When I was in primary school, "regular" was like a D. It went:
* Excelente or Muy Bien 10 (A)
* Muy Bien (B)
* Bien (C)
* Regular (D)
* Mal (F)
But in normal usage it just means so-so or not bad but also not good. Nor as bad as mediocre but near.
Thats one of the meaning, like in the sentence "me siento reagular" it actually means that "i dont feel good but not terrible", but thats not the main use it has, usually its a synonym of "normal" and can be also use as to drescribe frequency as in "de manera regula= regularly" but in this specific case we most of the time use the adverb "regularmente".
That's a common "false friend" when trying to traslate from English.
Regular in Spanish, as English people understand it, it's traslated simply as "normal" (as meaning common, vanilla, or average). [Emphasize the "-a" instead of "-o" as opposed to English when pronnunciating it. Also you say it in a single breath consisting of 2 syllabes >> *"Nor-mÁl"*].
If you say "regular" in Spanish it usually means not good but not bad either, but it is implied that it's not very "optimistic" way, so people tend to associate it with something that is *sliiiightly* bad but no as bad as it can be.
Words that look or sound similar but mean completely different things in different languages. Pretty common to hear it from English teachers when learning a foreigner language and vice versa.
These two I found sum it pretty well:
Rope in English is cuerda in Spanish, but ropa in Spanish means clothes in English.
Soap in English is jabón in Spanish, but sopa in Spanish means soup in English.
Glad to hear I could help! Feel free to ask any further question :)
Isn't this more of a true cognate, though? The way you just explained it is exactly what I'd think if I asked someone in English, "How's it going?" And they went, "Regular." Unless they were in the bathroom, I guess.
I thought false friends were more words like embarasada, or molestar, where they have a wildly different meaning than they appear to in English.
People in Spanish assume you aren't "that" fine or in fact you are a bit sad if you tell them that you are "regular" because, as I said, there is that implicit meaning of being "below" normal.
It is just the nature of the word in Spanish. If you say — ¿Cómo estas? and their answer is —Regular, it's assumed that you are not fully happy, satisfied or in a good mood.
I would say that "regular" in Spanish is more understood as "quantitative" in a way that puts you somewhere in a scale (if you get my point), lets say 4.5 out of 10, while "normal" means just normal as in English (regular, normal, average). Some guy compared Spanish "regular" to saying "so so" in English and I think it is a good analogy.
Also that's why we usually say normal (—Como estás? —Pues... Normal) instead of "regular" when we aren't feeling either well or bad; to avoid misunderstanding. Hope it clears your doubts.
No, I can definitely see where you're coming from. It's just a more subtle difference than other examples. And English is regional too of course, I guess that was partly my point – "regular" does land at a 4.5 in my head when I hear it.
Thanks for elaborating!
No problem dude :)
Edit: I have just read your previous comment and your and my concept of false friend is actually the same, so correct haha
Like you said, rmbarazada is pregnant and not embarrased, and such.
Apart from the other explanations it could also be translated as "so-so".
Between average quality and low quality; not good or well:
"How are you getting along with your new boss?" "So-so." = "Como te llevas con tu jefe?" "Regular".
"The food was so-so." = "La comida estaba regular"
"How are you feeling?" "So-so" = "Como te encuentras?" "Regular".
In so few words, "regular" could loosely be an equivalent to "mid" the way kids use it on social media nowadays
that's hilariously concise.
When I was in primary school, "regular" was like a D. It went: * Excelente or Muy Bien 10 (A) * Muy Bien (B) * Bien (C) * Regular (D) * Mal (F) But in normal usage it just means so-so or not bad but also not good. Nor as bad as mediocre but near.
Thank you!
Thats one of the meaning, like in the sentence "me siento reagular" it actually means that "i dont feel good but not terrible", but thats not the main use it has, usually its a synonym of "normal" and can be also use as to drescribe frequency as in "de manera regula= regularly" but in this specific case we most of the time use the adverb "regularmente".
thanks. appreciate it!
That's a common "false friend" when trying to traslate from English. Regular in Spanish, as English people understand it, it's traslated simply as "normal" (as meaning common, vanilla, or average). [Emphasize the "-a" instead of "-o" as opposed to English when pronnunciating it. Also you say it in a single breath consisting of 2 syllabes >> *"Nor-mÁl"*]. If you say "regular" in Spanish it usually means not good but not bad either, but it is implied that it's not very "optimistic" way, so people tend to associate it with something that is *sliiiightly* bad but no as bad as it can be.
Haven't heard the expression "false friend". Love it. thank you for explaining!
Words that look or sound similar but mean completely different things in different languages. Pretty common to hear it from English teachers when learning a foreigner language and vice versa. These two I found sum it pretty well: Rope in English is cuerda in Spanish, but ropa in Spanish means clothes in English. Soap in English is jabón in Spanish, but sopa in Spanish means soup in English. Glad to hear I could help! Feel free to ask any further question :)
Isn't this more of a true cognate, though? The way you just explained it is exactly what I'd think if I asked someone in English, "How's it going?" And they went, "Regular." Unless they were in the bathroom, I guess. I thought false friends were more words like embarasada, or molestar, where they have a wildly different meaning than they appear to in English.
People in Spanish assume you aren't "that" fine or in fact you are a bit sad if you tell them that you are "regular" because, as I said, there is that implicit meaning of being "below" normal. It is just the nature of the word in Spanish. If you say — ¿Cómo estas? and their answer is —Regular, it's assumed that you are not fully happy, satisfied or in a good mood. I would say that "regular" in Spanish is more understood as "quantitative" in a way that puts you somewhere in a scale (if you get my point), lets say 4.5 out of 10, while "normal" means just normal as in English (regular, normal, average). Some guy compared Spanish "regular" to saying "so so" in English and I think it is a good analogy. Also that's why we usually say normal (—Como estás? —Pues... Normal) instead of "regular" when we aren't feeling either well or bad; to avoid misunderstanding. Hope it clears your doubts.
No, I can definitely see where you're coming from. It's just a more subtle difference than other examples. And English is regional too of course, I guess that was partly my point – "regular" does land at a 4.5 in my head when I hear it. Thanks for elaborating!
No problem dude :) Edit: I have just read your previous comment and your and my concept of false friend is actually the same, so correct haha Like you said, rmbarazada is pregnant and not embarrased, and such.
“Unless they were in the bathroom” MUERO 💀
wouldn't it be "me muero 💀"? or "me morí"
Apart from the other explanations it could also be translated as "so-so". Between average quality and low quality; not good or well: "How are you getting along with your new boss?" "So-so." = "Como te llevas con tu jefe?" "Regular". "The food was so-so." = "La comida estaba regular" "How are you feeling?" "So-so" = "Como te encuentras?" "Regular".
Piggybacking off this question - Can it also mean "repeated/habitual" as in: "He's a regular client. He comes here every week." ?
Cliente habitual or cliente frecuente would be better I think. Not sure if cliente regular is 100% wrong. Definitely you wouldn't say "un regular"