A quick post today that might save you some embarrassment if you’re beginning to learn Spanish:

“EMBARAZADA” does NOT mean “EMBARRASSED” – it means “PREGNANT”

Examples:

1. Estoy embarazada de ocho meses. = I’m eight months pregnant.
2. Mi mujer está embarazada otra vez. = My wife is pregnant again.
3. Es mi tercer embarazo. = It’s my third pregnancy.

If you want to say you are embarrassed in Spanish, there are different ways to do it but they usually revolve around the word “vergüenza” which means “shame” or “embarrassment“. Some examples:

1. Me da vergüenza hablar en público. = I’m embarrassed to speak in public.
2. Siento vergüenza cuando la veo. = I feel embarrassed when I see her.
3. Tenía tanta vergüenza que no podía hablar. = I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t speak.

Brad

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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

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This is an odd one among the false cognates between English and Spanish. The two words have similar meanings in each language, the main difference being that the English word “disgust” is much stronger than Spanish “disgusto”. The Spanish version is more similar to being an annoyance while the English version shows outright repugnance.

(Spanish) disgusto = (English) annoyance, displeasure
(English) disgust = (Spanish) repugnancia, indignación

Some examples:

Spanish

(disgusto)
1. El niño me ha dado un disgusto hoy.
2. Vas a tener un disgusto como sigas así.
3. Tuve un disgusto con mi mujer sobre una tontería.
(disgust)
4. El salió de la reunión indignado con lo que le habían dicho.
5. ¡Me da asco ese hombre!
6. Le miré con repugnancia.

English

(disgusto)
1. The boy gave me a bad time today.
2. Your going to have a big problem if you continue like that.
3. I had a spat with my wife over something stupid.
(disgust)
4. He left the meeting disgusted with what they had told him.
5. That man is disgusting!
6. I looked at him with disgust.

Brad

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The words “delito” and “delight” resemble each other somewhat and can cause confusion, but they are very different things:

(Spanish) delito = (English) crime, offence
(English) delight = (Spanish) encanto

Some examples:

Spanish

(delito)
1. Es un delito robar en una tienda.
2. Se cometieron menos delitos este año que el año pasado.
3. Ese tipo de delito se paga caro.
(encanto)
4. El niño es un encanto.
5. ¡Qué encanto de mujer!
6. Su casa es un encanto.

English

(crime)
1. It’s a crime to steal in a shop.
2. Fewer crimes were committed this year than last year.
3. That sort of crime has a high price.
(delight)
4. The boy is delightful.
5. What a lovely/delightful woman!
6. Their house is lovely/delightful.

Brad

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“Corresponder” and “correspond” sure look like they should mean the same thing, don’t they? But the real meanings are:

(Spanish) corresponder = (English) match / coincide with
(English) correspond = (Spanish) escribirse (write to each other)

Here are some examples of each one:

Spanish

(corresponder)
1. A ti te corresponde la mitad del dinero.
2. A ella le corresponde escribir el resumen – a mí no.
3. El tiene el lugar que le corresponde.
4. Este texto no corresponde a esta foto.
(escribirse)
5. Mi hermana y yo nos escribimos una vez al mes.
6. Pedro y yo ya no nos escribimos.

English

1. You are entitled to half of the money.
2. It’s her job to write the summary – not mine.
3. He is now in the appropriate place.
4. This text doesn’t go with this photo.
5. My sister and I correspond once a month.
6. Pedro and I no longer correspond.

Brad

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I just received a spam telling me where I could “ordenar mis drogas”. Two mistakes in Spanish in just three words.

droga vs. medicamento

First of all, in Spanish “drogas” are one thing and “medicamento(s)” are quite another. The first one is the “bad” stuff – the kind that you’ll have to go to the local park at midnight in order to buy. Marijuana and cocaine are two examples of “drogas”.

The second one (medicamento) is what your doctor prescribes. A “medicamento” could be, among other things, penicillin or cough medicine.

ordenar vs. pedir

The Spanish verb “ordenar” can mean “to order”, but only in the sense of telling someone to do something: “el juez le ordenó que no se acercara a la familia” (the judge ordered him not to go near the family).

“pedir” is the verb you want to use when ordering a product or service. Some examples:

Spanish

1. He pedido dos libros en Amazon.
2. ¿Puedo pedirlo por correo?
3. Ella pidió un vestido nuevo pero todavía no ha llegado.
4. No es buena idea pedir medicamentos por correos.

English

1. I’ve ordered two books from Amazon.
2. Can I order it by mail?
3. She ordered a new dress but it still hasn’t arrived.
4. It’s not a good idea to buy mail-order drugs.

