what is essential

discernir una cosa de otra — to distinguish one thing from another

discernir algo de algo — to distinguish something from something

discernir algo de algo — to distinguish something from something

être indispensable à quelqu'un — to be indispensable to somebody

c'est indispensable — it's essential

n'emporte que l'indispensable — only take the essentials with you

faire l'indispensable — to do what is necessary

indispensable à qn — essential for sb

indispensable pour faire qch — essential to do sth

ya sabe decir varias palabras — she can already say several words, she already knows several words

- tengo prisa -dijo — "I'm in a hurry," she said

olvídalo, no he dicho nada — forget I said anything

¿decía usted? — you were saying?

como decía mi abuela — as my grandmother used to say

como iba diciendo... — as I was saying...

¿cómo ha dicho usted? — pardon?, what did you say?

mi amigo dice que eres muy guapa — my friend says (that) you're very pretty

dicen que... — they say (that)..., people say (that)...

el cartel dice claramente que... — the sign says clearly {o} clearly states that...

decir que sí/no — to say yes/no

-¿viene? -dice que sí — "is she coming?" - "she says she is {o} she says so"

la miré y me dijo que sí/no con la cabeza — I looked at her and she nodded/shook her head

¿quién te lo dijo? — who told you?

se lo dije bien claro, pero no me hizo caso — I told her quite clearly, but she didn't take any notice of me

tengo algo que decirte — there's something I want to tell you, I've got something to tell you

hoy nos dicen las notas — they're telling {o} giving us our results today

me dijo que no vendría — he told me (that) he wouldn't come

ya te dije que no tiene ni idea — I told you he hasn't got a clue

¿no te digo que no puedo ir? — I've already told you I can't go

la profesora me dijo que esperara fuera — the teacher told me to wait outside

le dije que fuera más tarde — I told her to go later

dile que venga a cenar mañana con nosotros — ask him to come and have supper with us tomorrow

te digo que te calles — I said shut up

decir tonterías — to talk nonsense

¿cómo le dicen a esto en Perú? — what do they call this in Peru?

se llama Francisco, pero le dicen Paco — his name is Francisco, but he's known as Paco

le dicen "el torero" — he's known as "el torero"

en México se le dice "recámara" al dormitorio — in Mexico they say "recámara" instead of "dormitorio"

podemos ir a Portugal, ¿tú qué dices? — we could go to Portugal, what do you say?

¿tu familia qué dice de la boda? — what does your family say about the wedding?

había 8, digo 9 — there were 8, I mean 9

dirá usted aquel otro — you must mean that other one

¡qué digo! — what am I saying?

no puedo leer lo que dice — I can't read what it says

no me dice nada este libro — this book leaves me cold

mis súbditos se presentarán ante mí ¡he dicho! — my subjects shall appear before me: I have spoken!

aunque no es el director es, como quien dice, el que manda en la empresa — although he isn't the manager, he's the person in charge, so to speak, of the company

está, como quien dice, aquí al lado — it's just round the corner, as they say

como quien no dice nada — quite casually, as though it wasn't important

- gracias por todo -lo mismo digo — "thank you for everything" - "likewise!" {o} "thanks to you too!"

deberías buscar trabajo, vamos, digo yo — you ought to look for a job, that's what I say, if you ask me, you ought to look for a job

¡si te lo digo yo! — of course it's true!

¡lo digo yo y basta! — you will do it because I say so!

mi prima, es decir, la hija de Ana — my cousin, that is (to say) Ana's daughter

¿qué quiere decir "spatha"? — what does "spatha" mean?

¿qué quiere usted decir con eso? — what do you mean by that?

¿querrás decir un millón, no un billón? — do you mean a million rather than a billion?

les ha costado más cara que mi casa, y eso ya es decir — it cost them more than my house did, and that's saying something

no es que yo lo diga, pero... — it's not because I say so, but...

es, digamos, un comerciante — he's a dealer, for want of a better word, he's a sort of dealer

¡haberlo dicho!, ¡me lo hubieras dicho! — you could have told me {o} said!

y su madre, no digamos — not to mention his mother

no estuvo muy cortés, que digamos — he wasn't what you'd call polite, he wasn't exactly polite

¿cómo (lo) diría yo? — how shall I put it?

