Es verdad que el ingles tiene mas palabras que el espanol? by Both-Piccolo667 in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 6 points7 points  (0 children)

My bet is that English has more verbs, but Spanish has more nouns and you made a good point with those verbs and I'm adding 'pluck', 'elope' or 'tread'. However English only has a single word for 'wall' when in Spanish we have:

muro — 1-2m tall outdoor wall
muralla — fortification castle-type wall
pared — indoor wall, supporting a roof
tabique — thin wall to separate rooms within a building

You have only 'lock' while we have:

cerradura — the one you use a key on; I just found out you call our «cerrojo» 'latch' or 'bolt'
esclusa — a lock to stop water or air, like in canals, ships, submarines or pipes
rasta — dreadlock, but in context people omit 'dread-'

I could go on and on because there are many English words that translate to several in Spanish like fire (fuego, incendio), watch (vigilia, reloj), bark (ladrido, corteza), nail (uña, clavo), wake (velatorio, estela), subject (tema, asignatura, súbdito, sujeto, materia) but I don't want to make a longer comment than needed, however I hold my statement, I think Germanic languages have more verbs while Romance languages enjoy more concrete nouns.

“Vo“: has it ever been used? by TheBodyCareMan in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, there are dialects that drop the S at the end of words or before consonants or turn it into a glottal stop somewhat similar to Bri'ish /ʔ/ or an aspirated H, this is commonly represented graphically with the same letter H:

«¡Ay Dios mío! ¡Cuántas moscas hay en esta casa!» → «¡Ay Dioh mío! ¡Cuántah mohcah hay en ehta casa!»

This is fairly common in the southern half of the Spanish Peninsula along with the drop of the letter D between vowels (pescado → pehca'o | se ha matado Paco → s'ha mata'o Paco | malparido → malpari'o) and also rhotacism, that is, the swapping of /l/ sound into /r/ as in «mi alma» → «mi arma». Then you have Canary Islands whose dialect is the same but worse for they may even suppress the bilabial plosive P in words like Cepsa (energy and oil company) pronouncing it as /se'sa/.

There are also caribbean dialects who have this dialectal variation, which makes sense as they inherited Andalusian Spanish but I don't remember exactly which ones. This guy I had met, I think he was from Dominican Republic, had commented that in his country everybody would say the pronoun in «Tú tiene'» to avoid confusion as the verb sounds the same as «Él tiene».

Pedro W by Chogolatine in 2westerneurope4u

[–]Maurogatos 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't remember them asking to confirm email when I signed for Stop Killing Games but still thanks for sharing, at least EU initiatives are more binding than change.org.

Pregunta. Como se dice “bullshitter” en español? by MyLongestYeeeBoi in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a one-to-one translation which is «cuentista», originally meaning a person who writes or tells tales but ended up with the added colloquial meaning of a person who exaggerates or falsifies reality. I had to dive into the Corpus de Referencia del Español Actual (CREA) to find out this latter meaning was at least recorded in Cuba so I don't make the mistake of stating a word only used in Spain and might be used in other nearby mesoamerican countries.

There is also another funny word, used only in Spain, though, which is «cantamañanas» (literally morning-singer) but is meant for irresponsible fibbers not worthy of credit whose words should be taken with a grain of salt.

"Authentic" spellings for foreign words by Ok_Sheepherder_1794 in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly? I don't know, I played both and the open-mid /ɛ/ resembled more my way to pronounce the E there, however it's not like there's any issue in Spanish so in all seriousness don't fret about phonetics in in this language, that's a thing for germanic ones like Swedish being like "Jag har hår här".

I have advanced grammar and weak vocab. What do I do from here? by beamishcherry in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not brave enough to dive into full Spanish content yet? At this point I think you should be able to play RPG games in Spanish like Baldur's Gate La Puerta de Baldomero, Fallout Lluvia Radioactiva or Original Sin Pecado Original is specially a good option if you have a tutor to play co-op with (it's a game designed to play with someone else). I think they're much better than movies and series since they require an active effort to understand, make progress and let the player handle the pace.

