23 votes
Accepted

How is “pea” translated into Spanish?

First of all I found all sorts of variations of “pea” in English, so I needed to clarify some things in my own language before I could attempt to answer this. Rather than recreate the wheel, I’m just ...
Lisa Beck's user avatar
  • 5,533
21 votes
Accepted

Translation of the phrase "I'm happy."

It depends on the context of the question . The verb "estar" in that phrase is commonly used for that particular moment. Estoy feliz. (I am happy at the moment.) However, "ser" can be used for ...
Tuyeyas's user avatar
  • 326
18 votes

Is "méndigo" considered offensive?

The word "mendigo" without an accent is used commonly in Spain to refer to a person that asks for money in the street. It is a standard word and not inappropriate. The word "méndigo", with an accent, ...
wimi's user avatar
  • 12k
15 votes
Accepted

What are the origin, meaning and connotations of "gringo" in Spanish?

English with Original Quotes in Spanish (Answer with quotes translated below) The overwhelming evidence is that gringo originated in Spain in the 1700s or earlier from griego, ‘Greek’, in the sense ...
Jacinto's user avatar
  • 509
15 votes

Can the term "agua potable" not mean "drinkable water"?

In many parts of Mexico, water as it flows through the municipal water mains is often referred to by the government as "agua potable", but people do not generally take this to mean that the municipal ...
aparente001's user avatar
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14 votes
Accepted

Why is Argentinian pronunciation different from other countries?

No, your ears are perfectly fine. In fact, it is notable that you have noticed the difference between the two different forms of the imperative tense. There are indeed some differences between the ...
Charlie's user avatar
  • 77.3k
14 votes

Can the term "agua potable" not mean "drinkable water"?

I can't answer your question in terms of all South America, but it definitely seems to be regional. I'm from Dominican Republic and I've only ever heard of "agua potable" with the meaning that it's ...
DanM87's user avatar
  • 159
14 votes

Can the term "agua potable" not mean "drinkable water"?

"Agua potable" is indeed drinkable water. Take into account that the second meaning that you see in the diccionary is a coloquialism. Potable adj. coloq. Pasable, aceptable. In contrast ...
Diego's user avatar
  • 47.9k
12 votes

"Iros" instead of "idos" (imperative of verb "ir")

TL;DR The "problem" is so extended that RAE finally decided to consider that that's actually the way people speak, making it a valid version for the imperative. Long answer To update this ...
Diego's user avatar
  • 47.9k
11 votes
Accepted

¿Qué significa "como agua para chocolate"?

Succinctly explained in Como agua para chocolate: Un dicho mexicano hecho novela: "Como agua para chocolate" es un popular dicho mexicano que significa estar molesto o muy furioso. El mismo ...
fedorqui's user avatar
  • 33.9k
11 votes
Accepted

Diferencias entre "Sánguche" y "Sandwich", y origen de la palabra

En el diccionario panhispánico de dudas se puede consultar lo siguiente en la entrada para "sándwich": [Sándwich] es la forma mayoritariamente usada por los hablantes cultos en todo el ámbito ...
Charlie's user avatar
  • 77.3k
11 votes
Accepted

Is brass translated as "bronce" or "latón"?

Quoting from Wikipedia: El bronce es toda aleación metálica de cobre y estaño, en la que el primero constituye su base y el segundo aparece en una proporción del 3 al 20 %. Puede incluir otros ...
pablodf76's user avatar
  • 39.3k
10 votes

What is the difference among "perdón", "disculpa" and "lo siento"?

"Disculpe" is used more when you want to ask something. If you want to be polite, talking to someone you don't know you can say: -Disculpe, me podría decir la hora, por favor. -Sorry, could you ...
Hugo Martin's user avatar
10 votes
Accepted

Colección de expresiones usadas para decir "faltar a clase"

Respuesta en modo community wiki, siéntete libre de añadir aquí tus propias opciones. Argentina Hacerse la rabona Hacerse la rata / ratearse Hacerse la yuta / cuca (Noroeste) Bolivia Chuñearse una ...
10 votes

¿Se usa "kilo" como "millón" en Hispanoamérica?

