español for Gringos

Common Gringo errors.


The Gringo said... Tengo treinta anos.

What the Gringo thinks he said... I am 30 years old.

What the Gringo really said... I have 30 anuses.

How to say 'I am 30 years old'... Tengo treinta años.
  (Literally: I have 30 years.)


*Credit:  babbel.com*

What's the difference?


What's the difference between los cajones, los cojones y los cojines?



los cajones = drawers (furniture)

los cojones = testicles

los cojines = cushions


Note that in all three cases, the 'j' is pronounced as an English 'h'.

e.g.  kah-HOH-ness

Reduce your time learning verbs by gaming the language.

Gringos often learn present-tense verbs in español and the root form of verbs (ending in -ar, -er or -ir) while spending precious little time learning past tense(s) or how to say things in the past.

Much of our conversation in Western languages is about things that have already occurred, so knowing how to express past action is important to speakers.

Some languages (Thai, for instance) get around 'tense' issues by using a single verb form for past, present and future tenses.  Thais add a small word such as lao or ja to indicate whether an action occurred already or will occur;  the root verb never changes.

In Spanish, there are some words or short phrases that one can employ to keep the verb in present or root form, but with the effect of indicating past or future action.  Employing such terms can enable a speaker to avoid learning the myriad forms of myriad verbs in many situations while still being fully understood.

Here are two examples...

1.  Acabo de (root verb) ..., indicating something you did that just occurred.

Acabo de comer..
I just ate.

(Acabo is first person, past tense, Comer is the root form of 'to eat'.

Acaba de comer.
He (or she) just ate.

2.  Using the additional, irregular verb ir (to go) in front of the action verb, to indicate future action.

Present tense:  Visito la iglesia.  I visit the church.
Vamos a visitar la iglesia.. We will (are going to) visit the church.

Saying hello.

As you may know, hola means hello.

But that's not how native-Spanish speakers usually talk.

They prefer to reference the day-part, typically referring to it in plural.

Buenas tardes.. Good afternoon.

Buenas noches.. Good evening.

Note that tarde and noche are feminine words.

'Good morning' is a little different, although similar to a phrase used in English countries, 'Good day.'

Buenos días..  Good morning.  (Literally:  good days.  Día is a masculine word even though it ends in 'a'.)

---

For those who prefer not to remember the above, or prefer not to figure out whether saying hello at 7 p.m. is 'Buenas tardes' or 'Buenas noches', it's not a problem if a Gringo simply says 'Hola'.

False friends.

Here are two Spanish words the Gringo used incorrectly.

actual (ahk-too-AHL)

He thinks it means 'actual' in English.

It actually means 'present' or 'current' .. as in ..

Quisiera saber la situación actual.
I would like to know the current situation.

The adverb actualmente means 'currently'.


decepcionado

The Gringo thinks this means 'deceived'.

It actually means disappointed.

The root verb is decepcionar, to disappoint.

In describing a female, the Spanish word is decepcionada.

--

Some of the examples or tips used on this thread come from the post "How Not To Sound Like a Gringo" at howlearnspanish.com

The website howlearnspanish.com has more than just 'false friends' examples.

It explains (and provides examples of free streaming websites for) the primary method I used to massively improve my Spanish in 2013-15, my first years living in Ecuador.

Aside from the basic explanation I earlier offered on this forum of expat.com, this may be the first time the method has been extensively explained.

A list of the streaming websites is at www.howlearnspanish.com/spanish-videos-subtitles-free/

---

A book further explaining this método, titled The Telenovela Method, author Andrew Tracey, is available via Amazon Kindle ($8.99). 

I do not receive compensation for referring anyone to howlearnspanish.com .. nor by promoting a book.

  -- cccmedia

cccmedia wrote:

False friends.
actual (ahk-too-AHL)

It actually means 'present' or 'current' .. as in ..

The adverb actualmente means 'currently'.

decepcionado

It actually means disappointed.

The root verb is decepcionar, to disappoint.

In describing a female, the Spanish word is decepcionada.

So how do you say "actually" and "actual" in Spanish, from the English, as in "Actually, he has lots of money and doesn't have to work" ? 

