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1500 questions
19
votes
5 answers
Why is "Enrique" pronunced as though it has a double "r"?
Why is "Enrique", even though its 'r' position is at the middle of a word, pronounced as a double "r"? What are the orthographic rules you need to know to determine if an "r" must be pronounced as a double "r" or just an "r"?
Alfredo Osorio
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19
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5 answers
When to use "igual" and "lo mismo"?
English
I often get corrected when using either the word igual or mismo, and haven't really figured out when to use which yet.
What are the rules for when and how to use igual, and when and how to use mismo (or lo mismo), and when is either form…
Flimzy
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19
votes
5 answers
¿Se usa 'guácala' fuera de México?
En español mexicano, cuando uno siente algo repugnante es típico usar una palabra onomatopeica: 'guácala' (imita el sonido de vomitar). Es equivalente a decir 'yuck' en inglés.
¿Qué tan común es 'guácala' por el mundo hispanohablante?
¿Se usan…
Paul
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19
votes
3 answers
Proper placement of inverted question mark
What is the proper placement of the inverted question mark in sentences that are not completely questions? A common example:
Hello, how are you?
(¿)Hola, (¿)cómo estás?
Or:
That's great, isn't it?
(¿)Eso es maravilloso, (¿)verdad?
I believe I…
Flimzy
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19
votes
5 answers
What's the difference between rezar and orar? Are there any other ways to say 'to pray'?
My teacher told me that different religions tend to use different words for "to pray", usually choosing between rezar and orar. Which words are preferred by what religions & in which areas? Are there any other subtle differences between the two? Are…
Gordon Gustafson
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19
votes
6 answers
What's the difference between "ave" and "pájaro"?
What's the difference between el ave and el pájaro?
My Spanish class has used them both for the same bird and it really has me confused.
Are they the same thing? Or do they have distinct differences?
Carrie Brown
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19
votes
13 answers
What is the difference between "De nada" and "No hay de qué"?
I am learning Spanish and ran across "De nada" and "No hay de qué". Both mean "You're welcome". What's the difference?
daviesgeek
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19
votes
6 answers
Is "me gustas" ever correct, e.g. to say "I like you"?
We have been taught that 'gustar' is an unusual verb and that you only ever use 'gusta' or 'gustan' depending on whether you like singular or plural things.
Would you use 'me gustas' to say 'I like you'?
David Pashley
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18
votes
2 answers
How to avoid the lexical redundancy in the literal Spanish translation of "to ask a question"?
In English we have different words for the verb to ask and the noun question.
But in Spanish to ask is preguntar and question is pregunta.
This always causes me to stumble when speaking Spanish and I come to say something I would phrase in English…
hippietrail
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18
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6 answers
No supo la respuesta
Why do people say things like:
Se lo pregunté, pero no supo la respuesta
Sabía seems more natural to me, and I've been told that either is fine, but I'm still a bit fuzzy on why somebody would use supo here in the first place. I know supo…
Kef Schecter
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18
votes
4 answers
"Guion" vs "Guión" - Are there other words which could be written in multiple ways?
My dictionary uses guión while Wikipedia writes guion.
I tried Google ngram and was nearly convinced that Wikipedia was wrong because nobody else seems to use that spelling today.
I was really surprised to learn from Real Academia Española that both…
bernd_k
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18
votes
3 answers
¿Cómo se pronuncia un número de siglo?
Cuando leo artículos de Wikipedia, o libros historicales, es muy común encontrar una frase como siglo [numeración romana]. Por ejemplo,
Aljedrez, tal como se conoce actualmente, surgió en Europa durante el siglo XV.
No sé como puedo decir siglo…
Peter Olson
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18
votes
5 answers
Was "rr" ever considered officially a letter of the Spanish alphabet?
Everybody agrees that the Spanish digraphs "ch" and "ll" used to be officially separate "letters" up to the time the RAE changed the rules of Spanish alphabetization in 1994.
But when it comes to the digraph "rr" it seems there is a lot of confusion…
hippietrail
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18
votes
7 answers
Difference between Spanish and Catalan
I recently went to Barcelona and found that the people there speak Catalan, not Spanish. Although some words seem to be common in both Spanish and Catalan, the accents appeared to be different.
What are the major differences between Spanish and…
Rahil Arora
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18
votes
4 answers
¿Se debe decir jefe o jefa al referirse a una persona de sexo femenino?
Mi jefe en el trabajo es una mujer. ¿Cómo es la forma correcta de referirse a un jefe que es mujer? ¿jefe o jefa? Algunos compañeros de trabajo le dicen jefa, yo le digo por su nombre sin embargo revisando en la RAE la definición de jefe viene lo…
Alfredo Osorio
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