Cats & Dogs

Let's learn vocabulary of dogs (perros) and cats (gatos). These are two of the most popular pets worldwide. If you don't own one -or more-, you probably know someone who does.

First, let's learn some other words to call these animals. Dogs are called canes and chuchos (the latter much more colloquial). Cats are called mininos and michos. Now, let's continue with other useful words.

• cat/dog food – la comida del gato/perro
• cat/dog bowl – el tazón (o el plato) del gato/perro
• collar – el collar
• leash – la correa
• litter pan/box/tray - el arenero del gato
• kitty litter - la arena (de gato)
• flea medicine – la medicina para prevenir las pulgas
• heart worm medicine – la medicina para dirofilariosis canina (gusanos o parásitos del corazón)
• rabies – rabia
• vet – el veterinario
• pet shop – la tienda de animales


• to feed the dog – alimentar al perro
• to brush the dog – cepillar al perro
• to wash the dog – bañar al perro
• to walk the dog – sacar a caminar al perro
• to train the dog – entrenar, adiestrar al perro
• to castrate - castrar
---> The male cat is fixed or neutered. (El gato está operado)
---> The female cat is spayed or neutered. (La gata está operada)


• spots – las manchas
• paws – las patas
• snout – el hocico
• whiskers – los bigotes
• tail – la cola
• legs – patas
• fur or hair – pelaje
  
• drool – las babas


• Don't dig. – No escarbes.
• Don't pet the dog. – No toques (acaricies/cariñes/consientas) al perro.
• Don't beg. – No mendigues/supliques.
• He is well trained. – Está bien educado.

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Sayings

Cuando el gato duerme, los ratones hacen fiesta (o se divierten).
When (or while) the cat's away, the mice will play.

De noche todos los gatos son pardos.
At night all cats are gray.

Gato escaldado del agua fría huye.
Once bitten (or burned), twice shy.

La curiosidad mató al gato.
Curiosity killed the cat.

Muerto el perro, se acabo la rabia.
Literally, Once the dog is dead, rabies are over.

Perro que ladra no muerde
The dog that barks doesn't bite. / His bark is worse than his bite

Si quieres el perro, acepta las pulgas.
Love me, love my faults

Idioms

Aquí hay gato encerrado
There's something fishy going on. / It smells rat.

Buscarle tres pies al gato
To complicate things unnecessarily.

Como perro en barrio ajeno
Like a fish out of water.

Dar gato por liebre
To trick somebody.

Llevarse como el perro y el gato
To fight like cat and dog.

Tiempo de perros
Awful weather.

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Someone told me...

A dog thinks, "Hey, those people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice, warm, dry house, pet me and take good care of me.... They must be gods!"

A cat thinks, "Hey, those people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice, warm, dry house, pet me and take good care of me.... I must be a god!"

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For more pet-related vocabulary, check these other posts:
Training your dog | Animals Sounds

Updated Article. March 8th. 2007 – Thanks Adriana for you ideas!

A caballo regalado...

Today we'll be learning an international saying: "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth". It's pretty much the same in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese as well as other languages.

The Spanish version goes "A caballo regalado no le mires el dentado". Other ways to say it are: "A caballo regalado no se le miran los dientes" and "A caballo regalado no se le busca colmillo".

This saying means "Don't be too choosy or ungrateful when you receive a gift". It also means don't measure the value of something that you have received for free. As with most proverbs the origin is ancient and unknown. However, we do know that the saying comes from the fact that by looking at a horse's teeth one can find out the horse's age and health.

All that glittlers isn't gold

This popular saying means the attractive external appearance of something is not a reliable indication of its true nature.

The Spanish version goes "No todo lo que brilla es oro". Literally, not all that glitters is gold.

Note that the English version can be understood like "Every object that glitters fails to be gold." Thus, actual gold must not glitter. Maybe when Shakespeare wrote the line for his play "Merchant Of Venice", he wanted the rhythm: ALL that GLISters IS not GOLD and he was unconcerned with the exact meaning of what he was
saying.

The Spanish version, phrased negatively, captures the logical intended meaning quite well.

Muerto el perro, se acaba la rabia.

Muerto el perro, se acaba la rabia.
(When the dog is dead, rabies are over?)

I'm not so sure about the meaning of this saying (since the cause of the problem is the disease from which the rabid dog suffers, and not the dog itself). But anyway, how about "drastic times call for drastic measures" for its English equivalent?

- G

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Cierto, la rabia estaba causando el problema al perro. Pero también, una vez se murió el perro, también se terminó la rabia. El problema con la rabia es que -según tengo entendido- una vez un perro tiene rabia, no hay forma de sanarlo... Pienso que el dicho inglés "drastic times call for drastic measures" es un poco parecido, pero verás, en el caso del dicho español no hay necesidad de tomar medidas. Una de dos: o el perro muere por la rabia... o lo ponemos a dormir (eutanasia). De cualquier forma, una vez el perro muera, se acaba la rabia. ¿No crees?

Encontré algunos ejemplos.

