One word, many meanings Posted by Adir on Dec 9, 2008 in Spanish Vocabulary
Synonyms are terms or expressions which have the same or similar meanings and it also entails the study of the contexts in which they occur. I have chosen some very common Spanish words and their synonyms with examples, espero que les guste.
Abogado – lawyer
1. letrado – lawyer. El letrado nos leyó la carta. (The lawyer read us the letter.)
2. abogado – lawyer, barrister, solicitor. Mi hija quiere ser abogada. (My daughter wants to be a lawyer.)
3. escribano – notary. Ese contrato se ha firmado con la presencia del escribano. (This contract was signed in the presence of a notary.)
4. pasante – (young) paralegal. Trabajó como pasante de notario por muchos años. (He worked as a paralegal for many years.)
5. cuervo, picapleitos – a shyster, an ambulance chaser. Él no pasa de ser un picapleitos, no se le puede llamar abogado. (He’s nothing but a shyster, you can’t call him a lawyer.)
Agradable – pleasant, nice
1. deleitoso – delightful. Se sentaron en un jardín deleitoso para tomar un tecito. (They sat in a delightful garden to have a cup of tea.)
2. exquisito – exquisite. Nos sirvieron un vino exquisito antes de la cena. (They served us an exquisite wine before dinner.)
3. acogedor – welcoming, pleasant. Es una familia muy acogedora. (It is a very welcoming family.)
4. chido (Mexico) – nice, cool. Tu carro está chido. (Your car is cool.)
5. guay (Spain) – nice, cool. La fiesta estuvo muy guay anoche. (The party was very cool last night.)
6. a toda madre – very cool, awesome. La película está a toda madre. (The movie is awesome.)
Nos vemos prontito!!!
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About the Author: Adir
English / Spanish teacher and translator for over 20 years. I have been blogging since 2007 and I am also a professional singer in my spare time.
Comments:
Anna:
And while we’re on the subject of lawyers, it’s worth noting that “notario” in Spanish speaking countries is also a trained law professional, but a notary in the US is not (it’s a person who can certify documents and somesuch and who doesn’t have to be a lawyer). Many people are confused by this difference assuming that a notary (even though translated as “notario” into Spanish) in the US is a lawyer. There were even cases of crooked notaries exploiting this difference and pretending to be lawyers and scamming Spanish-speaking immigrants.
andreas:
Thanks for the blog. but I have a question: Why in the sentences with agradable the verb estar is used, though the qualities described are not temporary?
david carmona:
When you are giving your personal opinion, or your take on facts, events, people, or objects, the verb “estar” is often used. It is not related to a temporal quality.
Lo que has hecho está muy bien. — What you’ve done is right.
La película estuvo entretenida. — The movie was entertaining.
Ese futbolista está acabado. — That football (soccer) player is past his prime.
Me encanta ese juego. ¡Está genial! — I love that game. It is great!
andreas:
David,Gracias por la clarificación!
indemnizacion del trabajador:
es una fantastica forma de verlo, la verdad que puede que lleves razon en ciertos comentarios, pero sin lugar a dudas, buen contenido!! Volvere mas! 😉 Saludos