Questions tagged [selección-de-palabras]
Determinar entre varias opciones cuál es la mejor forma de expresar un concepto. // Which option is the best choice to express a concept?
668
questions
2
votes
1answer
65 views
In Latin America, is “el ataque” or “la convulsión” more commonly used by medical professionals?
My wife is a nurse and we're working on grammar for the next year or two before we travel extensively in Costa Rica. I'm putting together vocab lists and wondering what is more commonly used in a ...
8
votes
2answers
176 views
A combo insult in Mexican Spanish
I'm writing a screenplay with a Mexican American character in it.
At one point she becomes extremely annoyed by news from work and launches into a string of insults in her native language to express ...
7
votes
1answer
61 views
¿Es correcto este uso de “jactar”?
He visto en un periódico digital:
Vídeo. Iván Espinosa se jacta de María Jesús Montero con una tableta: «Cíñase a la pregunta. Gracias»
Iván Espinosa se jactó de la ministra de Hacienda
...
3
votes
1answer
74 views
“Colegio” and “Dormitorio”
Accordning to the mental floss article,
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57195/50-spanish-english-false-friend-words,
"colegio" and "college" are listed as false friends, and "dormitorio" and "...
6
votes
4answers
713 views
The correct translation for “partner” in the context of a family?
If I wanted to say partner in Spanish, referring to someone who I'm in a loving relationship with (oppose to a business relationship) would I say pareja or socio or compañera? If they are all of equal ...
0
votes
2answers
67 views
¿Cuál se debe usar, “quitar” o “sacar” para la ropa y los zapatos?
¿Cuál se debe usar referente a la ropa y zapatos?
Por ejemplo, ¿sacarse los zapatos o quitarse los zapatos?
0
votes
1answer
39 views
Tiene la palabra superior una connotación positiva?
Una simple definición de superior por Google dice
Que es más que otra persona o cosa en calidad, cantidad, rango,
importancia, etc.
Hay varias definiciones pero las que me interesan van por este ...
4
votes
1answer
50 views
“No tiene por qué pagar” vs “No tiene que pagar”
Por favor, vea el vinculo siguiente:https://elpais.com/elpais/2020/02/07/eps/1581073136_206237.html
Tengo un problema con la frase
Un ciudadano de a pie no tiene por qué pagar la propaganda de ...
1
vote
2answers
125 views
“elegir” vs “escoger” (“to choose”)
I understand that "elegir" and "escoger" both mean "to choose":
"Tienes que elegir": You have to choose.
"Tienes que escoger": You have to choose.
...
6
votes
3answers
312 views
Is it 'echar', 'tirar' or 'lanzar indirectas'?
I have read and heard this idiomatic expression in several ways. Is there a more proper or correct idiomatic expression for this?
Which one is the correct idiomatic expression?
echar indirectas
...
2
votes
1answer
37 views
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre “siguieron siendo muy costosos” y “siguieron quedando muy costosos”?
Cuanto me preparaba el examen del DELE B2, me encontré el siguiente problema:
A pesar de que se hicieron grandes esfuerzos para mejorar los bolígrafos, estos siguieron _______ muy costosos.
(A) ...
3
votes
3answers
637 views
¿Como se llama la parte superior de un cerro?
¿Como se llama la parte superior de un cerro? ¿Sería «cima» o «cumbre» o hay otro término?
Pregunto porque en inglés normalmente un término como «peak» o «summit» no se usa para los cerros. Son más ...
4
votes
1answer
46 views
¿Están bien las colocaciones “correr parejo” y “acarrear algo”?
Estoy leyendo un libro -- Muerte y alteridad, por Byung-Chul Han, Herder Editorial, 2019 -- en el que he encontrado usos de "correr parejo/a" y "acarrear". Mi profesora particular de español me ...
5
votes
3answers
87 views
¿Cuáles palabras serían iguales a “favela?”
Quisiera saber si hay algunos términos universales o si hay términos usados en diferentes países para referirse a lo equivale a una favela brasileña pero en territorio de un país hispanohablante, como ...
1
vote
3answers
106 views
¿Es correcto decir “pelota de rugbi”?
Si el término pelota, bola y balón hacen alusión a objetos esféricos... ¿Es correcto decir pelota o balón de rugbi? ¿No se supone que deberíamos de llamarlo únicamente óvalo?
