I got out of my office today, and it felt good. The day was weird going from sunny and warm to cloudy and cool at least three times. During one of my trips outside the office, I stopped by my old place of work to say hi to former co-workers and fellow education PhD students.
“I feel like I haven’t been in Moore in a month,” I told Lucy.
“It has been a month, hasn’t it?” she reminded me. The last time I was in the building was during finals week in June.
We talked about my trip to Mexico. I gushed about all the cool things we did, none of which involved just laying out on a beach and working on a tan. Somehow my family’s idea of a vacation is a lot more active. When I got to the part about our trips to visit Chichén Itzá and Tulum on the mainland, I explained that those days were especially tiring because we had to take the ferry from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen and still travel to our final destination. I found myself stumbling over a Spanish phrase and then opting for the English phrase instead even though Lucy would comprehend my code-switching. Rather than say “Chichén Itzá está muy retirado,” I just said “it’s really far.” Sure, I got the general meaning across. Chichén Itzá is a three hour drive away from Playa del Carmen. However, I didn’t like my English translation. It was missing something.
I said goodbye a few minutes later and hurried back to work, still feeling unsatisfied with English.
La Pregunta: what word (or phrase) do you say in Spanish* most of the time because it just doesn’t sound right in English?
*Doesn’t have to be Spanish.
mine is… que cute!
Reganar. Scold? Too English schoolmarm. Reganar – perfect. Also, when someone does something nice, Que detalle! Too bad I don’t get to use it more, heh. Oh! Oh! Oh! and, a poco! to express disbelief. I guess there’s lots.
I have never found a word that best captures the emotion and cultural meaning of “pena.” “Shame” in English doesn’t quite cut it for me. Besides, the Spanish word can be used to reprimand someone while at the same time convey a feeling of sympathy that somehow cannot be expressed in English.
mira que nice to have found you again! i missed reading you so i’m happy to have found your bloga again. i promise, i will never stray again!
http://bayardoescribe.blogspot.com
My German is infinitely better than my Spanish, and I find myself constantly wanting to say “fleissig” when “diligent” or “industrious” just won’t suffice. After I lived in Spain, nothing could possibly replace “No me digas!”
whenever I’m trying to figure out a date, I ALWAYS go through the months in spanish.
I try not to curse so much but when I really feel the need to I use one the spanish ones they are the most satisfying. My favorite one to use while driving or watching fútbol is BABOSO!
I multiply numbers in Spanish. Dos por dos es cuatro, seis por ocho es cuarenta y ocho, etcetera.
Carmen, I’m on the same boat as you. No English word comes anywhere near “baboso” or my favorite, “culero”.
you know what sucks? in immigration court i hate hearing the interpreter doing his/her job b/c I am constantly thinking about how ” i would’ve said that differently.” and how do you interpret “miento?” when a person is asked a question in court, responds, then corrects him/herself but not before saying “miento.?” i mean, is the interpreter going to translate that to the judge as “i lie(d)?” argh!! am i making any sense?
I can’t think of one that I use, but I do know numerous people who use the word SO when speaking in Spanish.
in spanish add the suffix -ita/o and it is warm and affectionate; abuelita, mijita, amorsito…so difficult to convey that warmth in english.
and i say super as a a form of slang or emphasis in spanish; me la pase super bien: my argentine counterpart puts re in front of everything i put super in front of; me la pase re-bien
es un detallito, que no importa porque me re-gusta y la pasamos super bien!
When I went to Mexico recently, my twelve year old cousin (not an English speaker), really liked me. He liked me so much he started to affect my mannerisms. This included adding “um” to the start of his sentences, because when I speak Spanish, I add an “um,” just like in English. Needless to say, our other cousins made endless amounts of fun of him (they left me alone because they figured that’s just what those of us north of the border do).
Can we extend this to Portuguese as well? The word “saudade” is wonderful, but there is no proper way to translate it in any other language!
notoriousling,
When I was in Mexico, they said they main way they could tell I was from el otro lado was because I said “um,” “ah” and other similar throwaway sounds.
I can’t stop myself from saying “bye-bye” even when speaking in Spanish.
I always say “orale” and “chale” even when talking to English-only speakers. To me it feels like those words are English!! i don’t know why.
I have the opposite problem from chimatli, which is that I have a bad habit of saying “este…” instead of saying “um…” when I am trying to think of something. Non-Spanish speakers often get confused and ask what I’m trying to say, and then I have to explain I just said “um” in Spanish.
I have to be conscious of it when I’m at work with English-only speaking clients, but I tend to add “no?” and “verdad?” when finding something in common or agreeing with someone. I guess the English equivalent would be ‘isn’t it?’ or ‘right?’ but it doesn’t feel the same.
I always say “basta” instead of enough when I’m finally fed up with whatever my evil spawn are doing.
(When I started writing this I was thinking of the Italian word, but I just realized it’s the same in Spanish)
The smell of guavas gives me osco. That’s practically all the Spanish I know. Thanks Mom. Sounds much better than “makes me queesy like I’m going to vomit real soon if you don’t get that smell/sight away from me immediately”.
Nate, I hate the smell of guavas too! I can smell them from miles away. The scent makes me think of old houses, sagging floorboards and abuelitas–but not in a good way.
ganas.