Aquí, se habla sobre la muerte de Pinochet. Este es un ejemplo de que el perro se murió solito.
"Si acaba siendo cierto el dicho de "muerto el perro se acabó la rabia" nunca sabremos si el pueblo chileno lo hubiera condenado por ambos delitos." - UEM

Aquí se habla sobre la condena de muerte de Sadan Husein. Esto sería eutanasia...
"El ex dictador iraquí Sadam Husein ha sido condenado a morir en la horca por el Tribunal Especial que juzga la masacre de 148 chiíes en 1982, en el llamado caso Duyail." ... "¿Muerto el perro se acaba la rabia?" -20minutos.es

¿Quedó claro?

- Karin

O todos hijos o todos entenados

Esta frase expresa descontento ante una injusticia... sirve para reclamar igualdad de derechos y condiciones. Literalmente significa "Either all sons or all stepsons".

Por ejemplo: Un padre de familia dice "el que venga más tarde de las 10 (pm) no tiene permiso de salir por un mes". Es muy estricto con sus hijos, menos con el más grande -que además es su preferido. Un día, el hijo preferido regresa a casa a las 11pm y el papá no dice nada (pero si hubiera sido alguno de los otros, se hubiera ganado un discurso y además el castigo respectivo). Entonces uno de los hijos dice -- ¡O todos hijos, o todos entenados!. i.e. ¡Qué se haga justicia!

Otros ejemplos:

"Nadie puede negar que en la campaña pasada eso de las elecciones primarias del PAN no fue más que una estrategia para que el candidato tomara ventaja sobre sus contendientes o futuros contendientes... Si el Tribunal Supremo Electoral considera que no hay infracción a la ley correspondiente, pues debe permitir que los demás contendientes hagan lo mismo, pues o todos hijos o todos entenados." - Diario La Hora (El PAN es un partido político)

"...y los equipos centroamericanos realizan peleas peores que la que existió y no los sancionan de igual manera "o todos hijos o todos entenados" -El Universal

"...lo que no nos parece es la manera parcial y sospechosa con la que los inspectores quieren hacer cumplir la ley, o todos hijos o todos entenados" -PorEsto.net

Es posible que "what's sauce (or good) for the goose is sauce (or good) for the gander" pueda usarse en este sentido en inglés.

No hay mal que dure cien años

Does the saying No hay mal que dure cien años (ni cuerpo que lo resista) means "Time is a great healer"?

- Mike

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Mike,

The phrase No hay mal que dure 100 años, ni cuerpo que lo resista is not an equivalent for "Time is a great healer".

See, the Spanish phrase is usually said to someone who is currently living a very hard situation that seems to have no end. It's kind of a way to say, "Don't worry, it will eventually come to an end... soon, we hope!"

Now, regarding the English phrase, it's used when someone had a bad experience and is trying to get over it. And the Spanish phrase would be El tiempo todo lo cura or El tiempo lo cura todo.

Hope it helps,

- Karin

Practice makes perfect

"Practice makes perfect" means that the more you practice, the better you will become. The Spanish version for this saying is "La práctica hace al maestro". In this case, "maestro" doesn't mean "teacher" but "master". In other words, if you want to become a master doing something, then you should practice as much as possible.

It's said to encourage people to keep practicing so they will become better at what they are doing. It's also said with the meaning, "don't be surprised, he/she is that good because he/she has practiced a lot".

Example:
"¿Sabes cómo un jugador como Michael Jordan logra ser tan bueno? Haciendo miles de tiros a diario. Práctica, práctica, práctica. La práctica hace al maestro."

While the cat's away, the mice will play.

"While the cat's away, the mice will play" is an international proverb. It's well known in Spanish and in many other languages too.

It basically means without supervision, people will do as they please. i.e. When a person in authority is away, those under the person’s rule will enjoy their freedom.^[1]

People whose behaviour is strictly controlled go over the top when the authority is not around, which is why most teenagers have parties when their parents have gone on holiday. The parents are the scary authority figures, but the cat's away and the kids are the mice partying and enjoying their freedom.^[2]

The Spanish version is "Cuando el gato duerme, los ratones hacen fiesta" and/or "Cuando el gato duerme, los ratones se divierten".

¹ The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.
² UsingEnglish.com

Spanish Sayings

Acquiring a language is not only about studying grammar and learning vocabulary by heart. It's much more than that. If you really want to understand a language, you must get acquainted with the culture of the people who speak it.

Let's start with learning sayings. In fact, sayings —a term used to describe any current or habitual expression of wisdom or truth— are a dime a dozen^[1].

There are different kinds of sayings. Proverbs —sayings that are well known and often repeated, usually expressing metaphorically a truth based on common sense or practical experience—are just as plentiful.

In Spanish they are known as dichos, refranes and proverbios. And these are the ones we're going to learn now. A usual start —but not required— is "Como dice el dicho..." (As the saying goes...).

There are also sayings which are just idiomatic expressions and don't qualify as proverbs. We'll be learning them as well.

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¹ A dime a dozen: very common and of no particular value