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Español

¿Como se puede traducir 'see' al final de una frase, como en

I have just started learning Spanish, see.
(Acabo de comenzar a aprender español, ...)

English

How can one translate 'see' at the end of a sentence, as in

I have just started learning Spanish, see.

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4 Answers 4

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The word "see" here is used to emphasize that the speaker wants to ensure that the message was understood by his audience. In english, it really should be written as a question "..., you see?"

Understanding it from this perspective, you can translate in a variety of ways. I would recommend "..., me entiendes?"

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  • 3
    Si el uso de «..., see» se puede entender, como tú dices, como una abreviación de «..., you see?», una posible expresión cercana en español sería más bien «..., ¿sabes?», antes que «..., ¿me entiendes?». También se me ocurre que quizá «Oye, acabo de comenzar un curso de español» podría ser (aunque el «oye» suele ir al principio de la frase antes que al final).
    – Paloma
    Commented Dec 13, 2014 at 22:18
  • 2
    @Paloma: Claro, hay muchas posibilidades que podriamos sustituir! :) Lo mas importante es entender la funcion que "see" lleva en esta frase.
    – Paul
    Commented Dec 13, 2014 at 22:34
  • Sí, @Paul, llevas razón.
    – Paloma
    Commented Dec 13, 2014 at 23:56
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    En Chile usamos ¿cachay?. "Estoy aprendiendo inglés, ¿cachay?".
    – Rodrigo
    Commented Dec 14, 2014 at 23:53
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You could use:

¿Me sigues?

¿Me entiendes? / ¿entiendes?

¿Comprendes?

¿Vale?

¿Ves?

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  • My catalonian cousin used to say "Captas?" (probably his Spanish was influenced by some expression in Catalonian, but we all understood him).
    – Diego
    Commented Dec 13, 2014 at 23:25
  • To me, as a speaker of southern British English, 'see' sounds quite rude or aggressive. I suppose it depends on the tone of voice.
    – mdewey
    Commented May 6, 2016 at 17:17
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I have just started learning Spanish, see. See means "ves", and u can use it this way:

Recién empecé a aprender español, ¿ves?

I wouldn't suggest using "¿vale?", "¿captas?", "¿me sigues?" because that's informal and it's used only by spanish people, so if you want to use spanish in south america you shouldn't use them.

More formal is "¿entiende usted?", you can use "¿vale?", "¿captas?", "¿me sigues?" only if you are talking to a friend.

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Fíjate que acabo de comenzar a aprender español.

¿Sabes qué? Acabo de ...

Sabes que acabo de ...

¿Adivina qué? Acabo de ...

Te voy a contar, acabo de ...

I don't like the use of me entiendes or similar ones. Sounds like the English you know what I mean. It is a very common "crutch" but I find it kind of rude, like you are speaking with someone who is slow to understand. It sounds different when you really mean Do you understand? maybe because what you are explaining, or the way you have explained it so far, is hard to understand, you know what I mean ?

And then, all kinds of combinations, like:

Me quitaron las cordales, ¿te había contado?

En estos canales hay lagartos, ¿sabías?

Tengo tamaña picada en la espalda, fíjate !

Fíjate is a very common expression in Mexico. It conveys the idea of paying attention, or taking note of something. I think it would be the closest translation for your , see in your question.

And the answer would not be complete without the reference to the phrase made popular by La Chilindrina: Fíjate, fíjate, fíjate !

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