Vaina

dulce · Apr 12, 2014

I am still confused about the use of this word. For example in this joke : Acuerdate de la vaina que tu tienes que acordarte. Then someone said the following joke : Este mensaje es igualito a las cosas y vainas de Jose.
Vaina does not translate well at all. It translates as pod or sheath.
Can someone explain to me some different ways that it is used and what it means?
Some examples please.

AlterEgo · Apr 12, 2014

In DR, I hear it used as I would use "crap" or "****" in English. As in, "What BS!!" - "Que vaina!"

dulce · Apr 12, 2014

So it would translate late remember the BS that you say. Then it means that Jose needs to remember all the BS he says about his life.
Kind of like saying Jose is a BS artist?

AlterEgo · Apr 12, 2014

dulce said:
So it would translate late remember the BS that you say. Then it means that Jose needs to remember all the BS he says about his life.
Kind of like saying Jose is a BS artist?

Yes, first is 'remember all the sh** - and the other roughly 'this message is typical of Jose's sh**. Yep, sounds like this is typical for Jose. I think.

dulce · Apr 12, 2014

AlterEgo said:
Yes, first is 'remember all the sh** - and the other roughly 'this message is typical of Jose's sh**. Yep, sounds like this is typical for Jose. I think.

Thanks
I think someone's husband is in trouble again! Que vaina!

Xavier_Onassis · Apr 12, 2014

vaina in Dominican Spanish seems to be an all-purpose semi obscene word, like sh!t in English, except of course, the root meaning is different. It is related to the word vainilla (vanilla).

Mexican Spanish does not use it. In Spanish, often obscene words in one country are just funny words in another.

The worst expressions, the ones that are considered nasty everywhere seem to the the blasphemous ones used in Spain. (Me c@go en D!os que s?, etc.)

AlterEgo · Apr 12, 2014

We've been watching "El Mariachi" on AXN every night - Mexican is very different.

Xavier_Onassis · Apr 12, 2014

AlterEgo said:
We've been watching "El Mariachi" on AXN every night - Mexican is very different.

======================================
My favorite sources of Mexican expressions were the satirical comic books written for adults, like La familia Burr?n, Los Supermachos and Los agachados. Also the films of Cantinflas and Lalo "El Piporro" Gonzalez, among others.

From "La vida in?til de Pito P?rez", Jesus on the cross says, "Perd?nales, se?or, se hacen que no saben lo que hacen."
(Forgive them Lord, they are making like they don't know what they are doing.) It loses something in the translation.

jabejuventus · Apr 12, 2014

https://www.google.com/#q=translate+vaina

Castle · Apr 13, 2014

The strict translation would be sheath. But of course that is not the usual meaning when the word is used in spanish (not only in DR). Vaina is rather anything you want it to be. A thing (suelta esa vaina), even a person (vaina no vino hoy), a problem (que vaina), a situation (esta dificil la vaina), an attitude (ya vienes tu con tu vaina). Boruga, the known dominican comedian, tells a funny joke about the many meanings of vaina. It goes like "dile a vaina que me pase la vaina esa que esta sobre la vaina de la cocina, para hacer una vaina aqui a ver si resuelvo esta vaina..."

Green beans are usually called "vainitas" because they resemble a small sheath.

dulce · Apr 13, 2014

jabejuventus said:
https://www.google.com/#q=translate+vaina

Thank you. There are some good examples with sentences for different uses of the word.

dulce · Apr 13, 2014

Castle said:
The strict translation would be sheath. But of course that is not the usual meaning when the word is used in spanish (not only in DR). Vaina is rather anything you want it to be. A thing (suelta esa vaina), even a person (vaina no vino hoy), a problem (que vaina), a situation (esta dificil la vaina), an attitude (ya vienes tu con tu vaina). Boruga, the known dominican comedian, tells a funny joke about the many meanings of vaina. It goes like "dile a vaina que me pase la vaina esa que esta sobre la vaina de la cocina, para hacer una vaina aqui a ver si resuelvo esta vaina..."

Green beans are usually called "vainitas" because they resemble a small sheath.

Thank you. This is a good example of how confusing the word is. If I had not learned the uses of the word in this thread I would not have a clue what you wrote.
What you wrote would never translate on google. If someone asked you to use the word in sentences for the different uses could you do it?

Marianopolita · Apr 13, 2014

Examples from another thread....

dulce said:
I am still confused about the use of this word. For example in this joke : Acuerdate de la vaina que tu tienes que acordarte. Then someone said the following joke : Este mensaje es igualito a las cosas y vainas de Jose.
Vaina does not translate well at all. It translates as pod or sheath.
Can someone explain to me some different ways that it is used and what it means?
Some examples please.

