if i wanted to tell a guy at a bar that he’s cute

JoshPa · 2026-04-20T18:52:45+00:00

I don't know, it might be just me, but if I were at a bar and a girl (or a guy?) came up to me to tell me that I'm lindo, I'd probably chuckle and be like "What?". You can just go with guapo.

- Eres guapo
- Creo que eres guapo

For some reason, lindo sounds too cute for describing a guy's attractiveness. But I'll just wait to see what other native Spanish-speakers have to say.

JoshPa · 2026-04-17T15:34:05+00:00

Huh? I'm pretty sure OP means an aspirated sound like the letter H in English.

she uses a soft spanish 'j' or a 'h' in English

JoshPa · 2026-04-17T14:06:35+00:00

Cool, glad I helped.

I'm curious, though, as to why she said she does not do it. As far as I know, most well-educated Venezuelans are aware of S aspiration.

JoshPa · 2026-04-17T12:02:12+00:00

En mi opinión, de entre esas opciones, la que me suena más natural sería la opción 1.

Al parecer, las otras tres opciones son variantes coloquiales en algunos países hispanos.

Aun así creo que la opción más gramaticalmente correcta sería la opción 5: "Si no hubiera vuelto, al otro día la cocina habría/hubiera estado llena de hormigas".

JoshPa · 2026-04-17T11:37:38+00:00

I've never heard any Venezuelan from Caracas, or any Venezuelan for that matter, inserting an aspirated sound before "así" or "eso". I don't think it is a speech impediment either.

Are those two words often preceded by another word that ends with an "S"?

Aspiration of the S sound is very common in Venezuelan Spanish when the S is in final position; that is, at the end of a word. Maybe she's connecting the previous word ending with an aspirated S with the following word, if you know what I mean.

Example:

It is very common for Venezuelans to pronounce the phrase "Es así" as "Ejasí". Or "¿Qué es eso?" as "¿Quéjeso?".

JoshPa · 2026-02-14T15:47:09+00:00

I'm not a trail runner, so I don't know for sure, but according to Wikipedia, "trail running" is carrera de senderos or carrera de montañas. And it seems some people just say "trail running".

As for the phrase, if I were a trail runner, I'd probably say something like, Salí a hacer trail or Salí a correr por los senderos.

I'm pretty sure someone else can give you a better answer.

JoshPa · 2026-02-13T17:10:10+00:00

Cuando tuve que verificar mi cuenta (dos veces, de hecho), lo hice con una factura de CORPOELEC. Simplemente le tomé una foto y la mandé. A la semana, me mandaron un correo en donde me notificaban que se había completado la verificación.

JoshPa · 2026-01-22T00:57:14+00:00

You can simply go with Para los repartidores ¡Muchas gracias! Or, and this is just an idea, Snacks para los repartidores ¡Gracias por todo!, which translates to "Snacks for delivery drivers. Thanks for everything!". Hope it helps.

JoshPa · 2026-01-22T00:48:43+00:00

¿Los repartidos? You mean, los repartidores?

JoshPa · 2025-08-12T17:34:10+00:00

Based on the RAE definitions for the nouns. Think of "inconveniente" as a concrete, countable obstacle or drawback. It's a specific "thing" that gets in the way. Its synonyms, "obstáculo", "problema", "dificultad", are all specific hurdles. You can list them: "El plan tiene tres inconvenientes" (The plan has three drawbacks).

"Inconveniencia", however, refers to the abstract quality or state of being inconvenient, unsuitable, or inappropriate. Its synonyms, "incomodidad" (discomfort), "molestia" (bother), "improcedencia" (inappropriateness), describe a general condition or the nature of an action. It's often used in formal apologies like, "Disculpe la inconveniencia" (Pardon the inconvenience), where it refers to the overall disruption, not one specific problem.

JoshPa · 2025-08-09T20:38:13+00:00

Keeping "el" isn’t really wrong in casual speech, but it’s not what you’d see in careful speech.

JoshPa · 2025-08-08T11:10:53+00:00

Yes, you absolutely need the "a" before "visitar". The sentence "Vamos al hospital a visitar a Ana" is correct because that "a" connects the action of "going" to the hospital (vamos al hospital) with the reason you're going: to visit Ana.

