After reading today’s blog post, not only will you know how to avoid several common mistakes in Spanish, but you will also know how to say the following in Spanish:
- How to say piggy-bank in Spanish
- How to say souvenir in Spanish
- How to say life-jacket in Spanish
While this is still fresh on my mind, I want to share with you a couple of mistakes that I heard an English-speaking friend make here today in Medellin, Colombia when speaking Spanish.
My “amigo” is here visiting Medellin. Let’s say his name is . . . Mike — not his real name.
Mike and I went to “El Centro” (downtown) to shop for “recuerdos” (souvenirs) that he could bring back to the States. Mike speaks Spanish fairly well. He considers himself on an intermediate level. He has bought most of the Spanish courses that my competitors sell. I even gave him a copy of Learning Spanish Like Crazy — which he admits he has never “gotten around to using.”
While we were in “El Centro” (downtown) shopping for “recuerdos” (souvenirs), I heard Mike make two mistakes in Spanish that I want to share with you so that you never make the same mistakes.
There was a “vendedora” (vendor) who was selling “recuerdos” (souvenirs) from a little “stand” (stand, booth) in “El Centro” — the Spanish word “stand” is actually a “palabra inglesa” (English word). But of course in Spanish, you pronounce the word “stand” in accordance with the rules of Spanish pronunciation.
How to Say Piggy-Bank in Spanish
The “vendedora” had several piggy-banks for sale that looked like they were made of “cerámica” (ceramic).
Mistake Number 1:
The piggy-banks really caught Mike’s attention because he asked the “vendedora” the following:
¿Cuánto cuesta el banco?
(Literally, how much does the bank cost?)
Did you notice Mike’s mistake? “Banco” does mean bank in Spanish. But “banco” refers to a “financial institution” — and not a bank such as a small bank with a slot at the top to insert coins or a money box.
If you are referring to a piggy-bank or any small bank in which coins are kept, then the Spanish word that you must use is “alcancía.”
En la alcancía ella guardaba las monedas que ahorraba a diario. (She kept coins that she saved each day in her piggy bank.)
By the way, between living in Latin America and spending most of my free time on online forums for English-speakers-learning-Spanish with Spanish-speakers-learning-English, or watching Spanish-language television programs, I have learned about a half-a-dozen Spanish words for piggy-bank:
1. alcancía
2. marrano de alcancía
3. alcancía de marrano
4. alcancía de cerdito
5. alcancía con forma de cerdo
You probably already know that “cerdo” can mean pig or pork in Spanish. But “marrano” is also a word that is commonly used in Latin America and it means pig. For example,
Mi abuelita tiene una receta de patas de marrano en escabeche para chuparse los dedos.
(My grandmother has a recipe for pickled pigs’ feet that is finger-licking good.)
“Chuparse los dedos” – a phrase that is commonly used by Spanish speakers – literally means “to suck one’s fingers” as opposed to “to lick one’s fingers.”
Before moving on to Mike’s second mistake, I have a related Spanish word to share with you: guaca
The Spanish word “guaca” has a couple of meanings:
1. alcancía (i.e. money box)
2. tesoro enterrado (buried treasure)
Back to Mike’s mistakes . . . .
When Mike incorrectly referred to a piggy-bank as a “banco” I did not interrupt. I saw a very puzzled look on the face of the “vendedora” (vendor) as Mike tried to explain. And that’s when Mike made another mistake and caused the “vendedora” to become even more confused.
Mistake Number 2:
Mike tried to explain by saying:
Quiero salvar monedas.
(Literally, I want to save coins.)
Did you notice Mike’s second mistake?
The Spanish word “salvar” does mean “to save.” But “salvar” means to save as in to save from danger or possible harm, injury, etc. So Mike’s statement, “quiero salvar monedas,” implied that he wanted to save his coins from danger or possible harm – which explained the increasingly puzzled look on the face of the “vendedora.”
If you want to say “to save” as in to avoid the spending, consumption, or waste of,
then you must use the verb “ahorrar.”
Quiero ahorrar monedas.
I want to save coins.
While we are on the topic of the verb “to save,” here’s a Spanish word that is good to know and that may even save your life in a Spanish-speaking country:
chaleco salvavidas – life jacket
“Chaleco salvavidas” literally means “life-saving jacket.”
Todos tienen que tener puesto su chaleco salvavidas antes de zarpar. (Everyone must have his or her life-jacket on before we set sail.)
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