You could say, En realidad, tiene bastante plata y no tiene que trabajar, or "In actual fact, she never even graduated" could be De hecho, nunca llegó a graduarse.  (This last example from wordreference.com)

So then how do you say "deceived" ?  One way is to use "engañado", from the verb "engañar".

Ella fue engañado por el estafador y perdió sus ahorros.  She was deceived by the swindler and lost her savings.

El político engañó la gente para enriquecerse.  The politician deceived the people to enrich himself.

Note that the sentence structure in Spanish can often be exactly the same as in English, and even when it's not, you will usually be understood when translating directly from English to Spanish.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between garra, para y barra?


garra =    claw

para =     for;  in order to (for the purpose of)

    Camino diariamente dos kilómetros para mantener mi salúd.
       I go walking two kilometers daily (in order) to maintain my health.

barra =   1.  bar (as in a saloon)

                2.  bar (as in an iron bar)

What's the difference?

What's the difference between el mapa, la papa, papá y el Papa?

el mapa = the map (note that the word is masculine)

la papa = the potato

papá = (affectionate term for) father

el Papa = the Pope

What's the difference?

What's the difference between el Señor, los señores y su señoría?


el Señor = the Lord

los señores = the gentlemen

caballero (kah-bah-YEAR-oh) is commonly used for 'gentleman'.

su señoría = your lordship
           (or his lordship .. your ladyship .. or her ladyship)
           (also, in US/UK courts, formal settings:  Your Honor;  or his/her honor)

(el) señoría = sir or gentleman (term of respect)

Are you from the USA or Germany?  As an Expat, wherever you are from, you'll be asked about it.

One of the most common questions an Expat will be asked is the Spanish equivalent of .. where are you from?

Informal .. ¿De dónde eres?

Formal .. ¿De dónde es (usted)?

If you are from the USA, there are two ways to give a simple answer, the first one being easier for a Gringo...

Translate... I am from the United States.

Soy de los Estados Unidos.


Translate... I am (USA) American.

Soy estadounidense. (ess-TAH-doh-oo-nee-DEN-say)


Translate... I am from Germany.

Soy de Alemania.

Translate... I am German.

Soy alemán. (male)

female translation of the word German... 'alemana'

Note that in Spanish, a country name is capitalized, while the nationality (French, German, Japanese) that is capitalized in English is not capitalized in español.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between boca, baca y barca?

boca         mouth

baca          luggage rack

barca        small boat or rowboat

Singular words can end in 's'.

Surprise, Gringos, this post has words that end in 's' in the singular form. 

Look down the list of eight English words on the left, one at a time, and see if you know the translation into español....


six                              seis

oasis                         oasis (word is feminine;  but note:  un oasis, el oasis)(oh-AH-siss)

god                           dios (if capitalized, means God) (fem. form:  diosa)(DEE-ohs)

miércoles                Wednesday (all weekdays end in 's')

the thyroid             la tiroides (tee-ROY-dess)

tennis                      tenis

the umbrella          el paraguas (plural:  los paraguas)

the windshield      el parabrisas (plural: los parabrisas)

What is it, Gringo?


It's good.                         Es bueno.

It's bad.                           Es malo.

It's marvelous.               Es maravilloso/a.

It's horrible.                   Es horrible. (aw-REE-blay)

It's a surprise.               Es una sorpresa.

It's a mess.                    Es un lío. (LEE-oh)

It's the best.                  Es lo mejor. (may-HAWR)

It's the worst.               Es lo peor. (pay-OR)

It's ridiculous.              Es ridículo.

Seen in the cities.

English, then Spanish translation...


It's a big pharmacy with many kinds of merchandise.

Es una gran farmacia con muchas clases de mercancía.

----

It's a swimming pool that is open on weekends.

Es una piscina que está abierta los fines de semana.

----

It's a park, the biggest in the city.

Es un parque, lo más grande en la ciudad.

----

It's a clown who makes money cleaning windshields.

Es un payaso que gana dinero limpiando parabrisas.

Had enough beer?


Enough already.

Basta ya. 

----

Too much beer now.

Demasiada cerveza ya.

----

It's sufficient.

Es suficiente. soo-fee-see-EN-tay

----

It's insufficient.

Es insuficiente.

----

Two more beers, please.

