EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

"Hmm, why do I have this nagging feeling that someone is watching me watching?" In Spanish, a MIRADOR is any place that allows a privileged view of the surroundings. In English, a MIRADOR is a VIEWPOINT or a LOOKOUT. Another possible translation is VANTAGE POINT, though in a tourist context this term is a bit less common.

The result of SHORTLISTING all the suitable candidates to become our  next president. A SHORTLIST is that precisely a: short list, one with the names of people who are participating in some sort of competition and have been deemed suitable. It can also been a verb, so you can say things such as "SHORLISTED candidates". In Spanish, we say SELECCION or SELECCIONAR, but it´s not necessarily the same. To say LISTACORTA or LISTACORTAR would not make much sense to us.

"See, Mom? I STUBBED my big toe again. I need to wear shoes!" When you accidentally strike your big toe, or any of your other toes or fingers, against something else that is called MACHUCAR (not to confuse with Machacar). The word in English is TO STUB.  The essential difference is that STUB is a verb and a noun, but as a noun, it has a different meaning: it is the what is left after a cigarette or a pencil after being used. MACHUCAR, the verb, or MACHUCON, the noun, is pretty much the same.

A DISINGENUOUS act indeed. DISINGENUOUS means Not Sincere. Anyone who gives a false appearance of frankness falls into that description.  Easily, DISINGENUOUS could be used to describe what a politician is like, since most of them are exactly that: DISINGENUOUS. In Spanish the word would be FINGIDO, FALSO, DESHONESTO.

Nope, this is not a Flying Saucer. It is a TAMBOURINE! An instrument that is as common as the Piano or the Violin and yet most English learners (in Ecuador, at least) don't know what is called in English. Perhaps, the answer to that lies in the fact that most of the English names for musical instruments are relatively similar in spelling to their Spanish versions so...         ENGLISH       SPANISH         piano              piano         violin             violín         guitar             guitarra         flute               flauta         trumpet          trompeta     In this case, the word we are looking for is TAMBOURINE. Not quite similar to PANDERETA, is it? 

So this is a CHOMPA and without buttons, it would be a JUMPER (or not?). This is an easy one because CHOMPA is actually JUMPER. The difference is that a CHOMPA is much more general in meaning and for instance, a sweater with buttons is a CHOMPA, but a JUMPER does not open in the front. CHOMPA is commonly used only in some English speaking countries such as Ecuador and Peru. 

" Well, I'm a real CATFISH and I'm not in the Internet. In fact, I hate all kinds of nets, especially fish nets!" CATFISH means PEZ GATO or more specifically BAGRE. These days, nevertheless, the term CATFISH has recently acquired a new meaning. A person who creates a fake identity to perhaps troll others. or with even more sinister purposes, is now commonly called a CATFISH and the action of doing such thing is known as CATFISHING.  There is no term for that in Spanish so perhaps using the term PEZ GATO or BAGRE to refer to those people will be the option to use.

"CALL IT A DAY? Why not call it a morning?" TO CALL IT A DAY means finishing what you are doing because you feel tired of it. It is a common expression in English, but that has no equivalent in Spanish. LLAMARLO UN DÍA is the direct translation, but it makes no sense in Spanish. We could say TERMINEMOS CON ESTO, or TERMINEMOS YA, but none of those is considered an expression.

"Yes, I FEEL LAZY TODAY, but then again I feel the same way all the time!" Sometimes when we translate into English we get to notice how practical English is when compared to Spanish and perhaps other languages as well. NO TENGO GANAS DE HACER NADA HOY is made up by seven words, but the same can be said in English with only four: I FEEL LAZY TODAY.  Of course, there are other options, and we could also say I DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING TODAY, but it's not necessarily the same.

"Oh yeah, I'm a troll n' the rest of the time I'm some guy living in Belgium." Trolling has several translations in Spanish: PESCAR, RONDAR, MERODEAR. However, if it means to make or leave provocative and offensive posts, then it has no translation. Being that the situation, many Spanish speakers are already using the English term for that annoying action, and have adapted it to Spanish. Thus, the verb TROLEAR is being used at the moment, but so far it has not been declared an official term.

"Sorry, what? No, not everything I wear is made of Denim.  My underwear for example..." When in Ecuadorian Spanish we use the term JEAN we refer to either the trousers everyone calls JEANS or the material such trousers are made of.  In other words, when we refer to pieces made of the same material as the trousers made famous by Levi's company so long ago. The correct term in Spanish for such material is MEZCLILLA which in English is DENIM. Then the right way to translate "CHAQUETA JEAN" is not really Jean Jacket but DENIM JACKET. 