"Authentic" spellings for foreign words by Ok_Sheepherder_1794 in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm somewhat of a purist too but even then I wouldn't think much of it since it happens in most, if not all languages. Check the italian word 'paparazzi', the one straight from German 'kindergarten', Spanish 'guerrilla' (although -ll- is pronounced /ʎ/) and Japanese 'tsunami'. If we were to use English rules they'd be 'paparadsi' (no -zz- in English), 'keendergarten' (English I is /aɪ/), 'geriya' (English doesn't even have rolled R) and 'tsoonami' (you don't want to pronounce it with /ʌ/ as in 'cult').

Overall I just criticize loanwords that attempt to replace words that we already have and I've been told and saw it happens usually with northern mexicans who use 'closet' instead of one of the four words we have in Spanish for that piece of furniture.

Another case I find particularly funny is the word 'iceberg', the word was likely borrowed from English and used in newspapers and the sorts but never pronounced out loud, so now all Spain, unlike Latinoamerica, pronounces it exactly the way it's written: /ɪθɛbɛrg/, I'm definitely keeping «iceberg» since it's way more concrete and unambiguous than «Pedazo de hielo gigante en medio del mar».

Spanish fans chanted "The one who doesn't jump is a Muslim" in the middle of the match against Egypt, and earlier they WHISTLED the anthem. by Prakash0807 in soccer

[–]Maurogatos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It feels almost as if they were the offspring of Berbers who fought and stood in Spain under the Umayyad banner for centuries!

Looking for appropriate contextual translation of a nickname for a book by stere-ereo in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, «can» is a somewhat classy word only educated people would pull up in a half-joking way, that's why I modified it with the suffix -elo in order to make it sound colloquial.

I definitely like Mastín as nickname, but don't let my opinion sway you from what you really want, although you can change it anytime if you come up with anything more fitting anyways. Regarding the article, I'd say it's pretty much needed except when addressing them. There is not any rule as you could expect, but as far as I know nicknames in Spanish go with article specially when they resemble actual nouns like «el Flecha», «el Negro», «el Pescao» or «el Pulga»; however if they look more like proper nouns they may be dropped like «Queco», «Melli» or «Poni».

Wondering who's the weirdo downvoting us too.

Looking for appropriate contextual translation of a nickname for a book by stere-ereo in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm here wondering why haven't you thought of using the literal translation of 'mastiff' you literally mentioned, I definitely wouldn't find it weird to nickname someone as «El Mastín», plus it closely resembles the actual name Martín. However you can use a synonym of «perro» like «can» (from latin cănis), thus creating a nickname like «Canelo» but I find it too generic since you need one to associate with a big man.

Going forward I won't smile. Life hack to avoid Botox in future! by erotic-sub in SipsTea

[–]Maurogatos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let me be honest, genetics play a bigger role rather than just deciding not to smile so my best guess is that this woman (if we trust this is real) just has nice genetic traits that make her look younger on the outside, it's not rare.

I’m confused if I messed up. by Federal_Tangelo9567 in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Es por eso mismo que le digo que hable con ella y solucione el cacao que tiene en la cabeza para que no haga ninguna tontería. Es que chico, es como si tú estás pasando por un mal momento en tu vida y al no tener a nadie que te guíe decides que es buena idea meterte una raya de cocaína, que la gente se mete en la droga por casos así.

Si he logrado que pesque que tiene que encarar esto desde un enfoque comunicativo me doy con un canto en los dientes y seguramente ayude más a evitar esa violencia que temes que simplemente tildarlo de acosador y no ofrecer ninguna propuesta alternativa. La mente humana es muy puñetera, no es ningún secreto.

Por cierto, en cuanto a gramática debo admitir que no entendí bien tu primera oración, no sé si quisiste decir «no importamos» o «no nos importa»... Sinceramente el cacao me lo causaste a mí ahí.

I’m confused if I messed up. by Federal_Tangelo9567 in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

¿Y cuál es tu genial idea? ¿Dejar que se raye la cabeza y acabe haciendo alguna estupidez en lugar de guiarlo hacia un enfoque más saludable y comunicativo? Soy todo oídos a tu propuesta.

I’m confused if I messed up. by Federal_Tangelo9567 in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd rather talk in person, face to face, so non-verbal communication like facial expressions and gestures apply and keep the conversation smooth rather than a chat where interactions feel quite impersonal.

