Spanish Word of the Day

Quote: Wizard

compare and contrast añorar, extrañar, y "echar de menos."

Also marrar.

The Spanish word "extrañar" is related to the English word "extraneus" and can also mean "to exile" as well as "to miss".

The other two synonyms are not directly from Latin. The word "añorar" is taken from Catalan, and "echar de menos" is an idiom from Galician Portuguese. I do remember from Mexico that echar was one of the most complicated verbs, because it is so frequently used in idioms.

I was told by a Puerto Rican Spanish speaker that "extrañar" is the preferred word.

Quote: Pacomartin

I was told by a Puerto Rican Spanish speaker that "extrañar" is the preferred word.

That is also my experience.

Fecha: 21-5-13
Palabra: Sanguijuela

Today's SWD means leech. The question for the advanced readers is to confirm or deny a common etymology with the word sangre (blood). Extra credit for an explanation of the suffix juela. Perhaps a connection to juala. Could a leech be a "blood cage"?

Ejemplo time.

Para nunca ayudando con nada deberes, Sra. Howell es la sanguijuela de la isla. = For never helping with any chores, Mrs. Howell is the leech of the island.

Quote: Wizard

The question for the advanced readers is to confirm or deny a common etymology with the word sangre (blood). Extra credit for an explanation of the suffix juela. Perhaps a connection to juala. Could a leech be a "blood cage"?

Yes the prefix is from "sangre" for blood, and also the Latin verb, "sūgō" which means sucker. In Latin it would be a "sanguisūga" for blood sucker.

However, a suffix is added in Spanish. The suffix comes from a Latin diminutive: i.e. fīliolus (“young son”), from fīlius (“son”)

In Spanish the suffix (mascuiline/feminine) -uelo/-uela or variants -zuelo/-zuela are both diminutives but they have grown to express contempt. This suffix is rarely used.

So put it all together and you have a "tiny contemptible blood sucker".

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The Spanish word "jaula" is one of those rare words that is from Old French jaole (modern geôle) from which we obviously get English "jail". It is unrelated to the suffix.

Quote: Wizard

Perhaps a connection to juala.

J-A-U-L-A

Quote:

Para nunca ayudando con nada deberes, Sra. Howell es la sanguijuela de la isla. = For never helping with any chores, Mrs. Howell is the leech of the island.

"For never helping with nothing homework..."

Deberes is one of those South American words not used and poorly understood farther north.

I think "labores" is the better choice. "Deberes" looks like a viable synonym in the dictionary, but in Spain and Argentina it means "homework".
I think it varies in Mexico. They also use "tareas", but "tareas domésticas" specifically means "household cores". As it is unambigious it might be a good word to use in the sentence.

Quote: Nareed

"For never helping with nothing homework..."

I thought a negative sentence in Spanish was supposed to have two negative words. That is why I threw in the nunca, but wasn't sure if that was the right choice.

Quote:

Deberes is one of those South American words not used and poorly understood farther north.

I confused deberes with tarea. Both can mean homework, but tarea can also mean chores, which was what I was trying to say Mrs. Howell wasn't doing, thus leeching off the help of the other six castaways.

Quote: Wizard

I thought a negative sentence in Spanish was supposed to have two negative words. That is why I threw in the nunca, but wasn't sure if that was the right choice.

Nunca is right. the conjugation that follows isn't. And nada is nothing. I mean it's not a negative. it's a quantity equal to zero. As n math, zero is not a negative number.

So: Por no ayudar nunca con el quehacer...

Or: Por nunca hacer ningun trabajo...

Quote:

I confused deberes with tarea. Both can mean homework, but tarea can also mean chores, which was what I was trying to say Mrs. Howell wasn't doing, thus leeching off the help of the other six castaways.

See here: http://www.merriam-webster.com/spanish/quehacer

Quote: Nareed

So: Por no ayudar nunca con el quehacer...
Or: Por nunca hacer ningun trabajo...

How about "Porque ella no ayuda en cualquier tarea domésticas,"

I am particularly interested if "cualquier" is correctly used.

Quote: Pacomartin

How about "Porque ella no ayuda en cualquier tarea domésticas,"

I am particularly interested if "cualquier" is correctly used.

Yes, but it sounds stilted and forced. And you matched a singular word "tarea" with a plural one "domesticaS." That's a very common error among native English speakers, even fluent ones.

Quote: Nareed

Yes, but it sounds stilted and forced.

Do these phrases sound stilted? Is either one preferred over the other?

(1) cualquier cosa
(2) una cosa cualquiera

Article on saying "any" in Spanish