All Questions
8
votes
2answers
191 views
Usage of “adiós” in the Basque country
People in the Basque country commonly use local words, such as agur instead of adiós.
According to our former Spanish teacher, usage of adiós is unadvisable in the Basque country because of its ...
6
votes
1answer
164 views
What's the origin of the Panamanian word “biñuelo”? Is it merely a corruption of “buñuelo”?
I was in Panama about five years ago and there was a common deep fried street food called "biñuelo".
Of course there's a regular Spanish word "buñuelo" which means fritter.
So is "biñuelo" just the ...
10
votes
2answers
371 views
Usage of “oso” to express embarrassment
I have heard the idiom
¡Que oso!
...used to express embarrassment by a former acquaintance from Colombia but have never met another Spanish speaker who uses this expression.
My questions:
...
5
votes
1answer
49 views
What does “barrocanrolera” mean?
In the novel Los años con Laura Diaz by top Mexican author Carlos Fuentes there is a word, "barrocanrolera", which is not in the DRAE, the Gran diccionario Larousse, Wiktionary, or Google Translate.
...
4
votes
1answer
127 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 ...
9
votes
4answers
251 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 ...
4
votes
1answer
121 views
How to interpret “dar a” or “dar a conocer”?
I only know "dar" in its literal sense of "to give".
And I know "conocer" in its literal sense of "to know" or "to get to know".
But in reading Cien años de soledad I came to this passage:
... y ...
8
votes
2answers
439 views
How to translate “make it count”
This evening a friend saw a poster in English that said something like:
If you have only one chance at opportunity, make it count.
She asked me what it meant. She knew enough English to make out ...
5
votes
2answers
117 views
How to choose between “carecer” and “faltar”?
I've always used "faltar" to mean "to lack, to be missing".
But in my reading I find that "carecer" seems to mean exactly the same.
When should I use the one or the other? Are there some ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
Forma correcta de “nisiquiera”
Al escribir siempre he tenido la duda de cuál es la manera apropiada del término o frase.
¿Es "ni si quiera", "ni siquiera" o todo junto "nisiquiera"?.
When writing I've always worred about which ...
2
votes
3answers
188 views
American style TV shows in Spanish [closed]
Are there American style TV shows that could be used to practice listening Spanish. By American style I mean
Each episode around 30 minutes in length
Although it helps to watch them in sequence, ...
13
votes
3answers
344 views
Proper placement of inverted question mark
What is the proper placement of the inverted question mark in sentences that are not completely questions? A common example:
Hello, how are you?
(¿)Hola, (¿)cómo estás?
Or:
That's ...
1
vote
2answers
174 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 ...
7
votes
1answer
287 views
Usage of the compound preposition “para con”
Wikipedia mentions that para con is rarely used, but I hear it often enough to warrant this question.
On the other hand, the Wikipedia article references the Diccionario panhispánico de dudas with ...
8
votes
2answers
123 views
How can I tell someone what I'm reading about?
I was reading a book, and someone asked me, "¿Qué estás leyendo?"
I answered, "Estoy leyendo sobre ..."
The person looked at me funny, but seemed to understand what I said.
Looking back, it makes ...
2
votes
2answers
72 views
Infinitive instead of past participle in Maná's “El Verdadero Amor Perdona”
In Maná's song "El Verdadero Amor Perdona" one of the verses contains the lines:
Cómo pude haberte yo herido / engañarte y ofendido
I'd think it should be "Como pude haberte yo herido / engañado ...
4
votes
3answers
112 views
Single or multiple word names of numbers
Should numbers above 15 be spelled as a single word (diecisiete, veintidos, etc.) or multiple words (diez y siete, veinte y dos, etc). Does the Real Academia Española have a official opinion on the ...
5
votes
4answers
279 views
Names of letters “b” and “v”
The letters b and v have several possible names in Spanish. Is there an official, language academy-sponsored name for these letters? If not, what are the most common and standard names?
5
votes
1answer
156 views
Etymology of “usted”
What is the etymology of the pronoun "usted"? What formal pronouns existed before, and when did the current "usted" come into existence?
7
votes
2answers
184 views
When should I use the pure passive voice in Spanish? ( fue/fueron [past participle] )
I know Spanish often avoids the passive voice by using the active instead or 'se' to change the subject of the sentence, but when do Spanish speakers use the 'pure' passive with `fue/fueron ...
7
votes
2answers
214 views
What is the future subjunctive and how was it used?
I've heard that there used to be another tense in Spanish called the "future-subjunctive"
¡A donde fueres, haz lo que vieres!
I've heard the above means in a literal sense, "to where you will ...
20
votes
2answers
717 views
Why is the “X” in México and Texas pronunced as the letter “J”?
English
Even as a native speaker I don't know the reason of this. Another example would be Xavier.
Español
Aunque el español es mi primera lengua, no sé por qué razón sucede esto. Otro ejemplo ...
5
votes
2answers
146 views
Proper spelling of “beisbol”
I had the privilege of attending the 2011 Panamerican Games last month, and went to the brand new baseball stadium in Lagos de Moreno. The stadium said in big letters:
Estadio de Beisbol
My ...
5
votes
2answers
251 views
How should we translate “everything but the kitchen sink” or “the whole enchilada”?
There is an idiom that is popular (and old) in English that states "everything but the kitchen sink". This is a phrase that means "everything that could be conceived".
Som examples:
"I realized ...
7
votes
4answers
233 views
Why should we use estar over ser for being old or fat?