Here is a fairly recent thread in the forum on this subject which has some good posts defining the usage.

http://dr1.com/forums/spanish-101/121693-la-vaina.html

I put the usage of this word along with many others of its kind as one that defines social class and education. Although it's very common in the Dominican vernacular, there is a fine line when it comes to usage which reveals key aspects about the speaker(s) in my opinion. Among those who speak the language well, polite company etc. note how often you hear the word used- not very much if at all.

Although its usage is categorized under the broad heading of Latin America, it's not heard in all countries and certainly the connotation can change from region to region. If you chose to use it, know when to, how to and the proper context etc. There are so many other informal words in Spanish that you can use in place of it and that sound much better than the repeated esa vaina etc. It does not make one sound more local at all.

-MP.

dulce · Apr 13, 2014

Marianopolita said:
Here is a fairly recent thread in the forum on this subject which has some good posts defining the usage.

http://dr1.com/forums/spanish-101/121693-la-vaina.html

I put the usage of this word along with many others of its kind as one that defines social class and education. Although it's very common in the Dominican vernacular, there is a fine line when it comes to usage which reveals key aspects about the speaker(s) in my opinion. Among those who speak the language well, polite company etc. note how often you hear the word used- not very much if at all.

Although its usage is categorized under the broad heading of Latin America, it's not heard in all countries and certainly the connotation can change from region to region. If you chose to use it, know when to, how to and the proper context etc. There are so many other informal words in Spanish that you can use in place of it and that sound much better than the repeated esa vaina etc. It does not make one sound more local at all.

-MP.

Thank you. I am learning more about the uses of the word by the minute.
What are the other more acceptable words or phrases to replace it?

Xavier_Onassis · Apr 13, 2014

I have noticed that women do not use this word as often as men. Like sh*t or cr@p, it seems to be vaguely obscene. I suppose innocuous words like "cosa" or "situaci?" or "suceso" could be substituted.

In most languages, there are words that are essentially taboo, especially for women to use. I have heard that in some Carib groups, the men and women essentially spoke different languages, probably because so many of the women had been kidnapped on raids from Taino or other tribes.

jabejuventus · Apr 13, 2014

I would say that in the most general Dominican use of the vernacular, vaina refers to a thing. And so, thing translates to cosa, as in esa cosa/vaina (that thing).

Marianopolita · Apr 13, 2014

dulce said:
Thank you. I am learning more about the uses of the word by the minute.
What are the other more acceptable words or phrases to replace it?

I think a replacement word would all depend on the context since vaina could have various meanings. Therefore, an appropriate substitute word would depend on how it is used. However, a synonym can be something as simple as: cosa or problema. Nobody in my social circle uses the word and when I hear it used, it's typical of the level, type of speaker or social milieu in which I would expect it to be used.

Xavier makes an interesting point in post #15.

-MP.

jabejuventus · Apr 13, 2014

There do exist species that have the flexibility to express themselves in the vernacular as well as in formal speak, and know when to transfer. I enjoy the vernacular as much as any other type language protocol. It is colorful, cultural, and its use does not make me feel as lower in class. Another Dominican colloquialism frowned upon as classless is "cuarto," though I've heard it used by many professional Dominicans that I would not dare to refer to as classless.

IMHO the Mods reply is ominous for those that may want to use Dominican jargon freely and innocuously.

Marianopolita · Apr 13, 2014

???

jabejuventus said:
There do exist species that have the flexibility to express themselves in the vernacular as well as in formal speak, and know when to transfer. I enjoy the vernacular as much as any other type language protocol. It is colorful, cultural, and its use does not make me feel as lower in class. Another Dominican colloquialism frowned upon as classless is "cuarto," though I've heard it used by many professional Dominicans that I would not dare to refer to as classless.

IMHO the Mods reply is ominous for those that may want to use Dominican jargon freely and innocuously.

Not at all and I even agree with your post. I do think the last line of your post is a bit over the top. My reply is like anyone else's as a poster. You take it or leave it, agree or disagree. You may want to familiarize yourself with my posts in general. I have posted a lot in this forum since 2005. In the meantime, please ensure you stay on topic. Thanks.

-MP.

dulce · Apr 13, 2014

I have never used the word vaina in any way because I didn't know how to use it.
I can't say the same for some other inappropriate Spanish words.

Vaina

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