¿cómo diríamos? — how shall I put it?

¡quién lo diría! — would you believe it!, who would have thought it!

pero no quiso por el qué dirán — but she didn't want to because of what people might say

se preocupa mucho por el qué dirán — she's always worried about what people will say {o} think

-¿te puedo pedir un favor? -dime — "can I ask you a favour?" - "go ahead"

-¿te gustaría cambiar de coche? -¡hombre, ya me dirás! — "would you like a new car?" - "you bet I would!"

su nombre no me dice nada — her name doesn't mean anything to me

su mirada lo dice todo — her expression says it all {o} speaks volumes

una situación que tan mal dice de nuestro gobierno — a situation which shows our government in such a bad light

¿cientos de personas? - bueno, es un decir — hundreds of people? - well, figuratively speaking

ya dice `mamá' — he says `mama' now

no digas esas cosas, por favor — please don't say things like that

no digas estupideces — don't talk nonsense!

¿cómo pudiste decir eso? — how could you say that?

¿eso lo dices por mí? — are you referring to me?

no lo dirás en serio! — you can't be serious!

dijo que sí con la cabeza — he nodded

no se dice `andé', se dice `anduve' — it isn't `andé', it's `anduve'

eso no se dice! — you mustn't say that!

¿cómo se dice `amor' en ruso? — how do you say `love' in Russian?

bonita, lo que se dice bonita, no es — she's not what you would call pretty

es el sábado; ni que decir tiene que estás invitado — it's on Saturday; you're invited, but that goes without saying

haberlo dicho antes — why didn't you say so before?

¿tendrá tiempo de hacerlo? - dice que sí — will he have time to do it? - he says he will

¿no lo encontró? - dice que no — didn't he find it? - no, he says he didn't

digan lo que digan — whatever people say

decirle algo a alguien — to tell somebody something

eso no es lo que me dijo a mí — that's not what he told me

¿sabes qué me dijo? — do you know what he told me?; (expresando sorpresa, indignación, etc) do you know what he said to me?

se lo voy a decir a papá — I'm going to tell Dad

hoy nos dicen el resultado — they're going to give us the result today

Andrés me dijo lo de tu hermano — Andrés told me about your brother

a mí me lo vas a decir! — you're telling me!

ya te lo decía yo! — I told you so!

fue algo espantoso, todo lo que te diga es poco — it was terrible, I can't begin to tell you how terrible

no me digas que no es precioso! — isn't it beautiful?

dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres — you can judge a man by the company he keeps

porque lo digo yo! — because I say so!

harás lo que yo diga — you'll do as I say

papá dice que vayas — Dad wants you

dice que llames cuando llegues — she says (you are) to phone when you get there

dijo que tuviéramos cuidado — she said to be careful

decirle a alguien que + subj — to tell somebody to + inf

diles que empiecen — tell them to start

le dije que no lo hiciera — I told him not to do it

decir adiós — to say goodbye

decirle adiós a alguien — to say goodbye to somebody

di adiós a tu vida de estudiante — you'd better say goodbye to your student days

¿qué dice aquí? — what does it say here?

el diario no dice nada sobre el asunto — there's nothing in the paper about it

se llama Rosario pero le dicen Charo — her name is Rosario but people call her Charo

la forma de vestir dice mucho de una persona — the way someone dresses says a lot/tells you a lot about them

el tiempo lo dirá — time will tell

algo me decía que no iba a ser fácil — something told me it wasn't going to be easy

¿te dice algo ese nombre? — does that name mean anything to you?

decir misa — to say mass

querer decir — to mean

¿qué quiere decir esta palabra? — what does this word mean?

¿qué quieres decir con eso? — what do you mean by that?

