Most Popular
1500 questions
7
votes
2 answers
What is the correct (most common) translation for 'damas'?
I've just come across the word 'damas', I intended to use the word in reference to a group of women but I see it also translates to 'checkers'?!
Does the word have different meanings depending on location? Where is the correlation between women and…
Kes Walker
- 401
- 4
- 13
7
votes
2 answers
What is the intended meaning of "maría" in this news article?
While reading an article in El País, I saw this in the last sentence in the 4th paragraph (emphasis mine):
“La Religión, según esos acuerdos, no puede ser considerada una maría, y debe tener el mismo rango que otras asignaturas fundamentales”,…
rnsanchez
- 73
- 4
7
votes
2 answers
Is there a Spanish idiom equivalent to the English "I'd rather stick pins in my eyes"?
My Spanish colleague invited me to do something I'd prefer not to do. Is there something I could say in response, as an equivalence to the English idiom?
Strawberry
- 173
- 5
7
votes
2 answers
"Bélgico" vs "belga" - two different adjectives meaning Belgian
How do we say that things are Belgian i.e. from the country of Belgium (Bélgica in Spanish)?
It seems there are two adjectives:
belga
bélgico
E.g.
He is Belgian - Él es belga / bélgico
The chocolates are Belgian - Los chocolates son belgas /…
egg
- 236
- 1
- 5
7
votes
4 answers
How do you say "I have two sons"?
"Yo tengo dos hijos" means I have two children or I have two sons. I assume this means "children" by default, but how do you then say: "I have two sons"?
Of course, I could add "Y no hijas" but this seems clunky (at least to me as a native English…
Little Bobby Tables
- 173
- 1
- 6
7
votes
6 answers
¿Cuándo se utiliza «primer» y «primero»?
¿Por qué se dice primero en primero plato y no primer como en primer numero? ¿Cuál es la diferencia? Estoy confundido
Vlad
- 173
- 1
- 1
- 5
7
votes
3 answers
¿Qué palabra se usa para describir a alguien que suda mucho?
¿Qué palabra es adecuada para describir a una persona que suda mucho?
Alfredo Osorio
- 10,650
- 34
- 76
- 119
7
votes
1 answer
Why are abbreviations reversed in Spanish?
Is there a particular reason that acronyms of proper nouns are reversed in Spanish?
VIH/SIDA = HIV AIDS
SRAS = SARS
There are others but I can't remember off the top of my head.
udidosa
- 213
- 2
- 4
7
votes
2 answers
Grammar of "¡A comer!"
I was recently staying with a Mexican family, and during lunch, the children (ages 8 and 5) were being rather unruly. The grandmother would command them: ¡A comer!
I have never heard a command in this grammatical form. What is the use of this…
Flimzy
- 12,896
- 36
- 95
- 166
7
votes
3 answers
What is the meaning of 'bajita la mano'?
I have heard the following sentence in the TV series Narcos:Mexico:
Lo que pasa es que ahorita la deuda, bajita la mano, ya va por los 200 millones de dólares.
Context: Félix, leader of the Guadalajara cartel (México) and Pacho Herrera, one of the…
Alan Evangelista
- 2,603
- 9
- 22
7
votes
4 answers
Translation Golf LI - Yours in distress, Alan
With all the recent events across stacks I don't know if people are still in the mood for a good game of Translation Golf, but I have been keeping some records (and the idea) to publish this edition one day and I don't want to leave it forever…
Diego
- 48,072
- 36
- 141
- 266
7
votes
2 answers
¿Cuál es la manera correcta de escribir un error ortográfico adrede?
Me refiero a que, en un texto relativamente formal, como un relato, tengas que escribir una palabra de manera incorrecta o bien para hacer referencia a ese error o por que forme parte de una expresión común. Pero dejando claro que sabes que la…
BraveOtter
- 113
- 7
7
votes
1 answer
¿Qué suena como "antaño" pero viene a significar justo lo contrario?
Hoy, oyendo un podcast comentando noticias de corte político en España, he escuchado una frase que venía a decir:
[...] al igual que los curas de antaño se resistían a perder sus privilegios educativos, los de abaño* tampoco parecen por la…
Diego
- 48,072
- 36
- 141
- 266
7
votes
2 answers
Let's take a relay bus ride through the world! What are some regional terms for 'bus' in Spanish?
Inspired by a recent question about jardineras (¿Por qué los autobuses de los aeropuertos se llaman "jardineras"?):
Let's have a parade of buses from different regions. Add your favorite words for rail-less public transportation -- images welcome!…
aparente001
- 10,747
- 7
- 32
- 55
7
votes
2 answers
Is it possible to use color adjectives before a noun (besides poetry)?
I wonder if I can use a color adjective before a noun, to emphasize it, for instance "un negro gato", or if it's only reserved to poetry?
Do you have some examples where this unusual word order is used, other than a poetry context?
Quidam
- 585
- 3
- 20