Of Cognates False and True

Sometimes I’m surprised at how a phrase translates between English and Spanish. Not because it’s different, but because it’s the same.

For example, I heard someone use the phrase lágrimas de cocodrilo – crocodile tears – the other day. That’s one I hadn’t thought about in awhile in English, much less been aware of its existence in Spanish.

Another example: Host brother Marcelo negotiates what time I will help him with his homework. “Ocho y media es mi última oferta. Tómalo o déjalo.”
Translation: "8:30 is my final offer. Take it or leave it.”

The verb tomar means “to take” and may be used in a variety of ways. As in English, you can take a seat, take a drink, and take someone seriously en español. Or you can be like my host brother Andrés when he gets really into his videogame and is beating the villain and successfully executes the triple-jump-laser-power-super-punch-throwing-star-karate-kick combination and yells, “¡Toma eso – y eso!” (“Take that! Aaaaaaand THAT!”)

I don’t know why these phrases surprise me, but they do. Perhaps it’s because I get too caught up in the complexities of forming a sentence that uses Imperfect Subjunctive followed by the Conditional – or is it the other way around? – and so the simplicity of a phrase that translates directly provides a refreshing dose of reality. And comfort. Because even though I’ve lived here for 11 months, I can’t necessarily conjugate “I wish we had done such-and-such” without thinking first. And this way at least I know that crocodile tears is at my disposal. Toma eso, Spanish!

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And now, for the lexically-minded, here are some Spanish idioms and phrases that have fixed themselves in my short-term memory (if anyone knows which part of the brain that would be, please let me know, as I’m curious):

Caerse bien = to hit it off with someone. Literal translation is that the person “falls well” on you, or you “fall well” on them. It is a reflexive verb. Which is nice, because then if you caerse mal – i.e., don’t quite hit it off – it doesn’t seem as personal: the other person just happened to fall on you the wrong way, okay yeah it was a klutzy thing to do and maybe some bones were broken, but nobody died.

Quemando tiempo = killing time. Except for here the method of execution is specific: you tie time to a stake and burn it.

You can’t change your mind in Spanish. Well, you can figuratively speaking, but you can’t cambiar tu mente, i.e., open up your head and switch brains with somebody else. You can, however, cambiar de ideas, change your ideas. Which means, of course, change your mind.

Descarado/a = shameless. Literally means de-faced, faceless. As in, this person is past the point of caring about saving face.

Volverse loco = to go crazy. Literally, to turn crazy. I always picture someone whirling around in increasingly agitated circles until they go kaput. It’s nice that this is a reflexive verb as well, because it opens up a realm of possible scapegoats for one’s mania. I tend to use it a lot around Marcelo and Andrés.

Well, there they are. Now that I look at them, I wonder if this short list of phrases is somehow representative of my life here, and what that would say about me as a person, but I’m not going to think about that for too long. If you find yourself needing to speak in Spanish about procrastinating, going crazy, or a shameless hussy, you’ve got the basics right at your fingertips. Now go out and practice.