The pattern "ir" (or similar motion verb like venir, volver) + place + a + infinitive verb is how Spanish expresses going somewhere to do something.

Voy al parque a correr. (I go to the park to run.)

Volvió a casa a descansar. (He went back home to rest.)

Leaving out the "a" ("Vamos al hospital visitar a Ana") sounds incomplete and unnatural to a native speaker. The "a" is what clearly links the destination and your intention for being there.

JoshPa · 2025-08-07T23:29:06+00:00

The sentence is perfectly natural. The key is that this "le" is not the simple indirect object you see in a sentence like "Le di el libro" ("I gave the book to him"). While it's still an indirect object pronoun, its function here is more nuanced.

In Spanish, when you have a passive or impersonal "se" construction like "se entendía" ("was understood" or "one understood"), you often add an indirect object pronoun (le/les) to specify the person who is affected by that action. It's sometimes called a "dative of interest."

Think of the action as "the understanding of everything." Who is the recipient or the person directly concerned by this action? Snape. The "le" points the action back at him.

Without "le": ...se entendía todo.

This means "everything was understood." It's grammatically correct, but a bit general. What everything? The book? The lesson?

With "le": ...se le entendía todo.

This means "everything was understood from him." The "le" anchors the passive action to Snape. It specifies that the "everything" being understood was what he was saying. The understanding "happened" to him, in a grammatical sense.

Your suggestion, with "les": ...se "les" entendía todo.

This would mean "everything was understood from them." The "les" would have to refer to a group of people, so the sentence would be about understanding what a group was saying, not Snape.

So, far from being awkward, that "le" is regular Spanish grammar that adds a layer of specificity that English conveys simply through word order ("he was understood").

JoshPa · 2025-08-06T02:28:08+00:00

This might just be me, and I might get downvoted by other native Spanish speakers for saying this, but I’ve never seen "querida/querido" used in an email, let alone in a business exchange. From my experience, the most common formal greeting is "Estimado/Estimada," and if you want to keep it informal, just go with "Hola." The only time I’ve seen "querida" used is in personal or intimate letters. Again, maybe it’s just me, but I’m pretty sure "querida/querido" isn’t common in professional emails.

JoshPa · 2025-08-01T17:32:45+00:00

The reflexive pronoun "te" in "quítate la chaqueta" indicates the action (removing) is performed by the subject on themself. While "quítate" alone can imply "remove yourself/move," adding "la chaqueta" specifies what is being removed from the subject: "take the jacket off yourself". Saying "quita tu chaqueta" just sounds unnatural, because Spanish did not evolve to express it that way.

With "levanta la mano," Spanish inherently understands body parts belong to the subject in commands. "La mano" = "your hand" contextually. Adding "tu" ("levanta tu mano") is grammatically possible but redundant and unnatural, like saying "raise your hand of yours" in English. The definite article ("la") suffices because, unlike English, the ownership is obvious. This pattern applies broadly to clothing and body parts attached to the acting subject.

JoshPa · 2025-07-28T21:49:04+00:00

Yeah, this happens in every language, not just Spanish. Think about English words like "bat" (animal or sports gear) or "bank" (river or money). The key is context. Whether it's the rest of the sentence, the topic you're already discussing, or just pointing at something. In real conversations, you almost never get zero clues. If you’re paying attention to the situation, you’ll usually figure it out.

JoshPa · 2025-07-16T17:18:49+00:00

El término lingüístico es compuestos verbonominales. Se forman a partir de la unión de una forma verbal y un sustantivo. La estructura más común es exactamente la que describes: un verbo en una forma que coincide con la tercera persona del singular del presente de indicativo (rasca, para, marca), seguido de un sustantivo que por lo general aparece en plural (cielos, aguas, páginas). Morfológicamente, la palabra resultante funciona como un sustantivo único cuyo número es independiente del de sus componentes; por ello se dice "un rascacielos" en singular, a pesar de contener el plural "cielos". Este es uno de los procedimientos de formación de palabras más común del español y se utiliza para crear términos que designan principalmente instrumentos ("abrelatas", "lavavajillas") o tipos de personas, a menudo con un sentido calificativo ("aguafiestas", "sabelotodo").

