Tortas, Monos, y Narices

by Rebeca, Tufts 1+4 Participant

When I arrived in Madrid I was reassured by the fact that I would not have a significant language barrier to cross due to the fact that I grew up in a household where Spanish is spoken. Little did I know the Spanish in Spain has a ton of unique sayings and word usage. In order to fully appreciate the differences in word uses and comedic phrases that form part of Spanish Spanish (as opposed to the Spanish I grew up with), I will write in Spanish now. (Do not worry, the English version comes after).

Spanish Version

Primero aprendí que coche en España es lo que conduces y carro es donde pones a un bebe cuando estas paseando. Para expresar que algo está muy bien, dicen “que guay”, “que chulo”, “como mola” o “mola mogollón.” “Que va” es como decir de ninguna manera. En vez de decir “ok” dicen “vale”. Una “torta” en Latinoamérica es un pastel, pero en España puedes “dar una torta” a alguien, que significa que pegas a esa persona. Pero se complica más.

Una tendencia de la gente aquí es exagerar, y esta tendencia se puede ver en la cantidad de frases que tienen para expresar cantidad y emoción. Para decir que hay mucho de algo, se puede decir, por ejemplo, “había tantas personas” seguido por “para parar un tren”, “que no veas”, “que te mueres”, “que flipas”, “a punta pala”, o “por un tubo.” También “cada dos por tres” significa que lo que estas describiendo pasa frecuentemente. Para decir que algo es un aburrimiento puedes decir que algo es “un rollo”, “un tostón”, “una castaña”, o “un peñazo.”

Las personas fastidiosas son “pesadas” o te “dan la lata”. Las cosas que cansan son “una paliza” y si lastimas a alguien le “das una paliza.” Si alguien hace algo con malas intenciones, lo hacen con “mala leche”, pero algo que está muy bien es “la leche.” Si alguien no te cae bien puedes decir que te “caen gordo”. Una persona amable es “maja”, mientras alguien o algo que es lindo es “mono”.

También hablan mucho de la nariz. “Hago lo que sale de las narices” significa que haces lo que te da la gana. “Tocar las narices a alguien” significa que estas molestando a alguien, pero “tocarse las narices” significa que no estás haciendo nada.

Si estas contando una historia de algo que te paso y quieres seguir añadiendo detalles de tu anécdota, puedes decir “y encima”, “además”, “por si fuera poco”, “para colmo”, “para más INRI” y “para rematar (la faena)”. Si te sientes más descriptiva, puedes usar colmar en otras formas.  Algo que es “la gota que colmó el vaso” es lo que llego al final de algo, y “colmar la paciencia de alguien” significa que ya has llegado al final del límite de tu paciencia. También una persona que tiene mala suerte tiene “mala pata.”

“Ser una morosa” significa que eres una persona que no paga. La vida nocturna es “la marcha”, que enfatiza la dedicación de los españoles a ir de fiesta. Una persona muy rica tiene mucho “pasta” o dinero. Finalmente llegamos a unas frases cómicas. “Una caca pinchada en un palo” significa que algo no tiene valor, al igual que algo que es “un cero a la izquierda.”

English Version

The first things I learned in Spain include the difference between “coche”, which means car, and “carro”, which is used to describe a wagon or baby stroller. These two words have switched meanings in the Spanish I learned. To say something is really cool you can say “que guay”, “que chulo”, “como mola” or “mola mogollón.”  “Que va” means “no way” and “vale” means “ok”, even though this word literally translates to “it has valor.” A “torta” in Latin America is a cake, but in Spain if you give someone “a torta” it means that you slapped them. But it gets more complex.

Spaniards like to exaggerate, and this can be seen in the number of phrases there are to describe quantity and boredom. To say that there is a lot of people, for example, you can say, “habian tantas personas” (there were so many people) followed by the following expressions: “para parar un tren” (literally to stop a train), “que no veas” (that you can’t see), “que te mueres” (that you die), “que flipas” (that you’d freak out), or “por un tubo (through a tube).” “Cada dos por tres” (two for every three) is used to describe something that happens frequently. Something that is boring can be described as “un rollo” (a roll), “un tostón” (this has many definitions, but primarily means toasted bread), “una castaña” (a chestnut), or “un peñazo.”

Someone who is annoying is “pesado”, which literally translates to “they weigh a lot”, or “te dan la lata” which translates to “they give you the can.” Things that are tiresome are “una paliza” and if you hurt someone you give them “una paliza”. If a person acts with bad intentions, they do it with “mala leche,” which means “bad milk”, but something that is really good is “la leche”, which means “the milk”. If you do not like someone you say “me caen gordo” which literally means they “fall you fat”. Someone who is nice is “majo”, while something that is cute is “mono”, which would mean “monkey” in Latin America.

The word “nose” is often used. “Hago lo que sale de las narices” (I do what comes out of my nose) means “I do what I want”. “Tocar las narices a alguien” (touch someone’s nose) means that you annoy that person, but “tocarse las narices” (to touch your nose) means you are doing nothing, much like when we say someone is scratching their belly.

If you are telling a story about a bad day and have to continually add details to your tale, to say “and also” you can use “y encima” (and on top of that), “además”, “por si fuera poco” (if all this were not enough), “para colmo”(to reach the limit), “para más INRI” (INRI refers to a title given to Jesus) y “para rematar (la faena)” (to finish the job). Something that is “la gota que colmó el vaso” (the drop that makes the cup overflow) is something that reaches the limit, and “colmar la paciencia de alguien” means to reach the end of someone’s patience. Also, someone with bad luck has “mala pata” or bad foot.

“Ser una morosa” means you are someone who does not pay. Nightlife in Madrid is called “la marcha” (the march), which I think shows the Spanish dedication to partying. A person who is rich has a lot of “pasta” (literally translates to pasta), which means money. Lastly, here are some comical phrases. “Una caca pinchada en un palo” (a poop on a stick) is used to describe something that has no value, as is “un cero a la izquierda” (a zero to the left).