Hola or Aló? Spanish Variations Around the World
Scene: a woman from Tenerife (Spain's Canary Islands) travels to Chile, she is excited to see the city, but no one can tell her how to find la guagua (bus) and even suggest she calls the police! It takes her a while to figure out that in Chile, a guagua is a child, people think she has lost her child and wondering why she isn't more stressed....when in fact, she just wants to catch the bus into town. One language, but with many variants!
The Rennert Translation Group, with the help of its Spanish translators from all over the globe, has compiled this chart in order to provide real examples of why LOCALIZATION is necessary when you are targeting specific countries and regions:
| ENGLISH PHRASE | TRANSLATIONS BY COUNTRY | COMMENTS |
| Apricot | Most: albaricoque Argentina, Chile, Uruguay: damasco Mexico: chabacano |
Spain: saying that someone is "chabacano" means he is vulgar |
| Baby | Most: bebé Argentina, Uruguay: beba (girl), bebe (boy) Chile: guagua |
Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Canary Islands (Spain): a "guagua" is a bus |
| Bug | Most: bicho Mexico: insecto |
Puerto Rico: "bicho" has a sexual meaning (it's a key part of the male anatomy). A bug killer was once translated as "mata bichos" and, as you can imagine, this sounded very funny in Puerto Rico |
| Cake | Most: pastel Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela: torta Bolivia, Costa Rica: queque Colombia: ponqué, torta Cuba: cake Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico: bizcocho Panama: cake, dulce Peru: queque, torta Spain: tarta |
Mexico: "Torta" means "sandwich" (torta de jamón) |
| Car Hood | Mexico: cofre Argentina, Spain: capó |
|
| Car Trunk | Most: maletero, baúl Mexico: cajuela |
|
| Department Store | Most: grandes almacenes Cuba: tienda Colombia: almacén grande Costa Rica: tienda de departamentos Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Venezuela: tienda por departamentos Mexico: tienda departamental Panama: Almacén |
|
| Elevator |
Most: ascensor |
|
| Eyeglasses | Most: anteojos Colombia: gafas, lentes Cuba, Puerto Rico: espejuelos Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, México, Venezuela: lentes Spain: gafas |
Mexico and Spain: "Anteojos" is an old fashioned word |
| Fender | Most: ala Argentina: paragolpes Colombia: guardabarro, guardafango Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Venezuela: guardafango Mexico: defensa Puerto Rico: fender Spain: guardabarro, parachoques |
|
| Good Evening | Most: buenas tardes Colombia, Ecuador: buenas noches |
Other countries: "buenas tardes" means "good afternoon" and "buenas noches" means "good night" |
| Grocery Store | Colombia: mercado Costa Rica: compras Cuba: bodega Dominican Republic: víveres El Salvador: pulpería Guatemala: tienda Mexico: super, tienda de abarrotes Panama: abarrotería Puerto Rico: colmado Spain: supermercado Uruguay: almacén Venezuela: abastos |
|
| Hello? (answering telephone) | Most: ¿Dígame? Argentina, Bolivia: ¿Hola? Cuba: ¿Oigo? Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Venezuela: ¿Aló? Mexico: ¿Bueno? Panama, Puerto Rico: ¿Haló? Uruguay: ¿Aló? ¿Hola? |
|
| Hot Pepper | Most: chile Bolivia, Chile, Venezuela, Peru: ají Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico: ají picante Costa Rica: chile picante Ecuador: pimiento picante Spain: guindilla |
|
| Jacket | Most: chaqueta Argentina: campera Dominican Republic, Panama: saco Mexico: chamarra Peru: casca Puerto Rico: blazer (women), gabán (men) |
In Spain: a "saco" is a large bag, for example, a large bag of potatoes In Mexico: "saco" is used for suits |
| Knob (of drawer) | Most: perilla Spain: pomo |
In Spain: "perilla" is a goatee |
| Lawn | Most: césped Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Peru: pasto Colombia: hierba, manga, pasto, prado Cuba, Dominican Republic: yerba Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela: grama Puerto Rico: grama, pasto |
In Spain: "pasto" is grass for animals (for grazing) and "grama" is a type of grass for the lawn |
| Muffin | Most: panecillo Argentina, Colombia: muffin Bolivia: pancito Guatemala: mollete Mexico: muffin, panqué, pastelito Peru: quequito Spain: madalena |
In some countries: "panecillo" is a dinner roll and "panqué" is a pancake |
| Popcorn | Cuba: rositas de maíz Argentina: pochoclo Venezuela: cotufa Spain: palomitas, palomitas de maíz |
|
| Recreational Vehicle | Most: vehículo de recreo Bolivia: vagoneta Chile: casa rodante Mexico: camper Puerto Rico: RV Spain: caravana Venezuela: vehículo recreacional |
|
| Red Snapper | Mexico: huachinango Spain: pargo |
|
| Sidewalk |
Most: acera |
In Spain: "banqueta" is a bench |
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