There are many variants in the Spanish language and one is not better than the other. In some fields, such the movie industry, it would be recommendable to reach some sort of agreement regarding the most common used words (all those in the Dictionary of the Spanish Language of the Royal Spanish Academy). That was the idea behind this Neutral Spanish Glossary.

This third part of the glossary (just one more left) is a continuation of my previous posts. Below are words from letter F to P.

falda (skirt)
fontanero  (plumber)
fregadero  (sink; kitchen)

fresa (strawberry)

frijol (bean)
gafas, lentes (glasses)
galleta (cracker, cookie)
gaveta (drawer)
golpiza (beating, thrashing)
goma de mascar (chewing/bubble gum)
grifo (faucet, tap)
guapo, apuesto (good-looking, handsome)
guisado (stew, casserole)
guisante (pea)
hornear (bake)
hule (rubber)
jalar (pull)
junta (meeting)
la semana entrante (next week)
lanzar (throw)
lavandería (laundry room)
letrero (sign, post)
litera (bunk = built-in bed)
lodo (mud)
lunático (crazy, mad)
mantequilla (butter)
marcharse/largarse    (go, leave)
matrícula    patente (license plate, license number)
mejilla (cheek)
melocotón (peach)
moteado (spotted)
mujerzuela (whore, prostitute)
niña, muchacha, joven (girl)
niño, muchacho, joven (boy)
obsequio    (gift, present)
ocurrir, suceder (happen, occur)
palabrotas (profanity)
paleta (lollipop)
panecillo (muffin, cupcake, bun, roll, etc.)
papel tapiz (wallpaper)
parque (square, park)
pastel (pie, cake)
patata (potato)
pequeño (small, little)
periódico    (paper, newspaper)
perro caliente (hot dog)
piña (pineapple)
piscina (swimming pool)
plátano (banana)
pluma (pen)
preparatoria (high school)
prisa (hurry)
prisión (prison, jail, gaol)

(To be continued, and ended, in the next post. Until next time.)

This is part 2 from the previous post. Included here are terms in Neutral Spanish from letters C to E. I’d like to remind you that this list is specifically for subtitling and voice over; there may be different options. Feel free to leave your comments or suggestions to add to the list.

cabello (hair)
cafetería (coffee shop, café, cafeteria)
calcetines   (socks)
calle  (block)
camarero  (waiter)
cantinero  (bartender)
carretera (route)
cartera (wallet, billfold)
club de desnudistas (strip joint/bar)
cojín (cushion)
col (cabbage)
columpio   (swing)
computadora (computer, PC)
condón (condom)
conducir (drive)
consentir (pamper, spoil, mollycoddle)
costoso (expensive, costly, dear)
cubo (bucket)
chaqueta, abrigo (jacket)
chispas de chocolate (chocolate chips)
demorar (take long)
deprisa, velozmente  (quickly)
derramar  (spill)
desdichado (miserable)
desnudista (stripper)
detener, detenerse (stop)
dinero (money)
dulce (candy, sweet)
ebrio (drunken)
económico, poco costoso (cheap)
echar de menos, echar en falta (miss)
el biquini   (bikini)
elevador (elevator, lift)
emparedado (sandwich)
enfadado  (angry, upset)
enseñar/mostrar (show)
enviar (send)
escoger (choose, pick)
escuela (school)

(To be continued…)

An additional note on Neutral Spanish. I’d like to share with you the first part of a list of neutral terms (not exclusive), complied for the use of the movie industry, mainly for subtitling and voice over. As I mentioned in a previous article, these terms are only a standardized version, that is, the translation most commonly used by the largest amount of people. There are other possible translations.

Some terms might sound strange and you might think that “yours” is the better word. In other cases, you’ll think it strange that you already use what’s considered to be “neutral”. Whenever you need to translate into Neutral Spanish, you should look for a term that has the same meaning for an Ecuadorian, Uruguayan and Hispanic speaker in the United States and Spain. Even if a word sounds more lindo, chulo, mono, majo or rico than the other, you should choose el más bonito (the “prettier” one).

This list can help you with this task. Here’s the first part (letters A and B):

acera  (sidewalk, pavement)
adinerado  (rich)
afortunado  (lucky)
aguacate  (avocado)
aguardar  (wait)
alardear  (brag)
alcalde  (Mayor)
amar  (love)
amarrar  (tie, tie up)
anciano  (old person)
apartamento  (apartment, flat)
apenado  (embarrassed)
apodo  (nickname)
apresurarse, darse prisa (hurry)
arete  (earring)
atemorizar (to scare)
ático, desván (attic)
atrapar, sujetar, tomar, asir  (catch, grab, hold, take)
automóvil  (car, automobile)
autobús  (bus)
ayuntamiento  (city hall)
barbacoa  (barbecue)
barbilla  (chin)
barniz de uñas  (nail polish, nail barnish)
batería  (battery)
beber  (drink)
biberón (bottle [baby])
blusa  (blouse, shirt)
boda  (wedding)
boleto  (ticket, plane ticket)
bolos  (bowling [game])
bolso  (purse, handbag)
bonito  (pretty, cute, nice)
bragas  (panties, knickers)
brincar  (jump)

We’ll continue with this later.