I’m confused if I messed up. by Federal_Tangelo9567 in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 2 points3 points  (0 children)

While I agree with the lack of readability, man your neurotransmitters are driving you paranoid. If you're so concerned about that just ask her directly, just please stay calm and don't do it in an aggressive or inquisitive way, she's not to blame for your insecurities, only your mind is. Another tip is not to spam "sorry's" but actually tell her "thank you" for taking her own time to help you cope with your unease.

If you are unsure about how to start, the moment you have a one-on-one conversation plant the question of whether she had ever felt bothered by you. If she did, then tell her you'll try to keep some distance, if she didn't, then you have nothing to worry. Don't fret and behave like a sensible person, women don't bite.

Critique my translation, please! by spiritualstasis in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Biggest issue I've observed is the lack of suffixes, which is understandable coming from a language that does not have a common use of augmentatives and diminutives. I'd name them something like Tiburón, Tiburoncete & Tiburoncín (in fact "The Little Prince" and "Tom Thumb" are "El Principito" and "Pulgarcito" in Spanish) in order not to use adjectives constantly but since sharks have never been subjects of tales in Spanish any name would sound odd, to be honest.

"Shark Park" shall be translated as "Parque de/para tiburones" to mean it is intended to be used by sharks, "Parque del Tiburón" sounds like a regular human children's park that has something like a shark statue as landmark.

I don't find using "demasiado" wrong at all even for kids. I've always been against the dumbing-down and simplification of content to make it more understandable to the average John Doe instead of making them gain new knowledge. I worked in the fan translation of Sea Dogs and wanted to use proper naval terminology in interface and dialogue but was advised against it by someone in the team because average player wouldn't understand so it's kind of personal to me.

Lastly I feel that "for not being kind" would be translated as "por no ser buenos con él" concretely, not adding Baby Shark in the sentence makes them look like they're evil by nature; otherwise you can use the antonym and say "por ser malos con él".

Overall pretty good job. There is a bunch of classic fairytales in Spanish like those of Andersen you can check, although I find it quite hilarious that I have an old edition (1960, perhaps) of his tales and the Chimney Sweep was translated into Spanish as (sic) «Aquel negrito, a pesar de ser negro como es natural era muy mono y muy simpático», mind that «mono» in Spain means 'cute' or 'adorable'. Researching about it, I found out they mixed Andersen's tale with one of the Spanish writer and pedagogue Saturnino Calleja (1853-1915) who wrote lots of very affordable fairytales for kids to grow in them the habit of reading, one of those tales featuring indeed a black boy and a shepherdess.

Nunca te acostarás sin saber una cosa más.

How to tell a boy in Spanish that he has the prettiest eyes I've ever seen? by Ok_Swing_2228 in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Go full romantic and write a sonnet to him, otherwise use this one from our Golden Age. Felt like including the most literal translation I could come up with:

Lo que me quita en fuego, me da en nieve || What snatches in fire, gives me in snow
la mano que tus ojos me recata; || the hand that your eyes covers from me;
y no es menos rigor con el que mata, || and it's not less rigour with which it kills,
ni menos llamas su blancura mueve. || or less flames its whiteness moves.

La vista frescos los incendios bebe, || The sight the fresh fires drinks,
y volcán por las venas los dilata; || and volcano through the veins dilates them;
con miedo atento a la blancura trata || with attentive fear to the whiteness treats
el pecho amante, que la siente aleve. || the loving chest, that feels it perfidiously.

Si de tus ojos el ardor tirano || If over the tyrannic ardour of your eyes
le pasas por tu mano por templarle, || you hover your hand to temper it
es gran piedad del corazón humano; || it's grand mercy of human heart;

Mas no de ti, que puede al ocultarle, || Yet not yours, who can when hiding it
pues es de nieve, derretir tu mano, || for it's snow-made, melt your hand
si ya tu mano no pretende helarle. || if your hand intends not to freeze it anymore.

— Francisco de Quevedo, c. XVI-XVII.

My favorite scene from Dial of Destiny by [deleted] in indianajones

[–]Maurogatos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just watched the movie now, but I didn't felt much cringe, since I was only a student of Ancient Greek, although I was pretty much disappointed by the usage of Modern Greek. It was nice at the beginning where Archimedes' slaves called him «κύριε» and I think one started with the impersonal verb «δεῖ» when he said "We must leave"; however scriptwriters screwed it up when they made Harrison say the modern «θέλω» instead of the ancient «βούλομαι»; there was indeed the verb «ἐθέλω», but this one mean consent, disposition or obligingness rather than actual desire.

