Español for Gringos

Osage, I like your humility. Not a common characteristic these days.
I've been in the states since age nine. That was back in 1957 and had to learn English by just attending school, watching TV and interacting with the other kids. No special classes for foreign kids or anything like that at the time. Just cold turkey. It took me some time as I was somewhat shy. Not any more, I say what's on my mind. I spoke Spanish at home with my family, knowing all the time that I wasn't trading one culture with another. Many of the imigrant children tried so hard to lose their identity and become Americans. I was not one of them. However I assimilated very well in the US and still continue to be who I am. Two, of my aunts in Ecuador married Germans. There were three actually, because one of my aunts became a widow and married another German. Those men never lost their accents but were fluent in Spanish. They lived amongst Ecuadoreans and seldom got together with other Germans. One of them was active in the Nazi party and was in Ecuador for along time, but that's another story. My point is that foreigners at that time integrated in Ecuadorean society rather easily. They didn't form cliques, English speaking ghettos and lived in a special bubble, expecting everyone to accomodate them. (sounds familiar?) Now there's a bunch of people in Ecuador with German last names and they don't stick out. So if I sound unkind I don't mean to be. It just irks me to see such an arrogant crowd demanding so much, with a short memory of the demands that they placed on imigrants in the US. Now the tables have turned. Poetic justice perhaps.

norviato1 wrote:

Osage, I like your humility. Not a common characteristic these days.
I've been in the states since age nine. That was back in 1957 and had to learn English by just attending school, watching TV and interacting with the other kids. No special classes for foreign kids or anything like that at the time. Just cold turkey. It took me some time as I was somewhat shy. Not any more, I say what's on my mind. I spoke Spanish at home with my family, knowing all the time that I wasn't trading one culture with another. Many of the imigrant children tried so hard to lose their identity and become Americans. I was not one of them. However I assimilated very well in the US and still continue to be who I am. Two, of my aunts in Ecuador married Germans. There were three actually, because one of my aunts became a widow and married another German. Those men never lost their accents but were fluent in Spanish. They lived amongst Ecuadoreans and seldom got together with other Germans. One of them was active in the Nazi party and was in Ecuador for along time, but that's another story. My point is that foreigners at that time integrated in Ecuadorean society rather easily. They didn't form cliques, English speaking ghettos and lived in a special bubble, expecting everyone to accomodate them. (sounds familiar?) Now there's a bunch of people in Ecuador with German last names and they don't stick out. So if I sound unkind I don't mean to be. It just irks me to see such an arrogant crowd demanding so much, with a short memory of the demands that they placed on imigrants in the US. Now the tables have turned. Poetic justice perhaps.

There are no tables turned.  Americans who have come to live in Ecuador do so legally and will leave if the government asks them or if their visas expire.  Also, most Americans here will tell you that learning Spanish should be required for anyone wanting to become a citizen of Ecuador.

Nards,
The tables have turned in the sense that people are immigrating away from the US, mostly for economic reasons. Read the report about immigration by the Cuenca city council. (If you speak Spanish) There it states that an overwhelming majory of Americans and to a lesser extent other groups are not interested in learning the language or the local culture. Also, most of the foreigners interviewed expressed no desire whatsoever to become citizens of Ecuador. That would be a sacrilege here in the US. Get the point? So, while you guys are busy patting each other on the back on these blogs doesn't mean it's right. You're living in a host country and others are taking note, including the government, hence the resent changes. Please stay and spend your money while there but don't expect to take over. We don't want a small replica of the US. That stuff doesn't even work here very well. No one will ask you to leave if you act with decency and respect. That might entail dropping some innate habits and attitudes. Just an observation, no offense intended.

Nards,
I learned English because it's the official language of the US. Nothing to do with my citizenship here. What you said doesn't make sense.

Cccmedia
You're confusing the hell out of the gringos.
The word for paperwork is papeleo not papaleo, that sounds like some kind of disease. LOL
Like the blind leading the blind....just kidding!

False friends.

timador

What a Gringo thinks it means... shy or timid person.

What it really means... confidence man (trickster).

hay

What a Gringo thinks it means... food for horses.

What it means in Spanish... There is (or) There are....
Pronunciation of hay -- just like the English word "eye."
It is a third-person form of the verb haber -- ah-BEHR -- a complicated irregular verb.

Another way to say "there is" or "there are" is to say está or están.

Hay dos caballos en el campo.
Están dos caballos en el campo.
There are two horses in the field.

media

What a Gringo thinks it means... fake news, as in news media.

What it means in Spanish... socks worn on the feet.

The English noun (plural) "media" as in news media is translated to Spanish as medios de comunicación.

False friends.

red

What a Gringo thinks it means... the first color of the rainbow.

What it means in Spanish... a noun meaning network.

sin 

What a Gringo thinks it means... activity not sanctioned by society, religion or government. 

