Ok, Here is the situation.
I am from america and my fiance is from the dominican republic.
She was living in puerto rico for ten years and I met her there when I lived there.
I trust her completely. However, there is a problem that I have in one thing she does.
She calls other men "papi". (She also will call women she doesn't know "mi amor".)
She is in Florida right now and I am in North Carolina and will be moving in with her soon. She lives with one of her sons and her ex husbands sister, Edith.
Edith met her boyfriend 4 months ago and are talking about getting married and he will probably move into the apartment in January.
Recently, her older sons visited her on one of their birthdays and her ex husband came up to see them as well.
We were talking on the phone as she arrived home and said hello to her ex husband by the name Fernando and they said hola papi to Edith's boyfriend.
...
Now, I am not fluent in spanish and know it is used differently in many countries, but I was confused why she would be calling any other man besides her boyfriend or husband or son papi.
We talked later about it and she says she has learned many words and not everyone understands all these words and because of that words don't really mean anything. It is more about the Tone, Inflection of voice which is important. She says that in her job, if she thinks you are a decent person and does not know your name or there is a group around, she will call those men "papi"
To me, papi means: Daddy, Baby, My Love....you say it to the boyfriends, husbands, and sons...if you are in a committed relationship. If you are single, then to a man you have an interest in getting to know alot better.
To me, that is an important word. If I was not her fiance or boyfriend, I would not call her mami. If there was no interest in having her be my fiance or girlfriend.
And I would not want other men to call her mami either. That's my women/baby/love, not yours.
....
Now I'm not looking for someone to be on my side of this or her side of this.....but, I would like to know what "papi" and "mami" mean to most people and what it means most of the time you use those words. And when and who it is appropriate to be used with.
I can imagine there might be a situation that might 'break' the normal rule of when it is used, I'd like to know those as well.
...
Having her call other men Papi...daddy, big daddy, lover, boyfriend, husband, baby, etc.....bothers me. It doesn't seem to matter to her what she is calls others or what they call her as long as it is with good tone.
(although if I said como esta mami with the same tone as I said como esta puta or como esta pendejo", I don't think she would think those words meant nothing, just because they were used with good tone.)
Also, do you think I am overreacting? I feel it is very disrepectful to say that to another man when you are in a committed relationship. Would it bother you if your wife or girlfriend called others papi, or your husband or boyfriend called other women mami?
Are these words used differently in the Dominican Republic? What do they mean there? How are they used there? Are they appropriate to call everyone? etc....
And what would you think of a mans wife saying papi to another man, if you knew they were together? Would you still respect her? Would you still respect him?
.....
Basically, any information, translations, thoughts, ideas...would be helpful in me understanding what's going on.
I am from america and my fiance is from the dominican republic.
She was living in puerto rico for ten years and I met her there when I lived there.
I trust her completely. However, there is a problem that I have in one thing she does.
She calls other men "papi". (She also will call women she doesn't know "mi amor".)
She is in Florida right now and I am in North Carolina and will be moving in with her soon. She lives with one of her sons and her ex husbands sister, Edith.
Edith met her boyfriend 4 months ago and are talking about getting married and he will probably move into the apartment in January.
Recently, her older sons visited her on one of their birthdays and her ex husband came up to see them as well.
We were talking on the phone as she arrived home and said hello to her ex husband by the name Fernando and they said hola papi to Edith's boyfriend.
...
Now, I am not fluent in spanish and know it is used differently in many countries, but I was confused why she would be calling any other man besides her boyfriend or husband or son papi.
We talked later about it and she says she has learned many words and not everyone understands all these words and because of that words don't really mean anything. It is more about the Tone, Inflection of voice which is important. She says that in her job, if she thinks you are a decent person and does not know your name or there is a group around, she will call those men "papi"
To me, papi means: Daddy, Baby, My Love....you say it to the boyfriends, husbands, and sons...if you are in a committed relationship. If you are single, then to a man you have an interest in getting to know alot better.
To me, that is an important word. If I was not her fiance or boyfriend, I would not call her mami. If there was no interest in having her be my fiance or girlfriend.
And I would not want other men to call her mami either. That's my women/baby/love, not yours.
....
Now I'm not looking for someone to be on my side of this or her side of this.....but, I would like to know what "papi" and "mami" mean to most people and what it means most of the time you use those words. And when and who it is appropriate to be used with.
I can imagine there might be a situation that might 'break' the normal rule of when it is used, I'd like to know those as well.
...
Having her call other men Papi...daddy, big daddy, lover, boyfriend, husband, baby, etc.....bothers me. It doesn't seem to matter to her what she is calls others or what they call her as long as it is with good tone.
(although if I said como esta mami with the same tone as I said como esta puta or como esta pendejo", I don't think she would think those words meant nothing, just because they were used with good tone.)
Also, do you think I am overreacting? I feel it is very disrepectful to say that to another man when you are in a committed relationship. Would it bother you if your wife or girlfriend called others papi, or your husband or boyfriend called other women mami?
Are these words used differently in the Dominican Republic? What do they mean there? How are they used there? Are they appropriate to call everyone? etc....
And what would you think of a mans wife saying papi to another man, if you knew they were together? Would you still respect her? Would you still respect him?
.....
Basically, any information, translations, thoughts, ideas...would be helpful in me understanding what's going on.