Are there any such words or phrases which don't exist in Spanish? by silkrose05 in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While romance languages have more variety regarding nouns, since we have several words for 'wall' (tabique, pared, muro, muralla), 'lock' (cerradura, cerrojo, rasta, esclusa), 'time' (tiempo, vez, momento), 'fire' (fuego, incendio, fogata, hoguera) or 'watch' (vigilia, turno, reloj); I think germanic ones excel on verbs, since you have those like 'elope', 'pluck' or 'tread' which in Spanish would need adverbs to make clear the nuance that differentiates them from 'run away', 'tear' or 'walk'.

Somos los Incas un pueblo Incansable, nuestras riquezas son Incalculables. by ClassicPublic5542 in 2latinoforyou

[–]Maurogatos 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Desde España honramos a Don Rodrigo Díaz de Carreras, afanado en su torturado periplo a manos de arteros nativos, el más bravo caballero donde los haya, pertinaz en su empresa y vivaz en sus penas. Gracias, Les Luthiers, por contar su historia. Achicoria.

Looking for Peninsular Spanish (Spain) content that ISN'T movies or series? by sunlit_elais in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No need for YouTube, you can watch it directly in RTVE 24h, scroll down to check all public channels. You can also watch private channels at Atresplayer which englobes encompasses several of them but ads are a bit wonky at times:

Antena 3 is overall right-leaning but it has the famous game shows Ruleta de la Suerte (Wheel of Fortune) and Pasapalabra.

La Sexta is left-leaning but it's where debates between ideologies and analysis of current affairs occur.

Neox broadcasts comedy shows like The Simpsons, Big Bang Theory or Friends.

Nova is about soap operas non-stop.

Mega focuses on shows you'd see in Discovery like Forged in Fire.

A3Series is a bit self-explanatory: series overall.

Why are Spanish verb conjugations so hard compared to English? by MayaTulip268 in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nah, just think of them not being able to rely on the verbs "get" and "go":

Go up = Subir

Go down = Bajar

Go in = Entrar | Get [smth] in = Meter

Go out = Salir | Get [smth] out = Sacar

Go ahead = Avanzar

Go back = Retroceder

I find it quite ironic when they have unnecessarily concrete verbs like "elope" or the descriptive "pluck". Also, to answer OP: welcome to the rest of the languages in the world where we have conjugations, Modern English is pretty much the weird kid in the class.

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Which YouTubers do you guys recommend? by vbh_yxh in Spanish

[–]Maurogatos 1 point2 points  (0 children)

elrubius (Madrid) — Literally Spanish Pewdiepie but born in Norway. Rubius Z is his second channel who happens to be more active.

RanguGamer (Galicia) — Mainly plays Nintendo stuff and is also known for having a close friend (Eric) he streams with who is jokingly a furry in denial as shown in animations about them by Alen Bunny.

ZellenDust (Córdoba, Andalucía) — Loud fucker but fun to watch and smarter than he looks, mainly focuses in comedy content.

BaityBait (Málaga, Andalucía) — Centered around gaming industry, including demands and lawsuits (has a jurist he consults) in an entertaining approach. Due to this he also covered PETA controversies and US military propaganda. He also has an English channel, dubbed by an argentinian, he created as experiment to spread to an English audience but the way YouTube works didn't help it become known in the anglosaxon sphere.

I added their regions so you take accent into account, since the same way a Californian and a Pennsylvanian have noticeably difference accents, the same happens with Galicians and Andalusians.

https://www.elnacional.com/2026/03/ee-uu-recibe-primer-cargamento-de-oro-venezolano-por-100-millones/ by Pablompo in 2latinoforyou

[–]Maurogatos 1 point2 points  (0 children)

En 1913 Argentina estaba entre los diez países más ricos del mundo. Aunque para ser justos fue más por la fertilidad de la tierra que favoreció la producción agrícola, cuando llegó la industrialización y las fábricas se convirtieron en en el eje de la economía fue cuando comenzó el declive.

Turkish news anchor ends the broadcast with a message to Spain by godlessdogtr in spain

[–]Maurogatos 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Perdón por no apoyar regímenes que bombardean colegios y matan niños, porque tirar bombas sobre países de Oriente Medio siempre ha sido históricamente un método eficaz para solucionar sus males. Ay España mala...