Brad

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Common error for beginners: “tengo una cuestión para ti” (I have a question for you) when it should be either “tengo una pregunta para ti” or “quiero hacerte una pregunta” or “quiero preguntarte algo. Here’s what’s going on:

English “question” = Spanish “pregunta”
English “issue, matter, topic, question” = Spanish “cuestión”
English “ask a question” = Spanish “hacer una pregunta” or “preguntar”

Some examples of each Spanish word or phrase:

pregunta

1. Es una pregunta difícil de contestar = It’s a difficult question to answer.
2. Todos tenían la misma pregunta = They all had (wanted to ask) the same question.
3. Hay muchas preguntas sin respuestas = There are many questions that don’t have an answer.

cuestión

1. Es una cuestión de vida o muerte = It’s a matter of life or death.
2. Es una cuestión de dinero = It’s a question of money.
3. La persona en cuestión no estuvo = The person in question wasn’t there.

hacer (una) pregunta

1. ¿Puedo hacerte una pregunta? = Can I ask you a question?
2. ¿Nadie me hizo preguntas = No one asked me anything.
3. Deja de hacerme la misma pregunta = Stop asking me the same question.

preguntar

1. ¿Puedo preguntarte algo = Can I ask you something?
2. Nadie me preguntó nada = No one asked me anything.
3. Deja de preguntarme lo mismo = Stop asking me the same thing.

Brad

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Once again, the two words look like they should mean the same, but they don’t. Here are the definitions:

(Spanish) compromiso = (English) an obligation, promise, or agreement
(English) compromise = (Spanish) mutuo acuerdo (literally: “a mutual agreement”)

Here are some examples:

Spanish

1. No puedo ayudarte hoy porque tengo varios compromisos.
2. Usted lo puede probar sin compromiso.
3. Ella lo invitó por compromiso.
—
4. Los dos partidos llegaron a un acuerdo sobre el nuevo impuesto.
5. Llegamos a un acuerdo sobre ciertos puntos antes de que firmaran.

English

1. I can’t help you today because I have several things to do.
2. You can try it without any obligation.
3. She invited him because she felt obliged to.
–
4. The two (political) parties reached an agreement over the new tax.
5. We made a compromise on certain points before they signed.

Brad

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This post might save you from an embarrassing situation if you were to say, for example, “Compré una carpeta azul por $1000″. While trying to say “I bought a blue rug (carpet) for $1000″ what you actually said was “I bought a blue folder for $1000″ which might induce the listener into thinking that you were either very rich or very foolish or both. Here’s the solution:

(Spanish) carpeta = (English) folder (portfolio)
(English) carpet, rug = (Spanish) alfombra – (also “tapete” in some Spanish-speaking countries)

Here are some examples of each:

Spanish

1. Pagamos mil dólares por esta alfombra.
2. Mi tía tenía alfombras por toda la casa.
3. Las alfombras persas son famosas por su alta calidad.
—
4. He dejado mi carpeta con los papeles importantes en casa.
5. Tenía el documento en una carpeta pero no la encuentro.
6. Hay 10 ficheros en esta carpeta. (ordenadores / computadoras)

English

1. We paid a thousand dollars for this rug.
2. My aunt had rugs all over the house.
3. Persian rugs are famous for their high quality.
—
4. I left my folder with the important papers at home.
5. I had the document in a folder but I can’t find it.
6. There are 10 files in this folder. (computers)

As you can see in the last example, “carpeta” is the word used for “folder” in computer speak. In case you’re interested, there’s a page with computer terminology in Spanish on the main website.

Brad

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This is another false cognate (words that look similar in different languages but have different meanings) that causes problems for English speakers learning Spanish. The correct meanings of “asistir” and “assist” are the following:

(Spanish) asistir = (English) attend
(English) assist = (Spanish) ayudar

Here are some examples of each verb:

Spanish

1. Unas 25 personas asistieron a la reunión.
2. No asistimos a clase ayer porque no teníamos coche.
3. Asistió a la boda aunque no era familia suya.
—
4. Los bomberos ayudaron a los accidentados.
5. No la pude ayudar ayer porque no estaba allí.
6. Los ayudamos como pudimos y nos fuimos.

English

1. About 25 people attended the meeting.
2. We didn’t attend class yesterday because we didn’t have a car.
3. He attended the wedding although it wasn’t his family.
—
4. The firemen assisted the injured people.
5. I couldn’t assist her yesterday because I wasn’t there.
6. We assisted them the best we could and left.

Brad

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