21
There is a spectrum of attraction and affection, which of course exists in both English and Spanish. How one expresses their level of affection and attraction along the spectrum is a difficult thing to pin-point in any language, and often subject to interpretation, body language, and other clues. But generally speaking, I think it's fairly safe to say that ...
19
Actualmente hay botellas de cualquier color, sin embargo, hace unas décadas las botellas de vidrio eran mayoritariamente de color verde o transparentes (al menos en España). Verde botella se usa para referirse al tono de verde de aquellas botellas de vidrio.
Fuente: Coloración del vidrio. Wikipedia
Cuando el vidrio aparece en occidente, en el imperio ...
18
I think that gracias is the most basic, standard way to say thank you in Spanish. If you want more options, you have to seek upwards:
Muchas gracias (thanks a lot).
Muchísimas gracias (thank you very much).
Se lo agradezco (I thank you).
Se lo agradezco en el alma / de corazón / sinceramente / enormemente / etc. (I sincerely thank you / from the bottom of ...
17
Las expresiones insultantes empiezan muchas veces por me cago en...,
siendo típica la referencia a la madre (en la madre que te parió, en
tu puta madre, en la puta de oros, en la puta de bastos, en la puta
madre que te cagó), a la leche (la leche, la puta leche, la leche
que mamaste), otros parientes (tu padre, tus muertos), o
blasfemias (en Dios, ...
16
At least in Argentina: alias, también conocido como, comúnmente nombrado and comúnmente conocido como are pretty similar.
For example, "Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock" could be "Dwayne Johnson, alias La Roca".
Alias is concise and probably your best choice:
alias
Del lat. alias 'de otro modo'.
adv. Por otro nombre. Alfonso Tostado, alias el ...
15
Spain usage:
The word pecho can be considered an exact equivalent of the English breast; you can use it uncountably (the front part of your thorax) or countably (women have two of them). It is a neutral word and can be used safely in any context. To breastfeed also translates as dar el pecho.
Seno can have several meanings. It can be your lap, a woman's ...
15
I'm from Spain and that term is not commonly used here in the sense that you point.
Capital is the preferred word to mark a city as the principal in a country, a province or a district, where the central government institutions are located.
Cabecera sounds a bit archaic, from the times when Spain was a more rural country and was divided in partidos ...
14
A “maría” in Spain is an easy-to-pass subject. The word “maría” in this sense is informal but widely used.
The origin of the expression is interesting. In Franco’s times, there were three compulsory subjects common to every University degree: Physical education, Religion and Politics. They were really easy to pass (you had to do almost nothing) and they ...
14
That's quite a weird phrase for simply because I'm from Spain.
Manejar is only used in Latin countries and meanwhile conducir is the only word we use in Spain.
This phrase has to be written by a person from South America also because in Spain we don't use canal but carril.
Of course you can use twice conducir or manejar, but it sounds quite repetitive. ...
14
Rata means rat and is always feminine, while ratón means mouse and is always masculine.
The word macho and hembra are actually nouns (not adjectives) that are used in juxtaposition with the base animal. Therefore, you'll always use macho or hembra, regardless the gender of the base noun. This happens with a number of animal species, such as with tiburón (...
14
You have understood the text perfectly and I can see why you find it a bit difficult.
When in doubt, you should check the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española de la Lengua, the DRAE. There you'll find that the verb cuidar has the two meanings that you have pointed out: to take care of (2) and to be wary of (5).
cuidar
2. tr. Asistir, guardar, conservar
...
13
Presilla refers to a buttonhole made with cord.
Lazo and lazada refers to a knot.
Curva is a curve (no kidding), which can be understood as a loop depending on the context but is very rare.
Meandro is each one of the corners that a river forms, as far as I know is never used to refer to a loop.
Rizo and bucle are used to describe a loop in the hair.
Circuito ...
13
Muy buena pregunta. He estado buscando, insuficiente como para considerarlo un comentario pero suficiente como para discutirla.
Según la RAE vemos cual es el origen de la adopción de diez signos
Existen dos sistemas básicos para representar los números mediante signos: la «numeración arábiga», llamada así porque fue introducida en Occidente por los ...
13
legumbre: is actually a technical term: any member of the "legumes". That includes peas, beans, etc. In Spanish it is not used for peanuts or soy, although they are still "legumes", because the way they are eaten is different from the traditional legumbres.
vegetal: is again a technical term: anything from the "plant" kingdom. It is not used for ...
13
Hay frases como lo que sea/fuera/fuese/fuere o no sé qué no sé cuánto, cómo se dice/cómo se llama. A veces estas se escriben escritas, sobre todo cuando se sustantivan, en una palabra, a pesar de la recomendación de Fondéu: un nosequé, un tal cómosellama, etc.
Pero quizás lo más común —y, de hecho, panhispánico— sería cosa y sus diminutivos como cosita/...