Dos más cervezas, por favor.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between quitar, gritar y guitarra?


quitar to take off or remove
El profesor le quitó el celu al alumno.
The professor took the cell phone off the student.

gritar to shout or yell

guitarra guitar (stringed instrument popularized by Elvis)

What's the difference?

What's the difference between mentiroso, perezoso y gustoso?


mentiroso
noun:  liar...  adjective: lying

perezoso
adjective:  lazy, slothful...  noun:  lazy or slothful person (or animal)

gustoso
adjective... tasty, delicious... in USA:  flavorful
noun:  the tasty one

What's the difference?

What's the difference between beso, peso y queso?


beso noun meaning kiss;  besar is a verb meaning 'to kiss'

peso
    1.  weight
    2.  basic unit of currency in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina,
         Chile, Cuba, the Philippines .. eight countries in all;
         the peso in different countries is not interchangeable....

queso   cheese

What's the difference between cemento, cementerio y comentario?


cemento  cement

cementario   cemetery

comentario   a comment or remark;  also, a commentary

What's the difference?

What's the difference between tierno, tendero y tender a hacer algo?


tierno  adjective meaning 'tender'
                (showing gentleness, kindness, affection)

tendero  shopkeeper

tender a hacer algo  to tend to do something

María tiende a hacer una escena por cualquier tontería.
Maria tends (or is inclined) to make a scene over the dumbest thing.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between frotar, brotar y notar?


frotar  to rub or to scrub

brotar  1. to sprout or bud

La planta brotó a inicios de la primavera.
The plant sprouted (or budded) at the start of spring.

2. to raise .. as in ..

Brotó dudas...
It raised doubts...

notar  to notice, observe or realize

What a Gringo thinks...

The first Spanish word in this post is romper (rohm-PAIR)

What a Gringo thinks it is:
   1.  to romp or play
   2.  a TV show for pre-schoolers, Romper Room, that was
     syndicated for decades

What the Spanish word romper really means...
    to break or to tear (something)

El rompió la rama a propósito.
He broke the branch on purpose.

----

Second Spanish word... tina

What a Gringo thinks it means -- TV actress Tina Louise,
    who played the movie star Ginger on 'Gilligan's Island'...

What it really means in Spanish...
    tub or bathtub.

Gusto, gustar.


Un gusto is a pleasure.

Un gusto a conocerte..  GOOSE-toe .. koh-noh-SEAR-tay
A pleasure to meet you.

----

Gustar is a verb. 

While it is translated at wordreference.com as 'to like',
it is used idiomatically as follows .. to say that one likes
something or somebody...

Me gusta este pastel.
I like this pie.

Tu me gustas mucho.
I like you a lot.

Nos gustó ese perro.
We liked that dog.

Gaming mañana.


Are you tired of being told to wait until mañana?

Are you wishing people would show up on time, not an hour or two late?

Missing that rush-rush-rush way of life that you knew in big
North American cities?

Well, here are some words meaning 'immediately' or 'now' that you might drop into the conversation.  Just don't come off as if you
are barking the more salient words at anyone -- you might
scare them into lethargy...


immediately              de inmediato

That's six syllables.  Not enough?  Here's a seven-syllable word for
immediately that may be less frequently heard...

immediately              inmediatamente

----

now                             ahora

right now                   ahora mismo

----

Think you might spur somebody into action by saying you
needed something sooner than now?

yesterday                    ayer  ah-YEHR

3 days ago                  hace tres días  AH-say

Grammar question.

I was at a restaurant this week where a sign was posted near the entrance, in English and in Spanish.

The English message:

"Please wait for your host to seat you."

The Spanish message:

"Por favor espere a su anfitrión por ser sentado,
Gracias."  (bolding added by poster)

I ask you, Brother Archer, is "ser sentado" correct here,
or should it be "estar sentado" .. since the seating would
certainly be a temporary state?

cccmedia

cccmedia wrote:

Grammar question.

cccmedia

When you're asking me about grammar, all I can say is that both of mine made great cookies and I still miss them both very much...now since you opened the can of worms I am going to explore it a bit more thoroughly because I'm a bit confused, too.

I still after many years am not an expert on ser vs. estar which summary see here:

https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/ser-vs-estar

Scroll down almost all the way to see example phrases under "Meaning Changes With Ser and Estar Phrases" where depending whether you use ser or estar with the same verb, the meaning changes...

