Someone compliments you on being “educado” or “educada” in Spanish and they know nothing about where or if you have studied. What’s going on? The answer:
(Spanish) educado = (English) well-mannered, polite
Ok, now that we’ve figured out that they think you are well-mannered, but what would they say if they think you are an educated person, possibly with a PhD. The answer:
(Spanish) culto = (English) educated / knowledgable
Here are a few more examples:
1. ¡Qué joven más educado! = What a well-mannered/polite young man!
2. Mi tío es un hombre muy culto. = My uncle is a very educated/knowledgeable man.
The opposite of “educado”:
3. ¡Qué hombre más mal educado! = What a rude man!
And the opposite of “culto”:
4. Es un pobre hombre inculto. = He’s a poor, uneducated man.
I’m sure that all of the readers of this blog are both educados and cultos as well!
Brad
Tags: false cognates, learn spanish


















