Wednesday, March 03, 2010

words Spanish needs


In Spanish there is no word for "helpful," as in, "thanks, you´ve been very helpful." You can say "útil," but that´s really more like "useful." "Amable" is more like "friendly." "Me da mucho ayuda," is "you give me lots of help," but the adjective just doesn´t exist. I´m looking at you, Royal Academy of Spanish, get on it.

Second, there´s no way to say, "I am looking forward to... meeting you in person, our lunch, the hearing, spring, etc." "Esperar" is an overworked verb than can mean to wait, to hope, or to expect (which is another problem), but it doesn´t really express the idea of looking forward to something.

Third, Spanish needs a verb for "realize," rather than having to use "darse cuenta de," which sort of means to give oneself account of something. Más venir.

addendum: Mar 7

Spanish has no verb for "to borrow." "Prestar" means to lend but there is no verb for the action of borrowing. You can't say "I borrowed $5 from him." You have to say "He lent me $5."

Siguiente, the verb "gastar" is asked to do too much. It means both "to spend" and "to waste." So, the sentence, "Yo gasté cincuenta dolares en escoces," means either "I spent $50 on scotch" or "I wasted $50 on scotch." Quite different meanings, which the listener/reader has to figure out from context. True, you could use "malgastar" for "waste." Any spanish speakers know which is more common?

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