4
votes
2answers
83 views
ayuntamiento vs alcaldía vs municipalidad
Is there any difference in meaning between "ayuntamiento", "municipalidad" and "alcaldía" ("city hall" in English)?
Word Reference and DLE definitions of these words are very similar and I cannot see ...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
What are some words like “ícono” whose accentuation vary?
The word "ícono" can be written as 'esdrújula' or 'llana'.
What are some other words whose accentuation can vary?
4
votes
3answers
256 views
¿Cómo se nombran los *cul-de-sac* en diferentes países?
Hoy dando vueltas por internet, encontré la expresión cul-de-sac que puede traducirse como calle sin salida, lo que en el habla cotidiana en Colombia se conoce como 'Calle ciega' (El diccionario de ...
2
votes
2answers
185 views
Ser/estar feliz VS ser/estar contento
I'm sorry, I didn't find any explanations with the search feature, among the thread titles for the ser/estar feliz, so it was probably already answered, but it seems impossible to find. But, also, I ...
2
votes
2answers
96 views
¿Cómo se dirige a una policía?
En inglés (en EEUU por lo menos) hay el término néutro, respecto al género, de "officer." Y uno puede decir, «Yes/no, officer.» Así no se necesita decir, «Yes/no, ma'am/sir.»
Creo que en los países ...
6
votes
2answers
177 views
Why is “es la de ser” used instead of “es ser”?
In the below sentence why is "es la de ser" used instead of "es ser"?
la libertad que buscamos es la de ser nosotros mismos.
The freedom we seek is to be ourselves.
The sentence ...
0
votes
2answers
103 views
tocar (a) la puerta vs golpear la puerta
I heard the following sentence in the Narcos TV series (which takes place in Colombia):
Espere un momento, que me están tocando la puerta.
1) Isn't the idiomatic expression "tocar a la puerta" ?
...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
en calma (noun expression) vs calmo (adjective)
I heard the following sentence in the Narcos TV series:
Gacha siempre se ponía paranoico cuando las cosas estaban en calma.
Could I use the adjective "calmas" instead of "en calma" here? Is there ...
1
vote
1answer
4k views
«¿Ah, sí?» o «¿Así?»: ¿Son posibles las dos?
Me pregunto si en una conversación la gente está diciendo «¿Ah, sí?» o «¿Así?» para mostrar que está escuchando. ¿O cambia dependiendo del contexto?
No estoy preguntando de una conversación técnica, ...
4
votes
1answer
306 views
Why use “con que” instead of just “que”?
In the below sentence, why use "con que" instead of just "que"?
Un funcionario del banco central se encontró con que el dispositivo conectado a los sistemas de mensajería ...
7
votes
2answers
138 views
How would you translate “minority languages”
I am trying to use a politically correct term to refer to any language (also known as dialect) used by a minority group in LA. Some ideas I have are idiomas de minorías or lenguas indígenas, but I don'...
0
votes
1answer
139 views
Difference between “igual a ti” and “igual que tú”
Are both sentences below correct? If so, is there any difference in meaning between them?
Soy igual a ti.
Soy igual que tú.
2
votes
1answer
73 views
¿Cómo decir “book authored by X” en español?
En ingles uno puede decir algo como:
In the book authored by me, I explore ...
¿Cómo decir algo equivalente en español? ¿Existe un verbo que equivalga a "to author"?
En general es común decir ...
13
votes
4answers
3k views
Is there more concise way to say “tomorrow morning” than “mañana por la mañana”?
I am a designer, working on a weather forecast layout which will support Spanish translations.
Is there a shorter way to say "Tomorrow Morning" than "mañana por la mañana"?
I have many different ...
2
votes
2answers
177 views
What is the difference between “la semana siguiente” and “a la semana siguiente”?
I see both of these variations from time to time and, thus far, have not recognized a pattern that helps me to decide when to use which. Nor have I found anything that dictates whether or not one ...
2
votes
1answer
112 views
“Hacerse” vs “volverse” with professions
Are both the following sentences usual? Do they mean the same or does the first one imply a great effort? Example:
Él se hizo doctor.
Él se volvió doctor.
4
votes
2answers
282 views
Understanding the phrase “Que Me Baile”
I'm still on this forever journey of improving my Spanish and I recently came across the song "Que Me Baile" by ChocQuibTown and Becky G. I was just wondering if anyone here knows why they use "Yo ...
