the US, it is common for workers to take a half-hour or hour lunch break in the middle of the day, plus two ten or fifteen minute breaks in the morning and afternoon. Spanish has many words that ...
5
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2answers
127 views
Usage of “ver(se)” for “to seem/look” (te ves, se te ve, te veo, etc.)
The verb ver can be used in a few different constructions to convey how something looks or seems:
Te ves bonita.
Se te ve mal.
Te veo bien.
For the reflexive constructions, the WordReference entry ...
7
votes
1answer
103 views
Is there a Spanish equivalent to Ms.?
As far as I can tell, the honorifics to address a woman are:
Señora (Sra.) which is equivalent to "Mrs." and is used to address a married woman;
Señorita (Srta.) which is equivalent to "Miss" and is ...
12
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6answers
768 views
Is there a difference between “español” and “castellano”?
English
I always thought the two could be used interchangeably (meaning "the Spanish language"). But I recently got into an argument with someone where they insisted there was a difference (although ...
5
votes
5answers
209 views
Computer science, software engineer/developer, and programmer
When visiting Spanish-speaking countries, I've been told various ways to translate these terms:
Computer Science (as in a university degree program)
Software Engineer
Software Developer
Programmer
...
4
votes
3answers
127 views
Do compounds exist in Spanish which are not nouns or are nouns other than than of the form (3ps verb + pl noun)?
In Romance languages, compound words are much rarer than in Germanic language such as English, but they do exist.
My favourite kind of word formation in Spanish is the one that results in words such ...
6
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2answers
10k views
Bonita, linda, hermosa, bella, and guapa: what's the difference?
I've seen all of these used to mean 'pretty', although 'hermosa' seems to mean beautiful and 'guapa' seems to mean handsome. Are there any subtle differences them?
For instance, in English being ...
3
votes
4answers
774 views
Translating “young man” and “young woman”
In English, we use the phrases "young man" and "young woman" to refer to a person (usually an adolescent) who is older than a "boy" or "girl" but younger than an "adult." It generally indicates ...
4
votes
2answers
91 views
Backchannels (listener responses) in Spanish
In linguistics, the term backchannel is used to describe the short words or sounds a listener makes during a conversation to acknowledge what the speaker is saying and make known that he is still ...
2
votes
1answer
115 views
Are there other “feminine only” adjectives in Spanish besides “embarazada”?
In most if not all Spanish dictionaries I've checked, embarazada is only ever listed in its feminine form unlike all other adjectives I can think of.
Is this semantic because it's considered that ...
5
votes
1answer
391 views
Translating medicine names to Spanish
I have sometimes run into cases where I want to translate the name of a medication into Spanish, but can't find the specific medicine name in a dictionary (e.g. amoxicillin, acetaminophen). This is ...
2
votes
1answer
125 views
Different words for “sign”
Spanish has several words that could be translated "sign" in English:
letrero
rótulo
señal
indicio
cartel
pancarta
seña
What are the differences between these words? In what situations can each be ...
4
votes
1answer
110 views
Different words for “hole”
Spanish has several words that could be translated "hole" in English:
hoyo
agujero
hueco
bache
boquete
brecha
madriguera
What are the differences between these words? In what situations can each ...
6
votes
3answers
630 views
Words for strong or weak rain (sprinkling, drizzling, pouring)
This question on English.StackExchange made me wonder about words for rain in Spanish. In English, a light rain can be a drizzle, sprinkle, or mist and a heavy rain can be a deluge, downpour, or ...
14
votes
4answers
861 views
Why don't Spanish words start with “sp”?
I've noticed that there aren't any words in Spanish that start with sp. Latin words are altered to include an e in front of the sp. Even loan words are often modified to esp...:
spaghetti => ...
10
votes
1answer
224 views
Plural form of compound words
The plural form of compound words in Spanish is not an easy matter. If the compound word already has its final element in plural form, then the plural form is the same as the singular one: for ...
6
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2answers
100 views
Analog to “sustainability”
I asked a question on english synonyms of "sustainability" alrady on ELU. In Spanish, dictionaries and ngrams give out several options:
Comparing with the english ngrams chart I conclude la ...
3
votes
3answers
189 views
Various translations of “ticket”
The English word ticket (that is, a slip of paper used to grant access to something) can be translated several different ways in Spanish:
boleto
pasaje
billete
ticket
entrada
resguardo
What are ...
7
votes
3answers
688 views
Age range of niño, chico, muchacho, joven, etc
Spanish has several words for referring to children:
niño/niña
chico/chica
muchacho/muchacha
joven
Some dialects add others like chavo or chavalo.
What are the approximate age ranges these words ...
9
votes
1answer
298 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 ...
5
votes
2answers
138 views
Matutino and Vespertino
I see matutino and vespertino, meaning morning and afternoon, used to describe parts of the daily schedule in schools and church. They sound very formal.
Are there more words like them to describe ...
2
votes
0answers
322 views
Suffixes used to transform an adjective into a noun [closed]
Spanish has, to my knowledge, more possible suffixes than for example English or German. Many adjectives can be transformed into nouns by adding -ness, -ism, -ity in English, or -keit, -heit, -ismus ...
4
votes
3answers
221 views
Etymological origin of “false friends” between Spanish and English
Is there an etymological origin that can be called the main one that has created the list of "false friends" between Spanish and English?
I'm constantly stumbling upon a new "false friend" when ...
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votes
7answers
455 views
Are there any words that have opposite regional meanings?
Following in the footsteps of EL&U, are there any words that have opposite meanings in different Spanish-speaking regions?
We are looking for words that are the same, but have different meanings ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
List of most commonly used Spanish words
When learning vocabulary in a new language, it is useful to focus on very commonly used words first. Are there any resources online (or in print) that give a list of the most frequently occurring ...
6
votes
3answers
465 views
Determining gender of words ending in “e”
When learning Spanish, there are basic rules taught about word gender: words ending in o are usually masculine, words ending in a are usually feminine.
What about words ending in e? Are there any ...
12
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4answers
559 views
¿Cómo se pueden identificar palabras árabes en español?
Español
Yo sé que los musulmanes, cuando conquistaron España, impactaron en gran medida al idioma. Hay palabras en español que son prestadas (y ahora son una parte del idioma). ¿Hay un método con ...
4
votes
1answer
132 views
Do “alborada”, “amanecer”, and “madrugada” refer to the same thing?
In English we have the two words "dawn" and "sunrise".
But in Spanish there are three words, "alborada", "amanecer", and "madrugada".
Do the three Spanish words refer to the same thing? Or is one ...
1
vote
2answers
177 views
Words and phrases with non-evident prejudice
Hace poco aprendí que el origen de la palabra algarabía es la pronunciación de árabe en la lengua árabe. Otro ejemplo notable es la palabra morisqueta.
¿Existen otras palabras o frases de común uso ...
1
vote
1answer
397 views
What are some terms of endearment for a girlfriend/wife? [closed]
What are some Spanish terms of enderment you could use for a girlfriend or a wife? In English I'm thinking things like sweetheart, sweetie, darling, cutie, babe, etc..
Any others that are unique to ...
8
votes
1answer
375 views
Difference between “hay”, “ay” and “ahí”
These are commonly misused when writing, and can be very confusing for someone that is learning Spanish. These three words have a very different meaning and they are used in a very different context.
...
8
votes
2answers
525 views
How to translate 'to become?' (hacerse, ponerse, convertirse en, etc.)
I've heard several different words used for 'to become' in Spanish. Obviously sometimes there are specific verbs to use, like 'enfadarse' means to become angry, but often you need to use a verb that ...
18
votes
4answers
302 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 ...
