A Spanish Word for Today

[D. Allan]

afán \A'fin\, pl. afánes, noun:

eagerness; effort

The general idea behind afán is being enthusiastic about doing or achieving something. So it can mean either the eagerness with which you do something, or the effort you put into doing it. If you think of the phrase ‘a fan’, it may help you to remember the meaning.

en su afán de marcar un gol

in his eagerness to score a goal

The effort meaning comes out in the next example:

Trabajan con mucho afán.

They put a lot of effort into their work.

In Colombia afán means hurry as in:

Puede esperar, no hay afán.

It can wait, there’s no hurry.

related:

afanar

1verbo transitivo robar to nick, pinch

1verbo pronominal to work with zeal

› afanarse en to work hard at

› afanarse por to strive to, do one's best to

afanoso

1adjetivo persona eager, keen, zealous (of persons)

2adjetivo tarea hard, laborious, tough (of tasks)

sources: http://dictionary.reference.com

http://en.wiktionary.org

http://www.diccionarios.com

[D. Allan]

afición (afi'θjon), noun:

hobby; fans, supporters

Afición is a key word, since it refers to what we like doing in our spare time, or hobbies.

Mi afición es la filatelia.

My hobby is stamp collecting.

If you do something as a hobby, you do it por afición:

Pinta por afición.

He paints as a hobby.

In its other meaning, afición refers collectively to fans or supporters of a particular sport, usually football:

la afición española

the Spanish fans

la afición local

the local fans

related:

aficionado participio pasado, adjetivo

1. keen, fond; ser aficionado a algo to be fond of something

2. not profesional, amateur

or as a nombre (noun) both masc. and fem.

3. fan

4. an amateur

The English language imported the word "aficionado" about 1845, from Spanish. Its meaning in English remains: "amateur," with the specialized usage: "a devotee of bullfighting." lit. "fond of," from afición "affection," from L. affectionem.

sources: www.Dictionary.com

http://www.etymonline.com

http://www.diccionarios.com

[D. Allan]

zurdo (THUHR-doh)

left-handed

'zurdo' is the opposite of 'diestro' right-handed

Casi cada décimo ser humano es zurdo.

Almost every tenth human being is left-handed.

Spanish saying:

Borra con el codo [elbow] lo que escribe con la mano.

Her left hand doesn’t know what her right hand is doing.

http://www.spanish-word-a-day.com/

[D. Allan]

bonito, adjective:

pretty

You’ll come across bonito a lot in Spain. It applies to people and things.

Tiene una cara muy bonita.

She has a very pretty face.

el pueblo más bonita de Andalucía

the prettiest village in Andalusia

You often apply it to things and houses, and the translation in that case is nice:

Le gusta comer cosas bonitas.

She likes eating nice things.

Tienen una casa muy bonita.

They have a lovely or very nice house.

- from dictionary.com

[D. Allan]

La palabra del día: adecuado (ah-theh-KWAH-thoh) (Each d in this word sounds approximately like the "th" of "that.")

Significado: fitting, appropriate

Si necesitas un coche has venido al lugar adecuado.

"If you need a car you've come to the right place."

this term does not have the sometimes disparaging connotation of its English cognate, "adequate."

[D. Allan]

la lengua

tongue

idioms:

la lengua materna mother (native) tongue

"El alemán es su lengua materna." German is his native language.

las malas lenguas "the gossips"

"Según las malas lenguas, su hija está loca."

According to the gossips her daughter is insane.

[D. Allan]

el pez noun

fish

Estaba como un pez en el agua

"He felt right at home(was as snug as a bug in a rug.)" literally "He was like a fish in water."

Es un pez gordo

"He's a bigwig (a big shot)." Literally, "He's a big fish."

[A_G_Brito]

Those who are able to read Spanish could try a little Portuguese, which has many similarities in terms of written texts (pronunciation changes a little). That would be one more option in a new field to learn new things and communicating more amply.

Some tips about Portuguese in comparision with Spanish:

The endings ...ción in Portuguese is ...ção (Sp- oración; Pt- oração )

The articles: Sp- la/las; Pt- a/as -- fem. // Sp- el/los; Pt- o/os -- masc.

Diminutive: Sp- ito/ita; Pt- inho/inha. Ex. Sp- casita; Pt- casinha

Of course there are great variation in vocabulary, so that it's not just a question of endings. . .

* Countries where Portuguese is spoken and is the official language: Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guiné Bissau, East Timor

* A good dictionary Spanish/Portuguese for free in the Net which even brings the sound of pronunciations:

http://www.wordreference.com/ptes/

[D. Allan]

Thank you for that! Very interesting!

Curiosity asks: why did the Spanish and Portuguese languages come to have these differences, when their countries lie side by side on the Iberian penninsula? Was it due to geographic, ethnic, political or other causes?

[D. Allan]

la pesca fem. noun:

fishing

ir de pesca

to go fishing

Vamos de pesca.

"We're going fishing."

pescar verb:

to fish

pesco........I fish

pescas.......You fish

pesca........She fishes

pescamos....We fish

pescáis......You fish

pescan......They fish

[D. Allan]

la brocha (BROA-chah)

1.(para pintar) paintbrush

2. a. brocha de afeitar, shaving brush; b. brocha de maquillar, blusher brush.

idioms:

de brocha gorda poorly done, literally "of brush large."

Escribió unos cuantos versos de brocha gorda.

un pintor de brocha gorda a house painter

Es un pintor de brocha gorda

"He's a house painter."

[Dr. Shane]

Word: la arca

Pronunciation: AHR-kah (The Spanish r here is pronounced with a tap of the tongue against the front of the palate.)

Meaning: ark (either the chest containing the Ten Commandments of the Hebrews, or a large boat)

Example: Y Dios dijo a Noé, hazte un arca de madera de gofer.