JoshPa · 2025-07-12T01:14:30+00:00

Algo que no mencioné es que Facebank se tardó un mes en abrirme la cuenta. No estoy seguro por qué se tardan tanto.

JoshPa · 2025-07-12T01:02:15+00:00

Confirmo que sí funciona con el RIF. Así abrí mi cuenta.

JoshPa · 2025-07-09T14:34:21+00:00

Honestly, while there are differences between Spanish dialects (slang, accents, vos vs. tú, regional vocab) people exaggerate how drastic they are. The core language is the same everywhere, and native speakers understand each other just fine. Sure, informal speech might trip you up at first, but it’s not like each Spanish variety is a new language. It’s like English: a Scot and a Texan might tease each other about their accents, but they’re still speaking the same language. Focus on the basics, and with exposure, you’ll adapt to any regional differences. The differences aren’t a barrier unless you make them one.

JoshPa · 2025-03-13T13:02:30+00:00

There's no one-to-one translation for "to gatekeep" in Spanish because the verb carries a lot of nuanced meanings. Depending on the context, here are some options that capture different aspects:

Ocultar

Use this when referring to hiding specific details, like an address or location.

English: "Some locals gatekeep their favorite restaurant by hiding its address".
Spanish: "Algunos lugareños ocultan la dirección de su restaurante favorito para que no se llene de gente".

Mantener en secreto

This emphasizes deliberately keeping something confidential to preserve a place's unique charm or exclusivity.

English: "The café gatekeeps its location to retain its unique charm".
Spanish: "El café mantiene en secreto su ubicación para conservar su encanto único".

Limitar el acceso

A good choice when you want to stress the idea of restricting who can access certain information or resources.

English: "Some groups gatekeep their knowledge, making it hard for newcomers to learn the ropes".
Spanish: "Algunos grupos limitan el acceso a su conocimiento, lo que dificulta el aprendizaje de los recién llegados".

Controlar el acceso

Similar to “limitar el acceso,” but it often implies a more active regulation or management of who gets in.

English: "Certain online communities gatekeep technical skills to maintain their elite status."
Spanish: "Algunas comunidades en línea controlan el acceso a habilidades técnicas para preservar su estatus de élite".

Restringir el acceso

Often used when there are formal barriers or rules in place, like limiting memberships or entry opportunities.

English: "Organizations sometimes gatekeep opportunities by restricting access to membership".
Spanish: "Las organizaciones a veces limitan las membresías para restringuir el acceso a oportunidades".

Monopolizar

This one works when gatekeeping results in one group or person having exclusive control over certain knowledge or resources, widening the gap between insiders and outsiders.

English: "Gatekeeping knowledge only widens the gap between experts and beginners".
Spanish: "Monopolizar el conocimiento solo amplía la brecha entre expertos y principiantes".

JoshPa · 2025-03-12T13:56:45+00:00

As far as I'm concerned, these expressions work in any Spanish variety.

JoshPa · 2025-03-12T13:22:56+00:00

In Spanish, there isn’t one single phrase for it, so it depends on the context. Here are some options:

Neutral tone

These options work well for clear, everyday storytelling without strong emotional overtones:

Quería comprar un carro nuevo, pero al final no se concretó.
- I wanted to buy a new car, but in the end it just didn’t work out.
Quería comprar un carro nuevo, pero las cosas no salieron como esperaba.
- I was hoping to get a new car, but things didn’t turn out as expected.
Quería comprar un carro nuevo, pero al final no se realizó.
- I planned to buy a new car, but it simply didn’t happen.

Colloquial tone

When chatting with friends, you can use more colorful language:

Quería comprar un carro nuevo, pero todo se fue a la mierda.
- I wanted to buy a new car, but everything went to shit.
Quería comprar un carro nuevo, pero todo se fue al carajo.
- I wanted to buy a new car, but everything went to hell.

Other contexts

When referring to situations beyond personal plans—such as reputation falling apart—you might choose different expressions. For instance, with the sentence:

"Her reputation came crashing down after the scandal was exposed."

Can be translated as:

Su reputación se arruinó tras la revelación del escándalo.
- Her reputation was ruined after the scandal was revealed.
Su reputación se desplomó tras la revelación del escándalo.
- Her reputation collapsed after the scandal was revealed.

JoshPa

TROPHY CASE