¿quieres decir que ya no te interesa? — do you mean (to say) that you're no longer interested?

¿y los padres qué dicen? — what do her parents think of it?, how do her parents feel about it?

habría que regalarle algo, no sé, digo yo — we ought to buy her a present, well, I think so anyway

es muy fácil - si tú lo dices... — it's very easy - if you say so...

a decir verdad — to tell you the truth, to be honest

como quien dice — so to speak

papá - dime, hijo — dad - yes, son?

quería pedirle un favor - usted dirá — I wanted to ask you a favor - certainly, go ahead

se decían secretos al oído — they were whispering secrets to each other

se dijeron de todo — they called each other every name under the sun

yo sé lo que me digo — I know what I'm talking about

tú te lo dices todo — you seem to have all the answers

¿cientos de personas? - bueno, es un decir — hundreds of people? - well, figuratively speaking

ya dice `mamá' — he says `mama' now

no digas esas cosas, por favor — please don't say things like that

no digas estupideces — don't talk nonsense!

¿cómo pudiste decir eso? — how could you say that?

¿eso lo dices por mí? — are you referring to me?

no lo dirás en serio! — you can't be serious!

dijo que sí con la cabeza — he nodded

no se dice `andé', se dice `anduve' — it isn't `andé', it's `anduve'

eso no se dice! — you mustn't say that!

¿cómo se dice `amor' en ruso? — how do you say `love' in Russian?

bonita, lo que se dice bonita, no es — she's not what you would call pretty

es el sábado; ni que decir tiene que estás invitado — it's on Saturday; you're invited, but that goes without saying

haberlo dicho antes — why didn't you say so before?

¿tendrá tiempo de hacerlo? - dice que sí — will he have time to do it? - he says he will

¿no lo encontró? - dice que no — didn't he find it? - no, he says he didn't

digan lo que digan — whatever people say

decirle algo a alguien — to tell somebody something

eso no es lo que me dijo a mí — that's not what he told me

¿sabes qué me dijo? — do you know what he told me?; (expresando sorpresa, indignación, etc) do you know what he said to me?

se lo voy a decir a papá — I'm going to tell Dad

hoy nos dicen el resultado — they're going to give us the result today

Andrés me dijo lo de tu hermano — Andrés told me about your brother

a mí me lo vas a decir! — you're telling me!

ya te lo decía yo! — I told you so!

fue algo espantoso, todo lo que te diga es poco — it was terrible, I can't begin to tell you how terrible

no me digas que no es precioso! — isn't it beautiful?

dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres — you can judge a man by the company he keeps

porque lo digo yo! — because I say so!

harás lo que yo diga — you'll do as I say

papá dice que vayas — Dad wants you

dice que llames cuando llegues — she says (you are) to phone when you get there

dijo que tuviéramos cuidado — she said to be careful

decirle a alguien que + subj — to tell somebody to + inf

diles que empiecen — tell them to start

le dije que no lo hiciera — I told him not to do it

decir adiós — to say goodbye

decirle adiós a alguien — to say goodbye to somebody

di adiós a tu vida de estudiante — you'd better say goodbye to your student days

¿qué dice aquí? — what does it say here?

el diario no dice nada sobre el asunto — there's nothing in the paper about it

se llama Rosario pero le dicen Charo — her name is Rosario but people call her Charo

la forma de vestir dice mucho de una persona — the way someone dresses says a lot/tells you a lot about them

el tiempo lo dirá — time will tell

algo me decía que no iba a ser fácil — something told me it wasn't going to be easy

¿te dice algo ese nombre? — does that name mean anything to you?

decir misa — to say mass

querer decir — to mean

¿qué quiere decir esta palabra? — what does this word mean?

¿qué quieres decir con eso? — what do you mean by that?

¿quieres decir que ya no te interesa? — do you mean (to say) that you're no longer interested?

