Discover Spanish With Us » Adjectives

Obstante

David — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 02:26:31 +0000

I don’t know how such a useful word has alluded me for all these years. The word obstante did not come onto my vocabulary radar until recently (after having been a Spanish speaker for 7 years). However, the word obstante is a very useful one.

As a conjunction it can be expressed with the basic English word but. There are many other words that can be translated as obstante: however, nevertheless, nonetheless, albeit and notwithstanding.

As an adverb obstante can be use as in spite of or despite.

There are other Spanish word which may map more exactly to the words listed above, but this list gives you a broad sense of what obstante is trying to express.

Chinchudo

David — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:22:33 +0000

I have an Argentine friend who often repeats himself (he is 86 years old) and says that he is chinchudo. It took me a while to figure out the meaning of this word. It is grumpy or easily annoyed. Sometimes he uses it with the idea of having a short temper.

This is definitely an Argentine word. It comes from a slang called Lunfardo which is primarily only found in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay.

Maña

David — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:11:01 +0000

Maña is a word with many definitions, but in the context I heard it in it meant bad habits. In that context it could also be quirky, cranky, odd or eccentric. When used this way it is usually referring to an older person who is set in his ways.

The positive meaning of maña is a skill or a knack. Tener maña is to have a particular ability to do or manage something.

Idiomatic expression with maña: Más vale maña que fuerza. Brain is better than brawn.

Desmoronamiento

David — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:13:58 +0000

While walking in a park recently I saw a sign that said, “Zona de desmoronamientos.” I did not think it meant that they don’t want morons around, so I tried to figure it out from the surrounding area. I gathered it meant something like landslide or broken road. That is what I deduced from what I saw.

The actual meaning is to break apart or to crumble. It is from the verb desmoronar.

Figuratively it can mean coming apart emotionally. The idea of the word is that it is something that is falling apart bit by bit, or something being disassembled.

Fanfarrón

David — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 11:20:38 +0000

A show-off is a fanfarrón. This is a boastful person, or a braggart. It can also be used to describe a loud mouthed or arrogant person.

The feminine form is fanfarrona (without the accent).

The verb form of the word is fanfarronear and means to boast, brag or show off.

Macanudo

David — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:10:38 +0000

I heard my friend use the word macanudo for the first time the other day. From what I discovered since then is that I have probably heard this word many times, but never realized it. Now I hear it everywhere. Macanudo is definitely a colloquial term that is not used everywhere in the same way.

Macanudo is an adjective that means great or fantastic. It can be applied to people or things. When used for a person it can mean easy going or enjoyable. It can also be used as an interjection when responding to a question. It would mean Great! or Sure!

From what I gather, macanudo is used by older people more than younger people.

Patente

David — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 14:39:53 +0000

Patente, as an adjective, is patent with the idea of being clear, obvious or evident.

As an adverb it means clearly, or obviously.

As a feminine noun (and the reason I found this word interesting) it is a patent in the sense that we English speakers think about the word when applied to a registered idea or product. It can be used to mean a transportation tax, or a license plate. Any kind of registration (driver’s license or car registration) can also be called a patente. Also a registration fee paid to an association or organization can be a patente.

Alpaca

David — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 01:59:18 +0000

Last week I was in a Sign Language class in Argentina when we were learning different colors. One of the colors that came up was alpaca. I had never heard of alpaca as a color, only as an animal.

I finally got a chance to look it up. Alpaca is nickel silver, or German silver. As far as what color it is, I would imagine that it is a dull silvery color. But I am not entirely sure on that. Apparently nickel silver, or alpaca, is a common metal used in tableware here in Argentina.

Denuedo

David — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:28:32 +0000

Yesterday in church the word boldness came up in the sermon, which in the Bible is the word denuedo. However, I have never heard the word denuedo used in common speech. From reading a couple of online forums, it seems that denuedo is a formal term and there are more common words that can mean boldness, but none quite have exactly the same feel to them for me. Some options are: valor, coraje, actuar con valentía, or osadía.

Canoso

David — Fri, 14 May 2010 03:05:01 +0000

Canoso is grey-haired or white-haired. It is an adjective that describes a person, therefore it can be masculine or femenine; i.e., canoso or canosa.