Spanish word of the day

Quote: pacomartin

Yo soy Jehová tu Dios, que te saqué de la tierra de Egipto, de casa de servidumbre.
No tendrás dioses ajenos delante de mí. (1960)

God's going to punish you for that. You're not supposed to say His name (why?)

On the other hand, Spaniards never understood transliteration, so they messed up God's name anyway. The very first letter of the name, in Hebrew, is "yud" and that's pronounced like the Spanish Y. Beats me why they put a J there.

On the other other hand, though, in English the J does duty for the Spanish Y, so... Oh, just let me know when we meet in Hell :P

Sorry to break the flow of the conversation. Let's skip the word of the day for May 10, since we've got so many discussions going on as it is. Yesterday I pestered my Spanish tutor with the querer questions.

First, as Paco said, the dog LIKES Taco Bell. She said if the dog meant she loved Taco Tell she would have said Yo quiero a Taco Bell.

I had to be really annoying (I'm good at that) to get a straight about about the usage in Limón y Sal. She hemmed and hawed, tried to change the topic, but I kept demanding a translation. So, finally she went both ways, as follows:

Yo te quiero con limon y sal, = I WANT you with lemon and salt,
yo te quiero tal y como estas, = I LOVE you so and as you are.

¡Que interesante!

However, I think she would say this is just her best guess.

Quote: FleaStiff

Why bother? Just yell louder and louder in English until they finally understand.

If you are not inclined to use FleaStiff's technique, and you want to break your conversation to see if you are being understood, then say "entiendes ?" or "entiende ?" (familiar/formal) instead of the more popular comprende?.

Although the meanings of the two verbs are similar, comprende? is overused by gringos. Even in English it sounds a little more polite to say Do you understand me?, then Can you comprehend me? which even if you don't intend to be rude sounds like Are you capable of comprehending what I am saying?


Comprendo? is utter gibberish since you are are actually saying "I comprehend" but you are conveying it as a question. That just means you are a gringo who puts an "o" on the end of English verbs and thinks they are now speaking Spanish.

Quote: Wizard

Yo te quiero con limon y sal, = I WANT you with lemon and salt,
yo te quiero tal y como estas, = I LOVE you so and as you are.

yo te quiero tal con limon y sal = I love this with lemon and salt (you are probably talking about french fries)
Yo te quiero con limon y sal = I love you with lemon and salt == I want you with lemon and salt (you are not talking about french fries)

Quote: Wizard

Yo te quiero con limon y sal, = I WANT you with lemon and salt,
yo te quiero tal y como estas, = I LOVE you so and as you are.

On the second verse, I fail to see where the "so" comes from.

Anwyay, since the song starts the "te quiero" sequence with "te quiero con limón y sal," I say that indicates "want" rather than "love." What do you put lime and salt on? She's expressing a desire, not a feeling. So it's "want" in that verse and by extension on the others.

On other things, in honor of May 10th I make the word of the day "Madre."

before you jump and say it just means "mother," research the following examples:

1) ¡me vale madres!
2) que poca madre
3) No tienes madre

I hope Spanish internet filters don't filter this post out. The remaining examples really get obscene..

Oh, yeah, May 10th is Mother's Day in Mexico. I couldn't let it pass.

Quote: Nareed

On the second verse, I fail to see where the "so" comes from.

That was my own best guess. My understanding is tal=such, but it didn't fit in well with the rest of the verse, so I took some poetic license and changed it to "so." I see you translated it as "I want you hust [sic] the way you are." May I ask where the "just" comes from? Also, what happened to the y in the English translation?

Quote: Nareed

What do you put lime and salt on?

To be honest, I don't know. A margarita perhaps?

Quote: Nareed

She's expressing a desire, not a feeling. So it's "want" in that verse and by extension on the others.

My translator would disagree, but it would not be the first disagreement about a translation. Just look at how divisive bible translations can be. Many would say that all translations other than the King James are straight from the pit of hell.

Anyway, with your permission, I think we've beaten querer to death, so I motion that we move onto your word for May 10. Here are my best guesses for your other usages of madre:

1) ¡me vale madres! = I use mother coupons. (I could be way off here)
2) que poca madre = What a small mother.
3) No tienes madre = You don't have a mother.

I must have made a mistake, as I don't see what is so bad about those.

Quote: Nareed

Oh, yeah, May 10th is Mother's Day in Mexico. I couldn't let it pass.

¡Feliz dia de madres en Mexíco!

Quote: Wizard

May I ask where the "just" comes from? Also, what happened to the y in the English translation?

The phrase "tal y como estas" means "just the way you are" If you translate each word, though, something meaningless comes out. When translating the trick is to convey meaning, not the literal translation

Quote:

To be honest, I don't know. A margarita perhaps?

You put lime and salt on food. Really. In the song she dones't say she wants to eat him, but the meaning, again, is of desire, thus "want."

Quote:

My translator would disagree, but it would not be the first disagreement about a translation. Just look at how divisive bible translations can be. Many would say that all translations other than the King James are straight from the pit of hell.

Many actually think the King James version is the actual word of God in English, I kid you not.


I'll just give you the translations and see if you can figure out why:

Quote:

1) ¡me vale madres! = I use mother coupons. (I could be way off here)

"I don't give a damn!"

Quote:

2) que poca madre = What a small mother.

What an awful thing to do (or say)

Quote:

3) No tienes madre = You don't have a mother.

You've got no shame.

Quote:

I must have made a mistake, as I don't see what is so bad about those.

Mexican slang. it takes a while to learn.

I think the Pentecostals would say that the King James was indeed a divinely inspired translation.

Thanks for the lesson in Mexican slang. I would have never read those that way.

What about "¡Tú madre!"?

Quote: Wizard

Thanks for the lesson in Mexican slang. I would have never read those that way.

I've come across lots of Mexicans in vegas. it may come in handy.

Quote:

What about "¡Tú madre!"?

That seems a literal translation of "Your mamma," or however that goes in english. It's not used in spanish.

Quote: Nareed

That seems a literal translation of "Your mamma," or however that goes in english. It's not used in spanish.

What about the movie Y Tu Mamá También?

Also, do you put an accent on the u or not in tú?

Quote: Wizard

I think the Pentecostals would say that the King James was indeed a divinely inspired translation.

Thanks for the lesson in Mexican slang. I would have never read those that way.

What about "¡Tú madre!"?

"Tú madre!" answered with Y tu mama tambien!" is a very heated exchange without actually saying anything vulgar. Tú madre! is shorthand for Ch---@ tú madre!. Sort of like the line It's your turn in the barrel is widely understood in America.

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Some Pentecostals believe the KJV was divinely inspired, while others simply trust the translation better, especially over key passages.
לָכֵן יִתֵּן אֲדֹנָי הוּא לָכֶם אוֹת הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ עִמָּנוּאֵל
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (KJV 1611)
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Imman'u-el. (RSV 1946)
Por tanto, el Señor mismo les dará esta señal: Una virgen concebirá y dará a luz un hijo, y Le pondrá por nombre Emmanuel.