EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

"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.

I had to say it: I wrote this short entry AT ONCE                                                                                 In Ecuadorian Spanish, we say DE UNA to indicate that something happened really quickly or that there was not any preliminary routine in an event, it just began. That would be Immediately or AT ONCE.  AT ONCE also means Simultaneously, but that is one meaning that DE UNA does not have. Besides, there is a slight connotation in the use of DE UNA since it is considered vulgar or uneducated, not necessarily the same thing in English.