Constipated cold
Many Spanish people visit Plymouth and one day in a chemist's, I overheard a young Spaniard asking for something for his constipation. Unfortunately, he didn't get a cure for his 'common cold' but received a good run for his money!
Editor's note: This is indeed a confusing one - el constipado is the word the Spanish in Spain use for 'a cold', while if you are suffering from constipation the Spanish term is el ±ð²õ³Ù°ù±ðñ¾±³¾¾±±ð²Ô³Ù´Ç.
Sent by: Geoff
Comments
This happened to me on my first month working as a trainee in the UK. Having lunch in the canteen with some other colleagues in their twenties, I was asked if was feeling alright. I reply quite confidently: 'Well, not really. I am constipated.' By the look on their faces, and their reply: 'That is just too much information, thank you very much' I realised that my straight translation from Spanish (constipado is a cold), was once again incorrect.
I find it's much easier to avoid this problem completely and use estar resfriado, to have a cold.
I have a similar anecdote. My daughter's Spanish penfriend was visiting us. Coming down to breakfast one morning she announced; 'I am very constipated today'!
The term 'to have a cold' in Spanish is estar constipado. It's a typical example of where Spanish uses the verb 'to be' when in English we use the term 'to have' a cold.
Last Christmas my 89 year old father came to join us here in the Eastern Algarve for a winter break.Whilst he was here he developed constipation and asked me to get him some suppositories from the chemist. On the counter I saw an advert for ³¦´Ç²Ô²õ³Ù¾±±è²¹Ã§Ã£´Ç and took him the advertised suppositories. Two or three days later my father showed no signs of relief so I tried another chemist, only this time I took a suppository my father had found as an example from England.The chemist roared out laughing and then explained that the other suppositories he had been using were for a common cold!
Similarly, my Peruvian husband has never been allowed to forget the time he first met my sister. She was sneezing and spluttering so, trying to be the concerned visitor and cause a good impression, he asked her gently whether she was constipated.
I spent some years ago a winter in London. Because of the weather I got a cold, and I complained to my colleagues: Oh, I have such a constipation!. They were shocked. Constipado means cold, flu, in Spanish. The right word for the English constipation is ±ð²õ³Ù°ù±ðñ¾±³¾¾±±ð²Ô³Ù´Ç.
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