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How can I find more literal translations of Spanish words and phrases? (programming.dev)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/spanish

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I used to be confused why "mi nombre es" and "me llamo" seemed to both mean "my name is". I read that "me llamo" really means "I am called" but I guess culturally they use "me llamo" in the same way we use "my name is" even though "mi nombre es" is a more literal translation.

I'm asking because there are a lot of phrases I'm learning that I know how to use but am still confused. If I knew the actual literal translation I would feel more comfortable. Things like "my brother likes basketball" being "A mi hermano le gusta el baloncesto" are confusing. The use of el doesn't confuse me, that's just how it is and I can see past it, we just don't say "I like the basketball" in English. But what is the point of "a" at the start? To? To what? To my brother? I sort of understand le. I'm not sure when to use it, I'm developing an intuitive understanding of when to use me/te/le/nos as opposed to yo/tú/él/ella/nosotros but it's still tricky.

So I'm wondering where I can find actually literal translations of these phrases. So many sites seem to use the phrase to mean "translation" (or maybe I'm misunderstanding the term literal translation but I'd think it is as one to one as possible).

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[–] elephantium 2 points 1 year ago

I'm not sure that you CAN find this type of literal/exact translation other than looking up each individual word in the dictionary.

Also, think about the German word schadenfreude. There's no single word for this concept in English. I'm sure you'll run into an occasional Spanish example of this phenomenon.

Another thought re: using the word "the":

American: I'm hurt, take me to the hospital. British: I'm hurt, take me to hospital.

Oh, one more thought - idioms frequently don't translate. In English, we say "beggars can't be choosers". In Spanish, you'd say A buen hambre, no hay pan duro. ("To good hunger there is no hard bread.")

Good luck!

[–] elbarto777 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I cannot comment on where to find literal translations, but I can help you with the gusta part.

In Spanish, the verb like is associated to the liked thing rather than the person who is liking. Sort like how the verb "to please" works in English.

So, when you say "That movie pleases me," the movie is not doing anything to you per se, because the emotion is coming from you.

Same deal with Spanish. "I like that movie ---> that movie "likes me" (or makes me like it, sort of.)

So, "My brother likes basketball" ---> Basketball "produces a liking feeling" to my brother":

El baloncesto le gusta a mi hermano.

However, even though the above is correct, it's more common to invert it:

A mi hermano le gusta el baloncesto.

Sort of like "Basketball, my brother likes."

Werid for an English speaker? You bet. For Spanish natives it's quite natural.

Interesting fact: other languages also use the "I am called" form. Danish: "Jeg heter Lars" - "I (respond to/am called) Lars."

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks, that helps a lot. It's still tricky but it feels more natural. Also the "El baloncesto le gusta a mi hermano" helps some. The use of A makes s little more sense there. Idk why. But I get what you mean about saying it one way versus the other. Like how Yoda speaks backwards. It's just strange that the backwards one sounds more natural. I'm sure once I progress I'll get used to it though. I got used to adjectives after nouns after all.

[–] elbarto777 1 points 1 year ago

It took me a while to get used to "borrow" for the same exact reason.

In Spanish it's common to say "tú me prestas tu calculadora" - literally meaning "you lend me your calculator". But in English, it's quite common to use the verb "borrow" in those circumstances - "Can I borrow your calculator?" See how the nouns are swapped?

So a common mistake for Spanish speakers is to ask "Can you borrow me your calculator?" when they actually mean "Can I borrow your calculator?"