I do concur it should be por estar sentado.  In my defense you can see the usages here at Linguee:

https://www.linguee.com/english-spanish … ar+sentado

But on the other hand the usages here indicate that por ser sentado has about the same meaning:

https://www.linguee.com/english-spanish … er+sentado

So ser sentado can also mean, to be seated (somewhere by someone).

Scroll halfway down on this page to see ser sentado in the sentence "Puede ser sentado, acostado, caminando u otra posición".

https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/howtoim … ealth.html

And also here the sentence "7. Se recomienda llegar 15 minutos antes con la finalidad de ser sentado(s) lo más eficientemente posible."

https://globalinternacional.com/ayuno-y-oracion/

Phrases some Gringos will find useful.


To the taxi driver...

Please make a U-turn.

Favor de darme la vuelta.


To the frutera...

Two melons, please, not too ripe.

Dos melones, por favor, no muy maduros.


To the barber or stylist...

Just a trim, please.

Solo un recorte, por favor.


To the boyfriend/girlfriend...

Give me a good hug.

Abrázeme con fuerza.


To the boss...

I'll do it right now.

Lo hago ahora mismo.


To the kids...

Avoid strangers in the park.

Que eviten los extraños en el parque.

(also:  unknown persons .. personas desconocidas.)


To the family dog if training in Spanish...

Stay .. come .. fetch it.

Quédete .. venga .. tráelo/tráela.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between cadera, cadena y caleña?


cadera means hip (anatomical)

artritis de cadera is hip arthritis


cadena means chain

pelota y cadena  ball and chain

cadena de robos  string of robberies


una caleña = female from Cali, Colombia

Phrases a Gringo may find useful at a casino.


The gambling tables are at the back.

Las mesas de juego están al fondo.


Smoking is not permitted.

Fumar no es permitido.


Do not enter if younger than 21.

No entrar si menor de veintiuno.


Call the pit boss over here.

Llame al supervisor.

Various online dictionaries translate 'pit boss' as
jefe de boxes, jefe de sala o pit boss casino.



María won $200.

María ganó doscientos dólares.


After craps, let's play roulette.

Tras dados, juguemos a ruleta.

What's the difference!

What's the difference between coro, foro y toro?



coro chorus

foro  forum

el toro  the bull

What's the difference!

What's the difference between dona y doña?


dona means donut.

Doña means Miss or Mrs.  It is a sign of respect,
called an honorific title, used when addressing
or referencing a woman .. and traditionally may be
used with the lady's first name or full name.

Also used as follows...
Está una doña afuera que quiere hablar con usted.
There is a lady outside who wants to talk with you.

cccmedia wrote:

Está una doña afuera que quiere hablar con usted.
There is a lady outside who wants to talk with you.

And the masculine equivalent is, of course, don.
Don Guillermo viene a la finca esta semana para revisar el trabajo.
Don Guillermo comes to the farm this week to inspect the work.

Some may remember Don Francisco (stage name for the Chilean Mario Kreutzberger) the host of the TV variety show Sábado Gigante which was the longest running TV variety show ever, from 1962 to 2015.  If you search YouTube for "don francisco sabado gigante" you can watch many clips.

don also may mean a gift as in Su voz para cantar es un don de Dios, Her singing voice is a gift from God, or El tiene un don para ganar plata, He has a gift for making money.

It can be used pejoratively as in don nadie or doña nadie (describing a nobody) or as some say of a womanizer, he's a Don Juan.

These last two examples are taken from wordreference.com:
don de palabra  gift of the gab
Note: Usado con el verbo 'tener'.
    Le ha ido bien en la campaña porque tiene don de palabra.
    The campaign has gone well because he has the gift of the gab.  (Note in English it's more usual to say "he has the gift of gab" rather than "he has the gift of the gab")

don de gentes  people person
                           social butterfly
                           people skills
    Mi sobrina es muy amable y tiene don de gentes.
     My niece is very friendly and has a gift for people skills.