¿y los padres qué dicen? — what do her parents think of it?, how do her parents feel about it?

habría que regalarle algo, no sé, digo yo — we ought to buy her a present, well, I think so anyway

es muy fácil - si tú lo dices... — it's very easy - if you say so...

a decir verdad — to tell you the truth, to be honest

como quien dice — so to speak

papá - dime, hijo — dad - yes, son?

quería pedirle un favor - usted dirá — I wanted to ask you a favor - certainly, go ahead

se decían secretos al oído — they were whispering secrets to each other

se dijeron de todo — they called each other every name under the sun

yo sé lo que me digo — I know what I'm talking about

tú te lo dices todo — you seem to have all the answers

¿qué es esa cosa redonda? — what's that round thing?

cogí mis cosas y me fui — I picked up my things and left

no es otra cosa que una bolsa de plástico — it's nothing more than a plastic bag, it's just a plastic bag

para el dolor de cabeza no tengo otra cosa que aspirina — all I have for headaches is aspirin

cosas de comer — things to eat

las cosas del jardín — the gardening things

¿alguna cosa más? — anything else?

y cosas así — and suchlike

haría cualquier cosa por ella — I'd do anything for her

este vino no es cualquier cosa — this isn't just any old wine

no ha servido de gran cosa — it hasn't been much use

la película no fue gran cosa — the film wasn't up to much

como futbolista no es gran cosa — he's not a great footballer, he's not much of a footballer

vive bien con poca cosa — she lives well on very little

no te preocupes por tan poca cosa — don't worry about a little thing like that

la vida es tan corta y somos tan poca cosa — life is so short and we're so insignificant

la chica es muy poquita cosa — there's not much of her

hay una cosa que no me gusta — there is one thing I don't like

¿me puedes decir una cosa? — can you tell me something?

una cosa, se me olvidaba preguntarte por el precio — by the way, I forgot to ask you about the price

en general está muy bien, solo una cosa... — on the whole, it's very good, there's just one thing...

eso es cosa tuya — that's your affair

es cosa fácil — it's easy

¿has visto cosa igual? — did you ever see the like?

¡qué cosa más extraña! — how strange!

es cosa de nunca acabar — there's no end to it

esa es cosa vieja — so what's new?, that's ancient history

¡vaya una cosa! — well!, there's a thing!

la cosa puede acabar mal — things could end badly

la cosa no está tan clara — it's not that clear

no es cosa de que lo dejes todo — there's no need for you to give it all up

trae el paraguas, no sea cosa que llueva — bring your umbrella in case it rains

¿hay otra cosa que pueda hacer? — is there anything else I can do?

otra cosa es que la ley imponga 40 horas semanales para todos — it's another matter entirely for the law to oblige everyone to work 40 hours a week

otra cosa sería si... — it would be quite another matter if...

como quien no quiere la cosa —

lo miraba como quien no quiere la cosa — she cast a casual glance at the boy

se levantó y se fue como quien no quiere la cosa — she got up and left as inconspicuously as possible

como si tal cosa —

me devolvió el libro roto como si tal cosa — he gave me back the damaged book as if nothing had happened

le dije que había sido seleccionado para el trabajo y se quedó como si tal cosa — I told him he had got the job and he barely reacted

no hay cosa peor — there's nothing worse

jamás he visto cosa semejante — I've never seen anything like it, I've never seen the like of it

¡no hay tal cosa! — nothing of the sort!

nunca he dicho nada sobre ese tema ni cosa que se le parezca — I never said anything about that subject or anything like it

¡son cosas de Juan! — that's Juan all over!, that's just like Juan!

son cosas de la edad — it's just old age

¡cosas de niños! — boys will be boys!

¡qué cosas dices! — you do say some silly things!

¡tienes unas cosas! — the things you say!

• las cosas — (=situación) things

las cosas van mejor — things are going better

tal como están las cosas — as things stand

así las cosas, se marchó de la reunión — at this point, she left the meeting

¡lo que son las cosas! — just imagine!, fancy that!