I can understand why we would use estar for temporary states. But there are conditions that people have that are not temporary, such as being old (or for some people, being fat).
¡qué gordo está!
...
5
votes
1answer
138 views
Is there an equivalent, in Spanish, for the interrobang?
In English, we have the interrobang -- ‽ (often represented by ?! or !?) -- which can express incredulity and surprise in-text. Does Spanish have an equivalent punctuation mark? If so, would it, like ...
7
votes
3answers
270 views
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre «también» y «tampoco»?
Yo sé que se debe usar también cuando una persona se pone en acuerdo con una otra (en inglés, "You like movies? Me too!" será, "¿Te gustan las películas? ¡A mi también!") pero no se las reglas de usar ...
1
vote
1answer
380 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
368 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.
...
1
vote
1answer
129 views
Are there vulgarities in Spanish that are universal throughout the language?
The vulgar words I'm familiar with all seem to be local slang. Does Spanish have any words that are universally accepted as vulgar or profane?
17
votes
1answer
468 views
Preterit of ser and ir
Español
Pretérito de ser:
fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron
Pretérito de ir:
fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron
¿Cómo han evolucionado los verbos "ser" e "ir" para tener ...
12
votes
3answers
174 views
Does an accent mark change the pronunciation of single-syllable words?
I know that some single-syllable words (most pronouns, for example) come in two varieties, with and without an accent mark on the vowel.
"Él" has a different meaning than "el", but is it pronounced ...
3
votes
1answer
361 views
How to Translate “Sabor A Mi” into English
"Sabor a Mi" is the title of a song in Spanish.
http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/l/los_panchos/sabor_a_mi.html
Usually, sabor is a noun. But in this context, it seems to be used more like a verb. ...
17
votes
9answers
911 views
Are there native-born Spanish speakers that can't trill their R's?
It seems that one of the greatest difficulties some native-English speakers have is learning to trill their R's. Some, it seems, are completely incapable of performing this task.
Is this ever a ...
2
votes
1answer
230 views
Pronunciation of words ending in -n
It seems that some people pronounce words that end with -n almost as a "ng" sound. "Bien", for example, seems to come out as "Bie[ng]".
Is this a regional issue? What regions use this ...
-4
votes
1answer
432 views
In general, how well does Google Translate work? [closed]
I've had troubles with translations programs in the past. It seems that most take a word-for-word approach to translation. Obviously this falls short in most circumstances.
It seems that Google's ...
10
votes
1answer
126 views
How can I know if a word or phrase should be avoided due to regional variations?
Say that I want to write some blog posts or news articles in Spanish. Are there any useful resources (e.g. books, websites or guidelines) that one could use in order to write “neutral” Spanish, that ...
5
votes
1answer
100 views
Are there regions or dialects which use both “tú” and “vos”?
In my experience most places use either "tú" or "vos" for the second person singular intimate/informal pronoun.
But I haven't been to every Spanish speaking country and area. Are there places which ...
8
votes
3answers
289 views
Use of “Que” in “Que todo te vaya bien”
Que todo te vaya bien.
Que nos reunamos a las 6.
I've seen, and used, que in this form - it's as if the verb has been dropped, say, espero.
What is the origin of this usage? Is it ...
7
votes
4answers
109 views
How to translate “open source” and “free software” and keep the distinction?
In English, when describing software you say "open source" to refer to software that's source code has been made available under a license.
"Free software" refers to 'truly free' software that can be ...
9
votes
4answers
595 views
How to translate the idiomatic expressions “I wish!” and “You wish!”
What's the best way to say "I wish!" as in...
A: I hear you're a good dancer.
B: Ha! I wish!
Or...
A: Will you help me move this piano?
B: Ha! You wish!
What is the best way 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 ...
12
votes
1answer
563 views
Approximant vs. fricative realization of /b/, /d/, /g/
According to the Wikipedia article on Spanish phonology, the phonemes /b/, /d/, and /g/ are realized as approximants or fricatives instead of plosives in all but certain contexts (after a pause, nasal ...
7
votes
3answers
567 views
“Maje” (or “mae”) in Nicaraguan Spanish
What does the word "maje" (pronounced "mae") mean in Nicaraguan Spanish? Could the word be considered offensive, and, if so, in what contexts is it appropriate to use?
2
votes
3answers
205 views
Translation of “raw milk”
How do I refer to raw (unpastuerized) milk in Spanish?
Leche cruda is the obvious translation, but I have learned that cruda and raw have some different uses and subtleties about them.
And I know ...
6
votes
3answers
171 views
Regional use of “genial”
What parts of the Spanish-speaking world regularly use the word genial? Is it only encountered in Spain, or is it common in other regions as well?
Edit: It seems like it's more widespread than I ...
1
vote
4answers
1k views
“It was great to see you”
What is the most natural translation of the English phrase "It was great to see you" (as in what you would say after seeing a friend you hadn't seen for a long time)?
26
votes
3answers
512 views
Origin and usage of “¿” and “¡”
English
I was wondering what the reason is that the inverted exclamation mark ¡ and the inverted question mark ¿ were introduced into the Spanish language and not into most other languages.
Any ...
8
votes
2answers
496 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 ...
13
votes
5answers
270 views
When should I use the word 'yo' in a sentence where the verb conjugation already shows that I am the subject?
Early on while I was learning Spanish, my teachers would always make us use the pronoun 'yo' even if it was redundant:
Yo pienso que...
Yo quiero...
Yo hablo...
etc.
However, a more ...
