English Phrase
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Translations by
Country
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Comments
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Apricot
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Most: albaricoque
Argentina, Chile, Uruguay: damasco
Mexico: chabacano
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In Spain: saying that
someone is "chabacano" means he is vulgar.
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Baby
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Most: bebé
Argentina, Uruguay: beba (girl), bebe (boy)
Chile: guagua
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In Cuba, the Dominican
Republic, Puerto Rico and the Canary Islands: a "guagua" is a bus.
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Bug
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Most: bicho
Mexico: insecto
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In Puerto Rico:
"bicho" has a sexual meaning (it's a key part of the male anatomy).
A bug killer was once translated as "mata bichos" and, as you can
imagine, this sounded very funny in Puerto Rico.
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Cake
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Most: pastel
Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela: torta
Bolivia, Costa Rica: queque
Colombia: ponqué, torta
Cuba: cake
Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico: bizcocho
Panama: cake, dulce
Peru: queque, torta
Spain: tarta
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"Torta" in
Mexico means "sandwich" (torta de jamón)
“Torta” in the
Dominican Republic is most of the time refer to the whip cream thrown into
people’s faces in TV shows
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Car trunk
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Mexico:
"cajuela", in other countries "maletero",
"baúl"
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Department Store
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Mexico:
"cajuela", in other countries "maletero",
"baúl"
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Most: grandes
almacenes
Cuba: tienda
Colombia: almacén grande
Costa Rica: tienda de departamentos
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Venezuela:
tienda por departamentos
Mexico: tienda departamental
Panama: Almacén
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Elevator
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Mexico: elevador, in
most countries "ascensor"
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Eyeglasses
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Most: anteojos
Colombia: gafas, lentes
Cuba, Puerto Rico: espejuelos
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, México, Venezuela: lentes
Spain: gafas
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"Anteojos"
is an old fashioned word in Mexico.
“Gafa” in Venezuela
mean dumb girl
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Grocery Store
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Colombia: mercado
Costa Rica: compras
Cuba: bodega
Dominican Republic: víveres
El Salvador: pulpería
Guatemala: tienda
Mexico: super, tienda de abarrotes
Panama: abarrotería
Puerto Rico: colmado
Spain, Venezuela: supermercado
Uruguay: almacén
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Hello? (answering
telephone)
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Most: ¿Dígame?
Argentina, Bolivia: ¿Hola?
Cuba: ¿Oigo?
Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Peru, Venezuela: ¿Aló?
Mexico: ¿Bueno?
Panama, Puerto Rico: ¿Haló?
Uruguay: ¿Aló? ¿Hola?
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Hot pepper
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Most: chile
Bolivia, Chile, Venezuela, Peru: ají
Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico: ají picante
Costa Rica: chile picante
Ecuador: pimiento picante
Spain: guindilla
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Jacket
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Most: chaqueta
Argentina: campera
Dominican Republic, Panama: saco
Mexico: chamarra
Peru: casca
Puerto Rico: blazer (women), gabán (men)
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In Spain, for example,
a "saco" is a large bag, for example, a large bag of potatoes. In
Mexico "saco" is used for suits.
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Lawn
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Most: césped
Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Peru: pasto
Colombia: hierba, manga, pasto, prado
Cuba, Dominican Republic: yerba
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela: grama
Puerto Rico: grama, pasto
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In Spain:
"pasto" is grass for animals (for grazing) and "grama" is
a type of grass for the lawn.
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Muffin
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Most: panecillo
Argentina, Colombia: muffin
Bolivia: pancito
Guatemala: mollete
Mexico: muffin, panqué, pastelito
Peru: quequito
Venezuela: ponqué
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In some countries:
"panecillo" is a dinner roll and "panqué" is a pancake.
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Popcorn
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Cuba: rositas de maíz
Argentina: pochoclo
Venezuela: cotufa
Spain: palomitas, palomitas de maíz
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“Palomitas” can
also mean little pigeons
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Sidewalk
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Mexico: banqueta,
acera
In many countries: "acera"
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In Spain:
"banqueta" is a bench
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