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bdlngton

Mar 12, 2005, 3:54 PM

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What word would you use?

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I was helping a friend with her menaje de casa and there were a few things that I either didn't know or wasn't sure which word was used in Mexico. I asked my Colombian ex for some help, but I know that he may use words that are not the common word in Mexico. So here are the items I was not sure of:
alfombra or tapete? I would use tapete for an area rug but alfombra for wall-to-wall. What is used in Mexico?
dresser--tocador or armario?
hutch--like the top part that goes on a desk or china cabinet
plant stand?
trastos or trastes? dictionary says trastos, the Colombiano ex says trastes
box springs??--Colombiano ex has no idea as those are not common there

I'm curious to hear what you all use. I've to Mexicanize my Spanish again. What does it mean to you if I say "Soy mona"?
Susy

Ed and Fran

Mar 12, 2005, 6:42 PM

Post #2 of 8 (3018 views)

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Re: [bdlngton] What word would you use?

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Since you asked I'll tell you what we'd use, but there's no guarantee that it's correct.

alfombra or tapete? I would use tapete for an area rug but alfombra for wall-to-wall. What is used in Mexico?

Just like you said.

dresser--tocador or armario?

tocador

hutch--like the top part that goes on a desk or china cabinet
plant stand?

Don't know. When we moved I just put 'escritorio' on the menaje. The fact that the movers moved it in two parts I conveniently forgot when I made out the menaje ahead of time. Fran says it could be termed 'tablero' (or simply 'parte superior').

trastos or trastes? dictionary says trastos, the Colombiano ex says trastes

Mi jarocha dice 'trastes' tambien.

box springs??

We used 'box', but listed it right after the 'colchon'. I've seen 'box' used on signs in the store.

What does it mean to you if I say "Soy mona"?

To me it would mean you are saying that you're cute. Didn't we just go over that one a couple of days ago, when I related how I had referred to Fran as 'muy changa' once upon a time. (And only once, I can assure you!).

Regards

E&F

esperanza

Mar 12, 2005, 9:15 PM

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Re: [Ed and Fran] What word would you use?

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What he said.

Dresser can also be vestidor.
Box is it for box spring, just be sure to list it as colchón y box.

Eres bien mona, bdlington. Jajajajajajaja.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

bdlngton

Mar 12, 2005, 9:16 PM

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Re: [Ed and Fran] What word would you use?

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Thanks for the reply. It's always interesting to see the differences in Spanish from country to country.

hutch--I never thought of parte superior. That's good. I used estante para escritorio.

When someone in Ajijic said to me in December that I was "güera" I replied (without thinking), "Sí, soy mona." Then I caught myself and thought, "Great! I just told him I was either cute or a monkey" and corrected myself to "güera." Mono/mona in Colombia is "blond, fair." Interesting in my Diccionario Porrúa de la lengua española, published in Mexico, they also give "rubio, de cabellos de color de oro" as one meaning. "Rubio" is also given as the definition of
"güero." And in Colombia mico is the word for monkey, not chango.
Susy

bdlngton

Mar 13, 2005, 11:18 AM

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Re: [esperanza] What word would you use?

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I choose to take that in best possible interpretation of mona: a cute blonde!!

Isn't vestidor also a dressing room?
Susy

esperanza

Mar 13, 2005, 11:32 AM

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Re: [bdlngton] What word would you use?

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That's exactly how I meant it. :^)

I'm thinking about the girls and women I've known whose names are really Spanish-language compliments: Mona, Linda, Bonita, etc. I bet all the 'Lindas' never knew their name meant 'pretty'...at least not till they got to high school Spanish.

And I wonder if Daisy Fuentes' name was originally Margarita.

Yes, another meaning for vestidor is dressing room.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

bdlngton

Mar 13, 2005, 12:02 PM

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Names

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I'll bet Daisy Fuentes name is actually Daisy. My ex's sister is named Deisy Liliana and they have a cousin named Daisy. I think Daisy Duck was far more popular in Latin American than we imagines. Or could it have been Daisy Duke, of the Dukes of Hazzard? His other sister's name is Nancy Rubiela. I wonder if that has any Spanish roots or is just borrowed from English. I don't think it's a Biblical name, is it? His dad's name, as well as hiw own middle name, is Alirio, which I've never heard in Mexico, though it may exist. Colombians are notorious for taking English names, or even words, and colombianizing them. When I taught there I had lots of boys named John, often spelled Jhon (if the h is silent, I guess you can put it wherever you want.) My ex said he always his name to be Jonathan from watching the TV series Hart to Hard. A popular girl's name was Yesica (colombianized Jessica, I'm sure) and even Yenifer or Yenny. My exchange partner's daughter, though named Blanca Cecilia, has always been called Linda since the first moment her dad saw her after birth and said "¡Qué Linda!" I had a boy student named Ever. I wonder where that comes from? One of the teachers I worked with was called Mona by everybody because she was somewhat fair--though next to me she looked dark. Guess mono is a relative term. And Colombians seem to have a thing about giving a child a name, and then calling them by their middle name. Deisy Liliana is almost always called Liliana. And I thought Mexicans used the diminuitive a lot until I went to Colombia. There not only names are made diminuitive but many other things too: aguita, tecito, cafecito, etc.
Susy

Marta R

Mar 13, 2005, 5:02 PM

Post #8 of 8 (2970 views)

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Re: [bdlngton] Names

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My mother, the last of five girls, was born and raised in the Yucatan. Her sisters were named Maria, Amida, Dolores, and Aida. Her name is Nell. Just that. Nell.

She thought it was wonderfully exotic until we came to the States and she picked up a Little Golden Book for me, because it had her name on it. Turned out "Nell" was the name of a cow. She was not a happy camper.

Marta