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Words that could accidentally cause offence or embarassement
in Spanish
or "What did he just call me?"
I'd like to say that when you're learning a language, if you think that
someone's insulting you, don't immediately go defensive because in my
opinion, you are far more likely to be wrong. Even body language can
cause problems from country to country too since we greet each other
differently or have different hand gestures. Another
thing is to make sure you use masculine adjectives with men and
feminine ones with female. If you mix them up, you could accidentally
hint that someone is homosexual / effeminate etc. If the person you are
talking to knows that you are a foreigner, you should be forgiven
though. Note that some adjectives do not change or some profesions do
not change in gender e.g. a man or woman would be a masajista (masseur
/ masseuse). Here's a list of words that could be a little problematic:
Bastar means
"to be enough/sufficient"
¡Basta! means - That's enough! Bizarro
means "brave/generous". Caliente
means hot when referring to an object, and horny when referring to a
person. You should say 'Tengo calor = I am hot" Cargar (note
the r) means "to load/download" but
without the r, it means something like ... to discharge waste from the
anus. Coger is an
INNOCENT word in Spain with numerous
meanings and you can use it safely but in many places in Latin America, it is a swear word
meaning something like... umm... "to copulate" Constipado -
Estoy constipado means "I have a cold". Cuñado/a means brother/sister-in-law. Decepción
means "disappointment". Decepcionar
means "to disappoint". Desgracia
means "misfortune/accident". Deshonesto
can mean dishonest (not telling the
truth) or it can mean "indecent". Embarazada
means "pregnant" (note this adjective is
always feminine for obvious reasons.) Enfocar / foco / foca are
all innocent words. I want to include "foc" meaning "fire" in Catalan
because you may be asked for a 'foc' in certain regions, when someone
wants a light for their cigarette. Excitar
means (or at least, can mean) "to excite
sexually". If you mean to look forward to, use entusiasmarse por/con...
or use provocar. Gordito/a
is a friendly word - a term of endearment for your friends. I'm
not sure exactly how to translate it, but it DOESN'T mean 'little fat
one' at least, not in that context. Grosería
means "rudeness, vulgar comment or
a swearword". Guay means
something like 'cool / great' as in, 'That's cool' Ignorar
means "to be ignorant of/not to know"
although it can mean "to ignore" (I'm not completely sure of this last
point). Liar means
"to bind/confuse" (liarse means "to get
mixed up") Mama (I'm unsure of the
plural) means "teat/breast". Mamá
means "Mum/Mummy" (familiar use). Mareado -
Estar mareado = to feel sick / dizzy (casado = married) Molestar
means "to bother". You may see it on door
handles as "No moleste" meaning "Do not disturb". Negar means
"to deny" Oculto means
"hidden/secret" (figurative use). Ordinario
means "ordinary/common". Pájaro
means 'small bird' (the flying kind) and ave is a big bird. Don't say
pajero. This means "one who masturbates" and is also the name of a car.
It was named in error and the name had to be changed in Spanish
speaking countries Peinarse
means "to comb one's hair" Pisar means
"to tread on" so piso can mean I tread
on, or it means floor (of a hotel). Preservativo
means "sheath/condom" although you can
use condón. Sano means
"healthy/whole/intact". Simple means
"simple/easy" or "simple minded". See Unusual
Spanish adjectives/Adjectivos inusuales ¡ Toma !
(from the verb "tomar) means "Here
you are!" when giving something to somebody buy it can mean something
rude when accompanied by a hand gesture (in that context, it's a shortened form of a phrase). Trampa means
trap. Tu madre/padre
means, your mother/father and can be
used INNOCENTLY... but... if you say ¡ Tu madre ! then this
means f*** off! or ¡ Tu padre ! means Up yours! - so listen to
the context very carefully. It's obvious if someone is trying to insult
you. When in doubt, assume they didn't. ¡ Vete a saber !
means "who knows?" but
vete on it's own means "go away"
Are there any errors or do you want to add more information to these
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