Respondo por Argentina solamente, en principio: kilo, además de ser un prefijo, sólo se usa para kilogramo. No he escuchado en ningún otro lugar de América kilo como sinónimo de muchas unidades ...
pablodf76's user avatar
  • 39.3k
10 votes

Are there dialectal differences in spelling in Spanish?

Some may say that there are not, however there are two special cases where there are spelling differences: Vídeo (Spain) | Video (Latin America). This one is due to the differences in pronunciation. ...
prm296's user avatar
  • 1,638
10 votes

Common terms for encouragement and cheering?

With slightly different meanings and applicable to different contexts: ¡Venga!, ¡vamos!, ¡anda!, ¡ándale!, ¡órale!, ¡dale!, ¡ánimo!, ¡aúpa!, ¡corre!...
aerobiomat's user avatar
  • 2,107
9 votes
Accepted

Definition of 'escuela' and 'colegio'

I am adding this summary following what was discussed in Juntemos en respuestas wiki las respuestas cortas específicas de regiones / Let's use community wiki to summarize set of short region specific ...
9 votes
Accepted

Proper spelling of "beisbol"

Both forms are accepted; which is the more usual depends on what country you're from: béisbol o beisbol ‘Deporte en el que los jugadores han de recorrer ciertos puestos o bases de un circuito, en ...
jacobo's user avatar
  • 19.3k
9 votes
Accepted

Armpit: sobaco vs. axila

I am adding this summary following what was discussed in Juntemos en respuestas wiki las respuestas cortas específicas de regiones / Let's use community wiki to summarize set of short region specific ...
9 votes

"Plátano" and "banana", geographical differences?

Form left to right as we call them in Colombia: Plátano maduro: Can be eaten raw but is usually cooked to make tajadas. The tajadas are usually cut long and after fried they look dark red/orange and ...
DGaleano's user avatar
  • 10.6k
9 votes
Accepted

Significado y gramática de "niñas bien"

Según el Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, la cuarta acepción de "bien" es la siguiente: Como adjetivo invariable significa ‘de buena posición social’: «Vivían en Miraflores, balneario de la ...
Nicolás Ozimica's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

¿Qué quiere decir "pilas" en Colombia?

Los juguetes no funcionan hasta que uno les "pone las pilas" de ahí aparece la expresión con el sentido de activarse o ponerse activo/atento La expresión ponerse las pilas en el sentido de entrar en ...
DGaleano's user avatar
  • 10.6k
9 votes

In what countries do people roll a single 'r' if it's the first letter in the word?

All countries use both the /r/ and /ɾ/ phoneme. Not all countries realize them, respectively, as the roll/trill [r] and the flap [ɾ] (for Puerto Rico for instance you often get /r/ as [h] and /ɾ/ as [...
user0721090601's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

¿Qué se entiende al decir "¿Qué te trae por estos lares?"?

En mi experiencia, y mal que le pese a la RAE, lar es una palabra culta y literaria que no se emplea prácticamente nunca, excepto en plural y en una de esas frases idiomáticas que mencionaste, o ...
pablodf76's user avatar
  • 39.3k
9 votes
Accepted

¿Se utiliza "provecho" en otros países hispanohablantes además de México?

Uno de los significados que mencionas (respecto a las comidas) debería ser entendido en teoría por cualquier país hispanohablante, ya que el DLE no indica que sea un regionalismo, y asumiendo que se ...
Mauricio Martinez's user avatar
9 votes

¿Cómo se llamaba a los michelines antes de que se creara Michelín como marca?

Me cuesta trabajo creer que no esté en el DLE, pero en gran parte de México se les denomina "lonjas". En algunos otros diccionarios he encontrado la definición. Google Translate recoge : ...
Mike's user avatar
  • 3,274
9 votes

¿Cómo se llamaba a los michelines antes de que se creara Michelín como marca?

Al menos en Colombia he escuchado la palabra "llanta": llanta f. coloq. Am. lorza (‖ pliegue de gordura). Ejemplos: Se me sale una llanta. Se me ve una llanta. También se usa la palabra ...
Mauricio Martinez's user avatar

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