Questions tagged [uso-de-palabras]
De qué manera una palabra, frase o concepto es usado en el idioma español. // How a word, phrase, or concept is used in the Spanish language.
1,193
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26 views
¿Es posible una definición cíclica de conque?
Ayer (21 de junio de 2021) la palabra del día del DLE fue conque. Me pareció curioso en particular el tercer significado de la palabra que dice:
m. coloq. Condición con que se hace o se promete algo.
...
4
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2answers
489 views
Translation of 'apropos of nothing'
What might be the translation of apropos, as commonly used in American English, that Spanish speakers would use in identical situations, the context being germane (to), in a broad sense?
Continuing ...
4
votes
1answer
66 views
How come I can't find some reflexive verbs like decirse, odiarse and mentirse in the dictionary?
Can some Spanish verbs be turned into reflexive verbs even if they have no 'official' form? For instance, I have seen the following sentences:
Se decía a sí misma que tenía que hacerlo. (She told ...
2
votes
2answers
39 views
Tiene un/su/como «correlato» en
Tengo dudas con el significado de la palabra «correlato» o la frase «tiene un/su/como correlato en» en estos contextos, porque si se busca en un diccionario en español en general sólo se hace alusión ...
6
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2answers
105 views
“Fuimos al mercado por pan.” Why not para?
This link summarizes por and para usage rules and lists the following sentence under por in the category "cause, reason, or motive of an action".
Fuimos al mercado por pan
Why isn't para ...
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49 views
Por qué se usa “Dec-ia,ias,Ian, etc…” o “dije,dijo,..etc” [duplicate]
¿Cuándo uso el pretérito y el imperfecto para decir? Entiendo estos dos tensos en general. Pero cuando leo la Biblia en español, usa ambos con frecuencia para la persona que narra lo que sucedió. No ...
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vote
2answers
90 views
Does this sentence feel natural to say?
When writing a Spanish journal, I wrote this:
Porque Starry Night tiene los colores oscuros, además tiene mucha belleza.
If I were to translate it to English, it would sound something like:
Because ...
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1answer
54 views
Reading Comprehension
I just finished reading a rather long article about estafadores cibernéticos :
https://mundo.sputniknews.com/20210512/su-novio-de-tinder-le-estafo-83000-euros-los-ciberdelitos-en-espana-se-disparan-...
6
votes
1answer
64 views
Difference between “derribar” and “derrumbar”?
Both mean "to demolish" or "to knock down", but I believe there are some differences. What are these differences, and are they based on region or context?
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3answers
120 views
Uso de la palabra “empañada”, pero no la comida? Use of the word “empañada” outside of food contexts?
Leí esta frase en mi clase de español:
Mi opinión de los piratas ha quedado un poco empañada después de ver
ese documental sobre las barbaridades que cometieron contra personas
inocentes.
No ...
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0answers
144 views
¿Es correcto decir “largoplacista”?
¿Es largoplacista la forma correcta del antónimo de cortoplacista? y ¿Cómo se escribiría largoplacista como compuesto o largo placista?
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2answers
97 views
Should I use querido, estimado, or distinguido in an email to a teacher?
I have been sending emails to my teacher using:
Querido, ...
I recently found out that estimado and distinguido also mean "dear". Which form of "dear" should I use in an email (...
4
votes
2answers
186 views
Can someone tell me if “da” is supposed to be in this sentence?
The sentence that I am confused about is this:
"Esto le parece mala suerte."
I have a guess about what it means, "this gave him/her bad luck". The only reason why I am confused ...
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2answers
141 views
“Relaciones sexuales” como sinónimo de encuentro o sesión individual
Está muy extendida, por no decir universalizada, esta expresión para referirse a encuentros aislados durante los que se ha tenido sexo. "Fulanito tuvo relaciones sexuales con él ayer". ...
4
votes
2answers
91 views
How do I ask someone politely not to use “Don” when referring to me, but just to use my first name?
I have a tutor-student relationship with the person. We refer to each other as "usted" but I don't want to be called "Don (my first name)"; it feels too hierarchical.
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2answers
66 views
buenas palabras x palabras buenas - ¿Tienen diferentes significados?
Encontré una frase en un libro que decía:
No todas las buenas palabras son palabras buenas.
Investigué este tema y terminé encontrando el uso de ambas formas y aparentemente con el mismo significado,...
