Spanish "individuo" vs. "individual"
This topic shows up in my Spanish Word a Day site this week, but I can go a bit more into detail about it here.
The English word "individual" can mean either a person (example: "he's an important individual in this area") or it can mean "single" (example: "it is sold in individual containers"). Grammatically, the first one is a noun and the second is an adjective.
In Spanish, the first meaning (a person) is "individuo". The other one (single) is "individual". Here are some examples. Notice that "individuo" as used in Spanish can have sort of slangy translations like "guy". Here are some examples:
Individuo (a person)
1. Ayer vino un individuo y me dio la lata durante una hora = Yesterday a guy came in and annoyed me for an hour.
2. Es un individuo de que uno no se puede fiar = He's someone that you just can't trust.
3. ¡Ya no hablaré con ese individuo! = I won't talk to that person again!
Individual (single)
1. La medicina se toma en dosis individuales = You take the medicine in individual doses.
2. Dormí en una habitación individual tranquila = I slept in a quiet single room.
3. Cada camisa tiene un diseño individual = Each shirt has an individual design.
Brad
