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1500 questions
16
votes
6 answers
Is the phrase still "cuantos años tiene" where the age is obviously less than one year?
You see the parents of a baby obviously less than one year old. You want to ask how old the baby is. Would it be natural or ridiculous to ask "Cuantos años tiene?" In other words, would the literal sense of the words suggest the answer "none," or…
Chaim
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16
votes
8 answers
¿Qué significa "sollado"?
Soy colombiano, y en Colombia se utiliza bastante "estar sollado", lo que quiere decir que uno está más o menos relajado, más o menos feliz.
Sin embargo eso es un significado ambiguo y tácito, me he dado cuenta de que no conozco exactamente lo que…
Jose Luis
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16
votes
1 answer
Words for "East" and "West" in Spanish?
The words I learned when beginning Spanish for east and west are 'este' and 'oeste', which are basically cognates of their English equivalents.
But I've been told that there are other words to denote east and west: 'oriente' and 'poniente'. How did…
Tom Au
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16
votes
1 answer
Is "al" a relatively new word?
I am curious about the history of the word "al". For example, was there a time when "a el" was the proper usage and "al" came later (presumably because of the slurring of speech)?
Eric
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16
votes
10 answers
How do you say "I got you!" in Spanish?
If I threw a snowball (or dodgeball) at someone and it hit them, how would I say :
I got you!
in Spanish?
Teresa
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16
votes
2 answers
"Todo lo demás son tonterías"
Hoy me topé con un anuncio de una gran cadena de tiendas de aparatos electrodomésticos, cuyo lema (entre otros) es :
Todo lo demás son tonterías
¿Es gramaticalmente correcto en este caso tener un sujeto en singular con un verbo en plural? ¿O es un…
Alexis Pigeon
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16
votes
3 answers
Forma correcta de "nisiquiera"
Español
Al escribir siempre he tenido la duda de cuál es la manera apropiada del término o frase.
¿Cuál de estas es correcta?
ni si quiera
ni siquiera
nisiquiera
English
When writing I've always worred about which is the appropriate way for…
user93
16
votes
5 answers
Why does saber mean both "to know" and "to taste"?
Español
Cuando estudiaba español, estaba muy confundido cuando aprendí que saber significa "to know" y "to taste". Los dos verbos en inglés me parecen muy diferentes. ¿Cómo puede ser esto? ¿Cuál es la etimología de saber? ¿Existen algunas…
jrdioko
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16
votes
2 answers
How should I pronounce programming language names (like "Java") and technical terms (like "JSON") in Spanish?
In Spanish, English names are usually pronounced following English rules. E.g. we pronounce "Peter" as "piter" (that's to be read in plain Spanish, i.e. "pee-ter").
However, some tech-related words like programming language names (and especially…
user13628
16
votes
5 answers
Do I have to use upside down question marks (¿) in an article title?
I have a short article, the title is
What time is it now?
Can I just write
Qué hora es ahora?
Or must I write this?
¿Qué hora es ahora?
Tony
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16
votes
14 answers
Do any Spanish words exist that aren't pronounced as expected from their spelling?
English is a language that does not have a consistent system for the pronunciation of words with similar spellings (e.g. compare rough with through), this can lead to a situation where it is not always obvious how an unfamiliar word is pronounced.…
JEllis
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16
votes
1 answer
How can I know if a word or phrase should be avoided due to regional variations?
Say that I want to write some blog posts or news articles in Spanish. Are there any useful resources (e.g. books, websites or guidelines) that one could use in order to write “neutral” Spanish, that would be equally well understood by people from…
Juan A. Navarro
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16
votes
2 answers
¿Cuál es el chiste más antiguo escrito en español?
Trasteando en el CORDE me encontré con este texto:
Yendo dos señoras por la calle, la una de ellas que se decía Castañeda, soltósele un trueno bajero, a lo cual dijo la otra:
—Niña, pápate esa castaña.
Echándose de ellos por tres…
Charlie
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16
votes
3 answers
¿Por qué "yegua" y no "caballa"?
Según el Diccionario de la Lengua Española, tenemos:
Caballo
Del lat. caballus 'caballo de carga'.
m. Mamífero solípedo del orden de los perisodáctilos, de tamaño grande y extremidades largas, cuello y cola poblados de cerdas largas y…
user14029
16
votes
1 answer
Approximant vs. fricative realization of /b/, /d/, /g/
According to the Wikipedia article on Spanish phonology, the phonemes /b/, /d/, and /g/ are realized as approximants or fricatives instead of plosives in all but certain contexts (after a pause, nasal consonant, or a lateral consonant followed by…
jrdioko
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