6
votes
3answers
715 views
Distinguish between “I can't spell” and “I can't write”
When I look up "to spell" in Spanish, several sites says "escribir". But if someone says "No sé escribir", how do you know if this means:
I am not a good speller (that is, I don't know how to spell ...
1
vote
1answer
64 views
“Debimos haber viajado” vs “debimos viajar” / “Debimos ir corriendo” vs “debimos correr”
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre
Debimos haber viajado al menos una hora antes de detenernos frente a una casa pequeña
y
Debimos viajar al menos....
Un ejemplo similar: ir corriendo y correr.
1
vote
2answers
102 views
Grammar of “Yo en viajado”?
I don’t understand what this means and how “en” and the past participle work together?
I’m guessing it’s something like “me traveling a lot”? The context was this video around 1:43.
Does “en” also ...
3
votes
3answers
197 views
What are the Spanish words for North and South and how are they different?
Inspired by this question Words for "East" and "West" in Spanish? my question is simply to ask the same but for North and South which beginners are taught are norte and sur. ...
0
votes
2answers
73 views
What would be appropriate for forge and foundry?
I’m trying to translate a text I’ve written where we explain forge and foundry but not in the literal blacksmithing sense. What is the appropriate word in Spanish?
1
vote
1answer
41 views
Trabajar vs militar
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre los verbos militar y trabajar? Escucho el uso del primero en varios contextos en donde cabe el segundo, como “por entonces ella militaba en una casa de cuido”. ¿Cuando se ...
5
votes
0answers
77 views
Gender neutrality in Spanish? [duplicate]
So I have thought this question over in my head before and I’ve come to the conclusion that Spanish-speakers may simply have a different idea of what gender neutrality is compared to English-speakers, ...
6
votes
2answers
467 views
How can I generalize Spanish translation of object names' gender?
I am working on the translation of some strings for an app. I have encountered the following problem:
The English version has the following string: "The person uses the", which is used along with an ...
7
votes
1answer
115 views
What are some Spanish words that the Spaniards learned from the Pacific islanders, Philippines, etc
We know the Spaniards borrowed a lot of words from Nahuatl. Having not much exposure to Spanish, words borrowed from the other parts of the Spanish Empire are unheard of for me. What words did the ...
2
votes
1answer
130 views
'Estar' and 'hacer' with weather
My Spanish text "Vistas" covers weather expressions. I see that the majority of the time 'hacer' should be used. However, the text also shows the use of 'estar', as in "está lloviendo".
Does this ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
¿Se dice “a través de la medida de la deformación” o “a través de la medición de la deformación”?
Al redactar un texto ¿es válida la expresión "a través de la medida de la deformación"? ¿O es mejor decir "a través de la medición de la deformación"?
12
votes
2answers
2k views
Would you use “llamarse” for an animal's name?
Often in the Spanish language you would indicate someone's name using the verb 'llamarse', for example if you say 'his name is Joe' it would typically be
Él se llama Joe
which literally translates ...
6
votes
2answers
134 views
Can a person “agarrar” something? / ¿Puede una persona “agarrar” algo?
I was recently helping some Spanish-speaking students with something, in which they had to translate take. The translation I've learned in classes is tomar, but that was interpreted as "to drink", so ...
7
votes
1answer
144 views
How can you say “to be cold” in Spanish? Usage of 'hacer', 'tener', 'estar'
I know the following phrases:
It's cold (referring to the weather)
Hace frío
He's cold
Tiene frío
But when something is cold, it seems that the expression is as follows:
El café está frío
And you ...
5
votes
2answers
493 views
What is the difference between “usar”, “ponerse” and “vestir”?
In Mexico we use any of this verbs with clothes vocabulary, but what is the difference between these verbs?
usar
vestir
ponerse
1
vote
2answers
232 views
What is the difference between “desmenuzar” y “deshebrar”?
In Mexico we usually use these words when we want to put appart chicken, pork or any other type of meat. But I´m not sure if both can be used in the same way
6
votes
1answer
495 views
How would “The dog is older than the child” be translated?
Would the sentence, The dog is older than the child be translated as
El perro es más viejo que el niño
or
El perro es mayor que el niño
3
votes
1answer
1k views
¿Cuál es la forma correcta entre “Con base en” y “En base a”? [duplicate]
Me he encontrado con que para mi, la forma mas natural de decirlo es en base a. Sin embargo, en ciertos escritos o en pláticas se me ha comentado que esa no es la forma correcta de decirlo, que tal ...