4
votes
3answers
118 views
Como se traduce al español “setting up to fail”
Estoy traduciendo sobre el acoso en el lugar de trabajo. Un ejemplo de conducta abusiva es
setting up the person to fail
No queda bien
preparar a una persona a que falle
Porque no es preparar es ...
4
votes
2answers
168 views
Una amiga “músico”?
I wanted to translate the term "musical friend" recently. The friend is female, so I used "una amiga música". My teacher insisted that this is incorrect, and that the correct ...
4
votes
3answers
97 views
What is the difference between “ya que” and “porque”?
English:
Since months attending a course in spanish, I still don't understand the difference between the two constructs "ya que" and "porque" when used to describe a reason for ...
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1answer
36 views
Uso del verbo superar para indicar en mayor cantidad
¿Se puede usar el verbo superar para indicar que algo se encuentra en mayor cantidad en relación con otra cosa, o que sucede un mayor número de veces, como en las siguientes oraciones?
Lo único que ...
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vote
1answer
35 views
How to use “volver”, “resultar” or “llegar” to say the same thing
I can say
Resultó ser un trabajo muy duro. It turned out to be a hard job.
But, can I say volvió a ser or llegar a ser to mean the same thing?
4
votes
1answer
56 views
What's the difference between 'cambiar' and 'cambiar de'?
What is the difference between 'cambiar' and 'cambiar de'?
On SpanishDict.com it seems to suggest that 'cambiar de' is used when you want to talk about replacing something (ie. changing from one thing ...
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3answers
1k views
Is “indígeno” a word in Spanish and, if so, how does it differ from “autóctono”?
The other day, I was attending a Spanish Duolingo event. During this event, the host used the word "autóctono." It got me to thinking What's the difference between "autóctono" ...
5
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4answers
174 views
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre las palabras “viajador” y “viajero”?
Obviamente son sinónimos, pero me gustaría saber exactamente en cual contexto uno se usa más que el otro.
Saludos.
4
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3answers
142 views
What's the difference between “Hola, ¿cómo te llamas usted?” and “Hola, ¿cuál es to nombre?” and when would I use one or the other?
I'm taking a Spanish course and can't figure out when I am supposed to use these:
¿Cómo te llamas?
¿Cuál es tu nombre?
Does it have to do with who I am referring to?
3
votes
2answers
65 views
Tienda in Tienda León
Tienda León is a major bus line in Argentina.
I thought the words tienda in Spanish and store in English were roughly equivalent, but it's hard to imagine a bus line called Bear Store.
I'm curious if:
...
4
votes
4answers
109 views
Does “No, si me parece una idea estupenda” make sense in Spanish?
I recently came upon the following sentence:
Gema: Mira, yo creo que el secreto es hacerlos participar de verdad. Si cada uno se hace responsable de una cosa, creo que puede funcionar.
Arturo: No, ...
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2answers
65 views
El uso de “ya” en frases como “ya me voy” y “ya termino”
Como ya se sabe, la palabra "ya", aunque muy pequeña, es un concepto bastante difícil para los que no son hablantes nativos de español. El uso de "ya" en el tiempo presente y ...
6
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1answer
383 views
Why do some write an “a” after the verb “convocar” and others omit it?
The other day I was reading something that had a conjugated form of the verb "convocar" in it. (The exact phrase was convoca a los estados americanos.)
Though I'm familiar with the word, I ...
4
votes
1answer
77 views
What is behind the decline in usage of “carta” as a word for “map”?
I was doing a Spanish Duolingo lesson the other day when I got this:
I have a map on my phone.
When I can, I try to avoid using the cognate, plus I was a teeny bit fuzzy on whether or not "mapa&...
8
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2answers
1k views
What is the difference between “regresar,” “volver,” and “retornar”?
I was reading an excerpt of Mi país inventado by Isabel Allende when I came across the word "retornar." I noticed the word while reading the following:
Fuera de Chile aguardé durante años ...
2
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1answer
35 views
What is the difference between “resignado,” “renunciado,” and “dimitido”?
I recently came across the word "dimitido" in an Instituto Cervantes exercise. If you can't link to it, the word appeared in this sentence:
El ejecutivo, quien había dimitido previamente, ...
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1answer
33 views
Yo and iLo? Are they the same?
Hace poco encontré el siguiente texto en un video:
Tienes un marido perfecto!
iLo sé!
Esta fue la primera vez que vi la expresión iLo sé.