• cosa de — [indicando tiempo] about

es cosa de un par de semanas — it takes about a couple of weeks

en cosa de diez minutos — in about ten minutes

no le digas nada, cosa que no se ofenda — don't say anything to him, that way he won't get offended, don't say anything to him in case he gets offended

cualquier cosa — anything

pon cada cosa en su lugar — put everything in its place

queda poca cosa — there's hardly anything left

preguntó por no sé qué cosa — he asked for something or other

no sé hacer otra cosa — it's the only thing I know how to do

me gusta hacer las cosas bien — I like to do things properly

dejar las cosas a medias — to do things by halves

entre una(s) cosa(s) y otra(s)... — what with one thing and another...

es la cosa más natural del mundo — it's perfectly normal

qué cosas dices! — really, what a thing to say!

dime una cosa... — tell me something...

tengo que contarte una cosa — there's something I have to tell you

quiero aclarar una cosa — I want to make something clear

tenía cosas más importantes en que pensar — I had more important things to think about

no creo que la cosa funcione — I don't think it's going to work

fue cosa fácil — it was easy

se enfada por cualquier cosa — he gets angry over the slightest thing

si por cualquier cosa no puedes venir, avísame — if you can't come for any reason, let me know

por una cosa o por otra — for one reason or another

esto no es otra cosa que nervios — it's just nerves

esto no es cosa de broma/risa — this is no joke/no laughing matter

la cosa es que... — the thing is that...

todas sus cosas — all her things

mis cosas de deporte — my sports things

la cosa se pone negra/fea — things are starting to get unpleasant

¿cómo te van las cosas? — how are things?

las cosas no andan muy bien — things aren't too good

son cosas de la vida — that's life!

son cosas que pasan — these things happen

en mi vida he visto/oído cosa igual — I've never seen/heard anything like it

cosa rara en él, se equivocó — he made a mistake, which is unusual for him

una cosa es ser bueno y otra ser el mejor — being good is one thing, but being the best is quite another

son cosas de niños — children are like that

son cosas de Ana — that's one of Ana's little ways

no es cosa tuya — it's none of your business

no te preocupes, eso es cosa mía — don't worry, I'll handle it

eso es cosa de mujeres — that's women's work

cosa de terminarlo — so as to finish it

cosa que no me olvide — so that I don't forget

cualquier cosa — anything

pon cada cosa en su lugar — put everything in its place

queda poca cosa — there's hardly anything left

preguntó por no sé qué cosa — he asked for something or other

no sé hacer otra cosa — it's the only thing I know how to do

me gusta hacer las cosas bien — I like to do things properly

dejar las cosas a medias — to do things by halves

entre una(s) cosa(s) y otra(s)... — what with one thing and another...

es la cosa más natural del mundo — it's perfectly normal

qué cosas dices! — really, what a thing to say!

dime una cosa... — tell me something...

tengo que contarte una cosa — there's something I have to tell you

quiero aclarar una cosa — I want to make something clear

tenía cosas más importantes en que pensar — I had more important things to think about

no creo que la cosa funcione — I don't think it's going to work

fue cosa fácil — it was easy

se enfada por cualquier cosa — he gets angry over the slightest thing

si por cualquier cosa no puedes venir, avísame — if you can't come for any reason, let me know

por una cosa o por otra — for one reason or another

esto no es otra cosa que nervios — it's just nerves

esto no es cosa de broma/risa — this is no joke/no laughing matter

la cosa es que... — the thing is that...

todas sus cosas — all her things

mis cosas de deporte — my sports things

la cosa se pone negra/fea — things are starting to get unpleasant

¿cómo te van las cosas? — how are things?

las cosas no andan muy bien — things aren't too good

son cosas de la vida — that's life!

son cosas que pasan — these things happen

en mi vida he visto/oído cosa igual — I've never seen/heard anything like it

cosa rara en él, se equivocó — he made a mistake, which is unusual for him

una cosa es ser bueno y otra ser el mejor — being good is one thing, but being the best is quite another