Translation: And God said to Noah, make yourself an ark of gopher wood.

Warning: Arca is feminine.

[D. Allan]

le pájaro (PAharo)

bird

Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando.

(Better to have bird in hand than a hundred flying.)

– A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

[D. Allan]

ahorita

It has two seemingly contradictory meanings: “right now” and “in a minute,” depending on the intentions of the speaker.

Some common phrases using ahorita:

Necesito que lo hagas ahorita. I need you to do it right now.

¿Dónde estás ahorita? Where are you right now?

Ahorita le atiendo. I will attend to you in a minute.

Ahorita regreso. I will be back in a minute.

If someone says ahora mismo you can be sure they mean, "RIGHT NOW!"

[A_G_Brito]

Thank you for that! Very interesting!

Curiosity asks: why did the Spanish and Portuguese languages come to have these differences, when their countries lie side by side on the Iberian penninsula? Was it due to geographic, ethnic, political or other causes?

Well, they developed differently, as within Spain itself there is the catalán, which is (roughly) half Spanish, half French.

Maybe that is because at that time there was no Internet nor rock'n'roll. . .

[D. Allan]

Well, they developed differently, as within Spain itself there is the catalán, which is (roughly) half Spanish, half French.

Maybe that is because at that time there was no Internet nor rock'n'roll. . .

OK. Makes sense. No TV or Newpapers either.

[D. Allan]

bobo, -ba adj.

silly, foolish, simple, naive

bobo, ba noun

fool, idiot; clown, funny man

"Juan Bobo has emerged throughout the years as the apparent ruler among all trickster's names. Manrique Cabrera says this name is preferred by locals because it signifies the mentality of a true jibraro:

The character of Juan Bobo, under all its forms and costumes, seems to

show, prima facie, an evolution in the stories where he is the main

character. The simple fool transforms himself into a person that pretends

to be a numskull using his foolishness as a disguise. This evolutionary

slanting seems to reflect the assimilation of a trait attributed to the

jibaro's psychic. It refers to what has been called "jaiberia," an attitude

which feigns dullness to throw off those who come near. It is a defensive

weapon whose ultimate efficacy is worth investigating. (Translated from

Manrique Cabrera, 1982, p. 62)" - http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-54836351.html

[D. Allan]

Another word for "brush," which is not limited to paint like "brocha" is, is

le cepillo

1. brush; c. de dientes, toothbrush; c. del pelo, hairbrush

2. (de carpintero) plane

3. Rel (limosnero) alms box.

cepillar vtr

1. to brush

2. (en carpintería) to plane (down)

3. fam (hurtar) to pinch

cepillarse vr

1. (el pelo, etc) to brush

2. fam (asesinar) to do in

3. fam (ventilarse) to polish off: se cepilló el libro en dos horas, he polished off the book in two hours .

Presente (I brush, am brushing) cepillo cepillas cepilla cepillamos cepilláis cepillan

Futuro (I will brush) cepillaré cepillarás cepillará cepillaremos cepillaréis cepillarán

Imperfecto (I was brushing, used to brush,) brushed cepillaba cepillabas cepillaba cepillábamos cepillabais cepillaban

Gerundio (brushing) cepillando

Participio pasado (brushed) cepillado

[D. Allan]

el baloncesto (bah-lon-THES-toh)

basketball

¿Quieres jugar al baloncesto con nosotros?

Do you want to play basketball with us?

[Gail]

Here's an interesting item that we were discussing yesterday:

izquierda= left (direction)

Se fuer= To leave

In Spanish, two different words to cover the English word, "left"

BUT

derecho= right (direction)

derecho= right (a person's right)

Same word in Spanish covers the same word in English, although in some parts derecho can mean, "straight ahead"

[D. Allan]

derecho= right (a person's right) - as in "You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to a lawyer."

el brazo derecho "the right arm" used as an adjective

derechos humanos "human rights", used as a noun (masc.)

sigue todo derecho "go straight ahead", used as an adverb.

¡no hay derecho!, used as a noun

Exclamación de protesta ante algo que se considera injusto

Exclamation of protest against something considered injust.

I don't see it used as a verb.

[D. Allan]

izquierda, left, is used as an adjective and noun. Just as derecho it is not used as a verb either.

It is just an accident in our English that the verb 'to leave' has 'left' as past. participle in common with 'left' the direction. Spanish has it's own accidents, no doubt!

Salí de casa a mediodía. I left home at noon.

[D. Allan]

madrugar

to get up early

Americans have a saying, "The early bird gets the worm."

Spanish speakers say, "A quien madruga Dios lo ayuda." "God helps those who get up early." or

"The early riser gets God's help."

[D. Allan]

vistazo , noun:

look; glance

Sometimes people want to have a quick look at something. A phrase they often use is dar un vistazo a to have a quick look at:

No he tenido tiempo más que para dar un vistazo al informe.

I’ve only had time to have a quick look at the report.

You also use it with the verb echar:

Sólo hay que echar un vistazo a las cifras para comprender la gravedad de la situación.

You only have to glance at the figures to realize how serious the situation is.

You can use vistazo outside these two phrases, as in:

En un primer vistazo a Trafalgar Square nadie lo nota.

At first glance you don’t notice it on Trafalgar Square.

-dictionary.com

[D. Allan]

entrenar , verb:

to train

Entrenar is the word you use when someone is training someone else:

Igual entreno a niños que al primer equipo.

I train kids and the first team, it’s all the same to me.

Le acusaron de entrenar a terroristas.

They accused him of training terrorists.

When you want to talk about training that someone does for themselves, you use the reflexive entrenarse:

Empezará a entrenarse a partir del lunes.

He’ll start training on Monday.

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© HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2006.

-REFERENCE.COM