Part IV   Mayor to Realizar

Mayor   The "Mayor" of a town or city is alcalde, except in Mexico, where the person holding the equivalent position is called Presidente Municipal. Mayor means "bigger" or "biggest". It is also a military rank equivalent to Major.

Molestar   Does not have the serious sexual connotations of English "molest", but rather means "to bother", "to annoy". No molestes = "Don’t be a nuisance". Molestia is a common word for "annoyance", "bother", "problem". "Molest" in the English sense would be abusar. "Sexual molestation is abuso sexual. "Sexual harassment" is acoso sexual or acosamiento sexual.

Motivo   Means "grounds", "cause", "reason"; "motive" is móvil.   Means "grounds", "cause", "reason"; "motive" is móvil.

Nativo   Is an adjective; for the noun use natural. Es natural de México = "S/he is a native of Mexico".  Nativo is used in such constructions as mi lengua nativa = "my native language". Indigenous("native") peoples are referred to as indígenas or gente indígena.   Is an adjective; for the noun use natural. Es natural de México = "S/he is a native of Mexico".  Nativo is used in such constructions as mi lengua nativa = "my native language". Indigenous("native") peoples are referred to as indígenas or gente indígena.

Natural   In addition to "natural" and "native", natural has one more important usage. Hijo natural ="illegitimate child". Does this mean that legitimate children aren’t natural?

Noticia    A noticia is a piece of news, not a notice. Noticias means "news". Vamos a ver las noticias en la tele = "Let’s watch the news on TV". "Notice" is aviso. "To notice" is notar or fijarse en. ¿Se (fijó en) (notó) su cabello? = "Did you notice her hair?"

Ocasión Not "occasion" in the sense of "event", but the usual word for "opportunity". Aprovechar una ocasión = "take advantage of an opportunity". Ocasión has also come to mean "bargain". Avisos de ocasión = Want Ads. If you mean "event", use acontecimiento or suceso.  

Oficial Used as a noun, means an officer, usual police or military, not an "official" in the English sense of a bureaucrat. This is funcionario or dignitario. Used as an adjective, it means "official". Actos oficiales = "official acts".  

Oficio   Easily confused with English "office", which is oficina or despacho in Spanish. Oficio is "job" or "occupation", usually manual, thus "craft" or "trade".  

Ordinario   Has two meanings. One, "ordinary", "everyday" can be expressed by regular without confusion. Many times Spanish speakers will respond to ¿Cómo está? with Regular, which means "all right, but no better". The other meaning of ordinario, "coarse" "cheap" is commonly expressed by corriente.  

Pan   Bread. A "pan" for boiling is olla; a frying pan is sartén.   

Papa   Without the accent (papá), papa has two meanings. La papa is the potato, el papa is the Pope. Papá, with the accent, is an endearment for padre, like "daddy".  

Pariente   If you call your "parents" your parientes, people might think you have an unusual relationship with your uncles, aunts, and cousins, because parientes means "relatives".   Spanish for "parents" is padres. This cognate confusion also affects Spanish speakers learning English. It is thus not uncommon to hear such questions as "Do you live with your fathers?"  

Particular   Doesn’t mean "particular", but "private", in the sense of ownership. Una casa particular ="A private house". Un particular is a "private individual (as opposed to a group or representative of an organization)". If you want the adjective meaning "certain", use  cierto: cierto día = a particular day." If you want "demanding", "finicky", use exigente. La profesora es muy exigente = "The teacher is very particular". If you want the noun meaning "detail", use detalle. Le mando los detalles = I’ll send you the particulars".

Planta   Particularly in Mexico, planta has come to mean "plant" in the English sense of a large factory, particularly when applied to electric generating "plants". In "correct" Spanish, planta can only mean "plant" in the botanical sense. "Factory" is fábrica; electric generating plant is central.  

Populación   Not "population", which is población, but the act of populating. La populación del norte de México ofreció muchas dificultades = "The peopling (settling) of northern Mexico presented many problems."  

Prácticamente   Cannot be used in the sense of "almost", "really". In these cases use casi, realmente, or efectivamente. El no sabe realmente nada = "He knows practically nothing". Prácticamente means through experience. Prácticamente sabemos que no se puede aprender el español sin estudiar = "We know from experience that you can’t learn Spanish without studying."

Preciso   Can mean "precise", but is more commonly used to mean "right", "correct". Es preciso obedecer las reglas de tránsito="It is right to obey traffic rules". Precisamente does mean "precisely", and is often used as an affirmative in response to a question or statement. El lo hace porque es norteamericano ("He does than because he’s a (North) American".    ¡Precisamente! ("You’re precisely right.")

Presente   Although presente can mean a "gift" under certain circumstances, its usual usage is as "present" in the sense of "here", "in attendance". Avoid confusion by using regalo for "present" in the sense of "gift".  

Preservativo   Can mean "preservative" in the sense of the English word, but another common meaning is "condom".

Pretender   This is not "pretend" in the sense of make believe; that is fingir. Fingió saber = He pretended to know". Pretender means to seek, to try to. Pretendió robarme = "He tried to rob me". A girl’s suitors are called pretendientes, as are candidates for public office.

Privacía, privacidad   These will not be found in many Spanish-English dictionaries, although they has been adopted from English in an effort to express the alien (to the Latin culture) concept of "privacy". If you talk about privacía with a Mexican, for example, s/he will have a theoretical idea of what you’re talking about, but for cultural reasons it is unlikely that you both share the same idea of what it means in real life.

Privado   This word has a much narrower meaning than "private". Usually the best translation is "personal". Limpieza privada = "personal cleanliness"; correspondencia privada = "personal mail. See particular.  

Procurar   While this can mean "to procure", by far its most common meaning is "to try", "to endeavor". Procuro olvidarte ("I try to forget you) is the title of one of the songs in the Cantemos series.   

Propaganda   Although it can mean "propaganda" in the pejorative English sense, its most common usage is merely "advertising". Los almacenes gastan mucho en propaganda = "The department stores spend a lot on advertising". "Advertisement" is aviso or anuncio; "to advertise" is anunciar.  

Puntual   Means more than just "punctual", more closely means "precise", "accurate". Los datos puntuales = "Accurate facts". The same applies to puntualmente and puntualidad. Lo hizo todo puntualmente = "S/he did everything very carefully/accurately." Mexicans, when they want to emphasize that punctuality is important often use hora gringa ("gringo time"). Nos encontramos a las siete, hora gringa = We’ll meet at seven on the dot. Hora mexicana ("Mexican time") is much looser.

Quitar   To take away, remove. To quit is dejar, dejar de, or from a job, retirar.   

Realizar   Cannot be used in the English meaning of "realize". Realizar means "to carry out", "to perform". Realizó su proyecto = "S/he carried out her/his plan". In business, it means to "make a profit" (i.e. to "realize" profits). Realizar ganancias = "to make profits". For the meaning of "to understand", "to take into consideration" use darse cuenta de or hacerse cargo de (among others). No se dio cuenta de (or no se hizo cargo de) su error = "S/he didn’t realize his/her error".