Spanish favs
by David
El Río Perené: agua dulce
Below are some of my favorite Spanish words, phrases, and oddities. I will try to continue updating this list throughout my time in Peru. Some of the lexical nuggets are surely more Peruvianisms than formal and proper español, but that’s just fine with me. ¡Adelante!
Dar a luz
This phrase is used to mean “to give birth,” but its literal translation would be “to give a light.” It’s such a wonderful and poetic phrase: likening the act of bearing a child into the world to giving light. And it’s not like this phrase is rarely used! In Peru at least, it’s the colloquial way to express the act of childbirth in any conversation.
Agua dulce
It means freshwater. The literal translation is “sweet water.” It’s cool to think of agua dulce as the gastronomical opposite to salt water. In Peru, they sometimes talk about pescado de agua dulce, which means freshwater fish. Apparently, you can even make the famous Peruvian dish ceviche with pescado de agua dulce
Recordar
Recordar is a verb that means to remember. If I say, yo te recuerdo, I am telling you, “I remember you.” This word is absolutely beautiful when you think about its etymology. In Latin, the root “cor” refers to the heart; in Spanish, a Romance language if you recall, corazon is heart. Thus, recorder in some sense means “to go through your heart again.” Yo te recuerdo, “you are passing through my heart again.”
Celeste
Celeste refers to the color of sky blue. I like the word because it rolls smoothly off the tongue and also evokes a divine, ethereal sense with its similarity to the word “celestial” in English. In this instance, I also like how Spanish seems to offer a speaker more precision and parsimony when describing the color.
Parasol, paraguas, parabrisas
Respectfully, they mean “sunshade, umbrella, windshield.” Literally, as you can probably decipher, they mean “for sun, for water, for breezes.” I like these compound phrases because they are so simple, descriptive, cute, and workable.
Esposas, esposar
The meaning I am referring here is “handcuffs, to handcuff,” the former word being the noun and the later the verb. The great humor here comes from the fact that esposas also refers to a spouse of the female variety — that is, a wife. That’s right, the actual word for handcuffs in Spanish is the same as the word for wives! And it’s also a verb! If I want to say, “I’m putting handcuffs on you” in Spanish, I’m literally saying, “I’m putting the wives on you.”
Tapar el sol con un dedo
This phrase means “to stop a huge problem with a small solution” or, in more colloquial English, “to put a bandaid on a gaping wound” or “to put out a fire with a thimble of water.” Literally, it means “to cover the sun with one finger.” I like this phrase because it also evokes such visual imagery for me. I imagine myself on a clear summer day with blue skies enveloping the sun, one eye shut, my right arm outstretched, my right hand in a fist with my thumb extended trying to block out the sun.
Choque y fuga
It means “hit and run” or a “one-night stand.” Literally, it means “to crash and escape.” I like the phrase because it seems so mischevious with the escaping part. You hear it quite a bit.
Pasar la voz
This phrase means to “let someone know” (about a piece of information). Literally, it means, “to pass the voice.” So, if I told you, le pasas la voz, I’m basically saying “will you let him know,” or “will you pass him the voice.”
Aquicito, aguacito, arribita, cerrito, hijito, gordito, madrugadita, osito, papacito, puntito, solcito
These words are all forms of the Spanish diminutive. And oh do the Peruvians love their diminutive. It’s difficult to translate some of these words directly. Aquicito literally means “a little bit of here” and colloqually means “just right here, right next to me.” Arribita references arriba, or up, and means, “just a little bit up.” Gordito means a little plump, and doesn’t have an overtly negative connotation. Osito means a small bear and is also used for “teddy bear.” Solcito means a little bit of sun; just today, someone told me salió el solcito, or “a little bit of sun came out.”