Hice algunas investigaciones y encontré algunos otros ...
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2answers
450 views
In a declarative statement, why would you put a subject pronoun at the end of a sentence or verb phrase?
I was recently doing another Instituto Cervantes activity when I came across the following dialogue:
¿Y no quieres también un pantalón?
No, lo prefiero comprar yo.
And don't you also want a pair of ...
3
votes
1answer
112 views
What is the difference between “diferente” and “distinto”?
I probably shouldn't post this question, but I'm going to anyway because I have yet to see a site that answers it to my satisfaction. I'll admit that I haven't done extensive research on this topic, ...
6
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1answer
757 views
How do you say “woke” in Spanish?
In English, at least in the United States, a lot of people have started using the word "woke" to mean
alert to injustice in society, especially racism
After doing a little bit of research, ...
4
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2answers
87 views
How do you say “unknown environment” in Spanish?
I hope this is the right place to post this sort of question.
I have a follow up question to this post. For a proof-of-concept app (before we hire a full-time translator) I need to translate the ...
4
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2answers
64 views
Besides “Who works?” what meanings can “¿Quién trabaja?” have?
I was doing an Instituto Cervantes activity when I came across the following dialog:
Via context, it is pretty clear that
¿Quién trabaja?
doesn't mean "Who works?" I am guessing it means ...
3
votes
1answer
250 views
¿Qué rango de años se considera como “mediados” de un siglo?
Ayer se cumplieron 260 años del fallecimiento de Miguel de Reina Ceballos, académico honorario de la RAE, motivo por el cual han desarrollado su ficha personal en la web de la entidad. Hay una cosa ...
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1answer
44 views
“lo que nos causó” or “lo que nos ha causado”. Which one is correct?
In the text below, which is a slightly edited translation from a Brazilian Portuguese text using Google Translate, can both expressions "lo que nos causó" and "lo que nos ha causado&...
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1answer
71 views
“nada ha cambiado” and “nada se cambió”. Do they have the same meaning?
I just translated some sentences from Portuguese to Spanish using Google translator and noticed the use of "nada ha cambiado" and "nada se cambió". Do they have the same meaning?
...
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3answers
117 views
What do you call a summer camp?
I'm translating a flyer for a summer camp business into Spanish. I'm not a native speaker but I've been studying long enough to suspect that I should not translate "summer camp" as "...
4
votes
2answers
81 views
What is the difference between “completarse” and “estar terminado”?
I was trying to create my own sentences in Spanish and using a machine translator to check what I came up with. When I checked:
The trading must be completed by 4 this afternoon.
I was given this ...
3
votes
2answers
133 views
Origen y uso de “manque”
Por aquí por mi tierra hay una frase popular, un grito de guerra casi, que dice así:
¡Viva el Betis manque pierda!
Siempre me ha llamado la atención ese manque, incorporado a la expresión hasta tal ...
1
vote
1answer
32 views
“No hay miedo de que se dé ese a quien van a prender”
This sentence comes from the the RAE for the word "dar" (explanation 48), as such I do not have context, but as a rule of thumb, the example sentence should be clear without context, however ...
8
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1answer
73 views
What is the difference between “se ven afectados” and “están afectados”?
I've noticed that "se ven afectados" and "están afectados" are translated as "are affected." Some examples:
se ven afectados
Muchos ejemplares se ven afectados por las ...
3
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1answer
86 views
¿Tiene 'alguien' algo que ver con géneros gramaticales?
Una persona me dijo que al usar la palabra 'alguien', ese alguien tiene que ser masculino. ¿Es cierto? Si lo es, ¿existe una palabra análoga para el género femenino?
4
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1answer
48 views
¿Qué tan extendido está el uso de la palabra “nequicia”?
Nequicia figura en el Diccionario de la lengua como:
f. cult. Maldad, perversidad.
¿Qué tan extendido está su uso hoy día?
5
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2answers
131 views
Sinónimos: ¿Una respuesta cierta es una respuesta correcta?
Sé que lo más común es decir "una respuesta correcta" en lugar de "una respuesta cierta" en español cuando se habla de una respuesta sin errores. Sin embargo, hoy vi un texto de ...
4
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1answer
106 views
Can I use “Lucir” in the sense of “to wear without being dazzling”?
I recently came across the following verb "lucir".
Se puede lucir una tableta de chocolate.
meaning to be able to display or show off a six-pack.
Can this verb also be used for wearing ...