What it means in Spanish... without.

Ordené pollo sin papas fritas.  I ordered chicken without fried potatoes.

pretender 

What a Gringo thinks it means... a faker.

What it really means... a verb meaning to hope or expect.

What a Gringo calls that long yellow tropical fruit that grows in bunches...banana

What an Ecuadorian cals that fruit..  guieno (g-ee- nay- o)

What's the difference?
About ten cents?!

I think she meant guineo, which wordreference.com translates as a plantain.  It's a fruit which looks like a long banana but will mess with a Gringo's taste buds.  A.k.a. plátano.

cccmedia

Nope...

A verde is a plantain green
A maduro is plantain yellow

A guineo is a yellow long banana and
an oro is a small sweet banana and
a guineo rojo the tart red banana.

This is a great example of how what you read on the internet differing from what is actual fact on the ground in a particular region of a country. And why first hand information from a local source is your best method of learning about an area for travel, living, visiting, etc.

Susan

Susan_in_Ecuador wrote:

an pro is a small sweet banana and a guineo rojo the tart red banana.

An pro, huh?   Yes, I've seen those at some local mercados.

Apparently, you just corrected the spelling to oro, which makes more sense, oro meaning gold.

cccmedia

It does vary region by region.  Do a search for
colombia guineo
and you'll see pictures of small, short bananas.  This in my experience is what they're called in both Puerto Rico and Colombia, at least in general.  In Cali, Colombia what we call a banana is called banano.
In Cali, Colombia a banana is a hard candy, a dulce or a bon bon.
Colombian usages are discussed here, with links to other info:
http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2009 … atano.html

My wife prepares platanos both green and yellow, unripe and ripe - the green platano when cooked is starchy, sort of bland, but goes well with almost anything.  The plátano verde is also used to make tostones and patacones which are fried, mmmm good!  The ripe platano is sweet when cooked, as Susan says, a maduro, and is used in many Puerto Rican dishes also.

This article from a newspaper in Quito mentions some of the varieties and types Susan mentions:
http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/ne … color.html

What's the difference?

What's the difference between desear, desairar y desempeñar?
.
.
.
desear = to desire

desairar = to snub or slight

desempeñar  = to perform or execute

Es un excelente empleado.  Desempeña su trabajo a la perfección.
He's an excellent employee.  He performs his work to perfection.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between sapo, sopa, sapiencia y sabiduría?
.
.
.

sapo = a toad

sopa = soup

sapiencia y sabiduría = wisdom (saber means "to know")

Hello everyone,

Please note that some off-topic posts have been put aside from this thread. Let us get back to the topic, which is a very interesting one and has been active since 2014 now, all because you members care. Special thanks to cccmedia for this thread and keeping it alive.

All the best,
Bhavna

What's the difference?

What's the difference between tono, atónito y tonto?
.
.
.
tono means tone.

atónito means astonished.

tonto is foolish.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between espeluznante, estupefaciente y específicamente?
.
.
.
.
espeluznante = spooky or terrifying

estupefaciente = narcotic (drug)

específicamente = specifically

What's the difference?
.
.
.
.
What's the difference betweeen aula, jaula y baúl?

aula = classroom 

jaula = cage or pet carrier (HOW-lah)

baúl = car trunk (synonym: maletero)

What's the difference?

What's the difference between pasto, pastillas y patillas?
.
.
.
pasto = grass or pasture ... hierba also means grass, césped is lawn.

pastillas = tablets or pills.

patillas = sideburns.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between cabello, caballo y caballero?.
.
.
.
cabello = hair ... synonym: pelo

caballo = horse

caballero = gentleman or knight .. can also be used as a manner to address a man as 'sir'...

  ¿Desea tomar café, caballero?  Would you like coffee, sir?

What's the difference?

What's the difference between pavor, pavo .. y pavo real?
.
.
.
pavor = fear or dread

pavo = turkey

pavo real = peacock

The Spanish word real means "real," or -- in this case -- "royal."

What's the difference?

What's the difference between pez, pezón y pezonera?
.
.
.
pez = a fish  (plural: peces)

pezón = nipple

pezonera = feeding bottle

What's the difference?

What's the difference between estufa, estufado y escalfado?
.
.
.
estufa = stove

estufado = stew (noun), stewed (adjective)

escalfado = poached (egg)

What's the difference?

What's the difference between deleite, delito y delatar?
.
.
.
deleite = a delight

delito = a crime or felony

delatar = to give away (or report against) as in betraying someone.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between zarpar, zafar y zafiro?
.
.
.
.
.
zarpar = to set sail

zafar = to loosen or release

zafiro = sapphire, the precious stone

What's the difference?

What's the difference between alabar, acabar y alardear?
.
.
.
.
alabar = to praise

acabar = to finish, or to have just done (something).