OsageArcher wrote:

Some may remember Don Francisco (stage name for the Chilean Mario Kreutzberger) the host of the TV variety show Sábado Gigante which was the longest running TV variety show ever, from 1962 to 2015.  If you search YouTube for "don francisco sabado gigante" you can watch many clips.

don also may mean a gift as in Su voz para cantar es un don de Dios, Her singing is a gift from God.

And how about the 'don' who has a 'don' -- Don Diego de la Vega.  (pronouncer:  dohn)

TV and cinema fans recognize that name as the alter ego of the swordsman
who carves the sign of the Z -- Zorro!

Guy Williams played the Californio hero in the black-and-white TV series of the 1950's. 

Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (1920) and Tyrone Power (1940) played Zorro on the big screen.

Antonio Banderas starred in the movies The Mask of Zorro (1998) and The Legend of Zorro (2005) as Don Alejandro/the second Zorro, protégé of the original Zorro (Anthony Hopkins).

   ----

In the style of the era, 1950's players in roles such as
Zorro and Superman kept a somewhat low profile
until swooping in for the action heroics in the final two minutes.
Zorro usually punctuated the action by carving his Z into the front
of Sgt. García's uniform-jacket or another handy, vertical surface.

So it was Don Diego who carried the plot most of the way ..
as the colonizing Spaniards had to be outsmarted and, in the end,
literally outdueled.

The theme song, The Ballad of Zorro, began this way...

Out of the night, when the full moon is bright
Comes the swordsman known as Zorro --
This bold renegade carves a Z with his blade,
a Z that stands for Zorro....

   ----

Search at YouTube.com...  guy williams as zorro

   ----

el zorro -- Spanish for 'the fox'

How to order dinner in español .. at KFC or another chicken-y restaurant....

It's great to sample the local dishes in a foreign country.  But sometimes a Gringo-friendly meal of chicken is in order.

These are some words and phrases you will want to know, with the English words on the left to aid in your practice beforehand....

chicken                               pollo  POH-yoh

original style                      estilo original
                                                    es-TEE-loh oh-ree-hee-NAHL

five, six seven pieces       cinco, seis, siete presas

crispy style                         estilo crujiente

chicken breast                   pechuga

legs                                      piernas       

thigh                                    muslo

wings                                   alas   AH-lahs

cole slaw                            ensalada de col  col = cabbage

without fries                      sin papas

napkins                               servietas

take-out                              para llevar

home delivery                   a domicilio

It's finger-lickin' good.     Se lame los dedos.
                                                      say LAH-may lohs DEH-dohs

cccmedia wrote:

It's finger-lickin' good.       Se lame los dedos.
                                                        say LAH-may lohs DEH-dohs

That's my translation of 'It's finger-lickin' good'.

According to spanishdict.com, the preferred translation
of 'It's finger-lickin' good' is:  'Es para chuparse los dedos.'

---

Ironically, wordreference.com tells us that the Spanish phrase
'No chuparse los dedos' means 'Don't be so naive' (colloquial).

Hmm.  Maybe 'Mano Archer can sort out the apparent irony.

cccmedia

cccmedia wrote:

Hmm.  Maybe 'Mano Archer can sort out the apparent irony.

I think ¡No chuparse los dedos! refers to thumb-sucking behavior of young children, who are naive and not worldly, believing anything they are told, so it serves as an admonition to someone who should know better about something.

I can't think of any phrase in English that is similar, I'm sure there are a few, but one that comes to mind as being distantly related is Mark Twain's (attributed) observation, "Politicians and a baby's diapers should be changed often - and for the same reason."

I can't understand the relevance of what you have posted.

A discussion of Spanish idioms is always relevant and welcome on our Spanish-language threads.

Occasionally, we may explore the more arcane aspects of the language , supported by quotations or searchable citations.

cccmedia

Mental gymnastics.

Let's quiz ourselves, English to Spanish, on what we can do mentally.

Check out each English verb on the left connoting a mental activity ..and see if you know the common translation in español on the right....


to think                                                       pensar

to know (something)                                saber  sah-BEHR

to understand                                           entender

to believe                                                   creer  cray-AIR

to doubt                                                     dudar

to wonder                                                  preguntarse

to realize                                                    darse cuenta (de)

to change one's mind                              cambiar la mente  MEN-tay

to be confused                                         estar confuso/confusa
                                                                             confundido/confundida