12
Segun RAE:
Unido a aquí, ahí y allí, o con los pronombres me, te, la, le, lo, las, los, se usa para señalar o mostrar a alguien o algo.
y segun wikitionary:
Unido a un pronombre personal clítico ("me, te, le, nos, os, les") o a un adverbio de lugar ("aquí, allí, ahí", etc.), señala la presencia o existencia de algo.
En ambos casos lo señalan como ...
12
You could say tío paterno or tío materno
Which is exactly what we do in English.. My paternal grandfather's name is James.
12
La expresión más frecuente es dar el pésame, para expresar esta acción de comunicarle a alguien que lamentas el fallecimiento de su pariente:
Me acerqué a Luis en el funeral para darle el pésame por la muerte de su abuelo
Luis, mi más sentido pésame por la muerte de tu abuelo
También se suele decir te acompaño en el sentimiento o incluso mis condolencias. ...
12
If abbreviating (to mañ.) is something unwanted, then instead of what you have
Mañana por la mañana
You'll gain 2 spaces with
Mañana a la mañana
Or even a 4 char gain, writing
Mañana temprano
The concise way you need may be also achieved using a.m.., the latin *ante meridiem for "antes del mediodía", before noon)
Mañana a.m. (formally ...
12
38.2.2 Uses of the diminutive suffix -ito
The main effects of this suffix are:
(a) To give a friendly tone to a statement...
(b) To modify the meaning of adjectives and adverbs by adding a warm tone, or, sometimes, by making them more precise - e.g. ahora 'now', ahorita 'right now', todo > todito 'all' > 'absolutely all'
A New Reference Grammar of ...
11
As others have said, this is not a commonly spoken word, but is found mostly in poetry and writing, perhaps especially used in folk and children tales. I would use "acá y acullá" as the equivalent of "hither and yon".
As an aside, The RAE defines "acullá" as
adv. l. A la parte opuesta de quien habla. U. en contraposición a adverbios demostrativos de ...
11
At least in Colombia one usually would say nuez, generically, if the context doesn't require the specific kind of nut; in the case of a recipe (or in any other context in which the difference matters) we, of course, have (and use) different names:
Pacana (pecan):
Nuez (walnut):
Nuez del Brasil (Brazil nut):
Avellana (hazelnut):
And perhaps more that I ...
11
Para un grupo de soldados en formación, creo que "rompan filas" es una buena opción.
11
I'll add an answer since the current accepted answer doesn't reflect the situation in Guatemala.
The answer is very simple, too. In Guatemalan Spanish cuchara is the word you use. Context will make it very clear, and, unless you're among close friends, no one is going to assume you're using the slang term.
Necesito una cuchara... Si no, no puedo comer.
...
11
Otoñal e invernal.
Para el verano también se usa estival.
Edición: Encontré estos cultismos (palabras apegadas al origen etimológico, en este caso al latín):
Para el verano: estial
Para la primavera : vernal (qué curioso)
Para el invierno: hibernal
Son palabras del español que se pueden encontrar en escritos antiguos, están en desuso. Pero "hibernal" ...
10
According to the Diccionario General de la Lengua Española Vox (the one that comes with OS X Mountain Lion):
Allí is used when the thing being referred to is (but not too much) far from both the speaker and the listener, e.g. "vivo allí; ¿ves aquella polvareda que se levanta allí?; he dejado el libro allí encima."
Ahí is used when the thing being referred ...
10
Restaurante: Establecimiento público donde se sirven comidas y bebidas, mediante precio, para ser consumidas en el mismo local.
Restorán: lo mismo, pero derivado del francés "restaurant", que más o menos bien pronunciado, suena parecido (rɛstərənt)
Restauran: Restaurant pero escrito como lo pronuncia un hispanoparlante que no sabe francés ("restaurán") ni ...
10
hornos de tabique: No soy de Colombia pero si se refiere a lo mismo que en México es literalmente un horno hecho de tabiques o ladrillos.
Además de utilizarse en la panaderia tradicional latina son muy comunes en Italia y es donde tradicionalmente se cocinaban las pizzas. En la parte inferior/posterior del horno se coloca leña y en el frente el alimento a ...
10
Yes, according to the RAE dictionary, the use of ora with this meaning has its origin as a shortened form of ahora:
ora.
(Afér.).
1. conj. distrib. ahora. Tomando ora la espada, ora la pluma.
So, it replaces ahora only with a specific meaning: when it's used as a conjunción distributiva. Note that this is a rather archaic use, so you'll probably find it ...
10
I think that Lucha has a broader meaning, while Pelea is a physical fight, a quarrel or discussion. For example you could use Lucha like
Lucha contra el cáncer
Lucha contra los elementos, nieve, lluvia, etc
Lucha consigo mismo, para superar sus tentaciones.
Lucha can imply a physical fight, but with a boarder sense or menaing:
Los aliados lucharon contra ...
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