"I'm Stan Lee, current King of Cameos. Even this is a cameo,. Right, girls?" UNA BREVE APARICION can indeed be translated as A BRIEF APPEARANCE, but that is not its most common use. A CAMEO APPEARANCE  or just A CAMEO refers to people appearing unexpectedly in a movie or TV production as themselves or playing a very short role. Sometimes their names are included in the list of credits at the end, and sometimes they are not.  The term CAMEO does not only involve the situations described above, but it may also extend to other instances as well such as regular books, comic strips and of course comic books where CAMEOS happen all the time.

"Hello, I'm a BACHELOR, and these are for you. You're a girl, right?"   If you think the word in Spanish is BACHILLER, you are right and not. The problem with this term is not the translation but the meaning it has, different in either language.  In English, a BACHELOR (female BACHELORETTE) is a young single man who has never been married. Also, a person with an undergraduate degree from a university is known as a BACHELOR. In Spanish, a BACHILLER is someone who has finished high school and nothing but. Usually, in Ecuador at least, after completing secondary studies a person receives a "Bachelor's Degree" that is really a certificate with no great value for job recruiters.  

Latinos be like ... If only for the direct translation, ¿MANDE? is COMMAND ME or TELL ME, but that is not the real meaning. In Ecuador, Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, it is customary to respond ¿MANDE? when someone of a higher rank, or one of your parents, calls you. Any other response is considered disrespectful, and though as of recent there are people questioning this old tradition, still it will be years before it disappears. In English MANDE? would be YES?   

"Am I being COY? But, of course. Can you not tell?" COY is one of those words that have more than one meaning, and for some mysterious reason, those meanings may seem disconnected.  The most common meaning associated with this word is Flirtatious. The idea is looking reserved, shy or vulnerable, but in a way that reveals is being done on purpose. Then, the right translation is COQUETA. COY also indicates there is a reluctance to show or accept something. You can be COY about sensitive information such as your age. In this case, COY would be RESERVADO in Spanish.

"And that partner of yours in Ecuador, Noboa, is he AFFLUENT?" AFFLUENT is another way to say rich, wealthy, prosperous. When you say that someone has no problems with money, in other words, he or she is rich and prosperous, we say in Spanish that someone has a POSICION ECONMICA HOLGADA. Of course, it's a long expression and saying AFFLUENT may not be enough. TO BE AFFLUENT is a more precise term to express the same idea in English.

"Hey, you know that guy Ant-man? I'm his daughter!" To BELITTLE means you are being mean to others by saying they are not important or making them feel that way. The way we say BELITTLE in Spanish is MENOSPRECIAR and just as in English is really a bad thing to do. The difference is though that in Spanish we can not "play" with the word and say that those who BELITTLE are being little, but perhaps we could say that "aquellos que MENOSPRECIAN a los demás en realidad a sí mismos se aprecian aún menos." 

"No customers again! Maybe we should relocate at that Bahía place in Ecuador." THRIFT STORES or CHARITY STORES are places where you can buy used clothes at very convenient prices. Usually, though not always, the purpose of THRIFT STORES is to raise money for charity.   THRIFT STORES are not FLEA MARKETS. The idea of a THRIFT STORE is to sell clothes only, whereas FLEA MARKETS sell all kinds of goods, including clothes, also at low prices. There is not a synonym for THRIFT STORE in Spanish. The closest in meaning is TIENDA DE ROPA USADA, though these are not necessarily meant to raise money for charitable purposes.

  MICHU MICHU? No human, that's not how you call a Gringo cat! Wait. Is that tuna? ¡Ya voy! MICHU MICHU, which is not even real Spanish, is the way people call their cats in Ecuador. It is also the way they call cats in Italy, so perhaps there is a connection. In other Spanish-speaking countries the formula is slightly different, a truth that also applies to English-speaking countries since in the United Kingdom, for instance, they say PUSS-PUSS, but in the United States, they say KITTY-KITTY-KITTY.

"Yes, I study in this COLLEGE to be a dentist. How did you know?"  Yes, they are, and no, they're not. A COLLEGE is by definition a UNIVERSITY, but a UNIVERSITY is not a COLLEGE.  COLLEGES are small universities that commonly receive fewer students and offer undergraduate degrees, that are the very first degrees you can obtain after finishing high school. COLLEGES also tend to be more "focused" and have fewer degree programs that are often related. Typically they do not offer graduate programs or programs leading to master's degrees or Ph D's. Places specialized in training or giving knowledge in one area are also called COLLEGES. There are secretarial colleges or law colleges, for example. UNIVERSITIES are larger institutions, with a lot more students and a more diverse offer of degree programs that can grant you undergraduate and graduate degrees. Because UNIVERSITIES tend to be large and diverse they are divided into faculties, but there ar