Acabo de leer este libro.  I just read this book.

alardear = to brag or to boast.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between lema, tema y fama?
.
.
.
.
lema = motto

tema = theme, subject or issue

fama = fame

As you may know, most nouns ending in the letter a are considered feminine in Spanish.  This includes la fama.

However, note that lema and tema are masculine nouns:  el lema, el tema.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between creer, crear y criar?
.
.
.
.
creer = to believe

crear = to create

criar = to raise (as in raising children or livestock)

What's the difference?

What's the difference between asado, asalto y osado?

asado = grilled

Me gusta mucho pollo asado.  I really like grilled chicken.

asalto (noun) is an "assault."

osado means "daring."  The female version is osada.

Mi chica es osada.  Nadamos desnudos en el lago en Nariño.
My girl is daring.  We skinny-dip in the lake in Nariño.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between canela, panela y pañuelo?
.
.
.
.
canela = cinnamon

panela = raw sugar cane

pañuelo = handkerchief or scarf

If you get the chance you must try
aguapanela
which is a non-alcoholic tea-like drink made from panela, often with a bit of lemon juice thrown in.

The panela which is concentrated, unprocessed dried sugar cane juice and which is sold in tiendas everywhere comes in a solid form, a bit of which is broken off and mixed with hot water and lemon juice to form a refreshing and healthy drink.  The panela  is full of vitamins and minerals and is supposedly very healthy.  I can testify it's very tasty, and you can even mix some ron (rum) with it to make it even better!  Or you can add aguardiente and some canela (cinnamon) to the aguapanela to make a drink called canelazo which is better still.

An old and still popular song is El Canelazo, you can hear one version here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5tert8w7hc

Abra la puerta, señora,
sírvame un canelacito,
deme unito, deme otrito,
hasta quedar chumadito.

OsageArcher wrote:

If you get the chance you must try aguapanela,
which is a non-alcoholic tea-like drink made from panela, often with a bit of lemon juice thrown in.

The panela, which is concentrated, unprocessed dried sugar cane juice and which is sold in tiendas everywhere, comes in a solid form, a bit of which is broken off and mixed with hot water and lemon juice to form a refreshing and healthy drink.

Aguapanela is also widely available as a prepared beverage in restaurants in southern Colombia, which eliminates the need to deal with the solid block of sugar, etc.

It is often served in a wide-bodied container more suitable (to a Gringo) for soup, so order it in en un vaso alto, no en el tazón ancho -- in a tall glass, not the wide bowl.

Getting over a cold, I have made this my go-to drink here this week in restaurant meals.  In fact, I had two glasses of the sweet drink for almuerzo around noontime today.  It was served with a cut lemon on the side.

English-language bonus:  Google six health benefits of drinking sugar cane juice.

Generally served piping hot here in the Andes, aguapanela apparently is served cold over ice in hot-weather locations in Colombia and other parts of Latin America.

cccmedia in Ipiales, Colombia

What's the difference?

What's the difference between pasto, pasante y Paisa?
.
.
.
.
pasto = grass or pasture

pasante = intern

Paisa is a Colombian from Departamento de Antioquia (Medellín area) or Juan Valdez Coffee Country.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between casado, cansado y casita?
.
.
.
casado = married (adjective) or a married man (noun)

cansado = tired

casita = a cottage

What's the difference?

What's the difference between muérdago, mujeriego y murciélago?
.
.
.
.
muerdago = mistletoe

mujeriego = ladies man, skirt chaser or Don Juan

murciélago = bat (the flying animal)

----

Batman in Spanish is Batman. (BAHT-mahn)

Catwoman is Gatúbela.

What's the difference?

What's the difference between recordar, recaudar y recontar?
.
.
.
.
recordar = to remember

recaudar = to collect (money) or to fundraise

recontar = to recount as in counting again

What's the difference?

What's the difference between sed, sede y ceder?
.
.
.
.
.
sed = thirst

sede = headquarters or a company's home office

ceder = (verb) to yield or give up


Note that sed and sede (pronounced SED-ay) are feminine words in Spanish, meaning they take the article la. 

    la sed, la sede

What's the difference?

What's the difference between taquería, taquilla y tacones.

-----


taquería is a taco shop or taco restaurant...

taquilla is a box office or ticket office (as at a theatre)...

tacones are heels (talking footwear).

Here's something a little different...

How do you describe in Spanish, the sounds a cat makes?

You may already know maullar and ronronear (to meow and to purr).  Here are 10 sounds a cat makes, the article in Spanish:

https://www.fundacion-affinity.org/perr … s-del-gato

Here's a page that lists the Spanish name and the corresponding verb for sounds that various animals make:
http://www.sagarpa.gob.mx/ganaderia/Gan … sabson.htm

And another, with English in the first column and Spanish in the second:
http://www.saberingles.com.ar/lists/animals2.html