Esposa vs Marida?

May 29, 2006
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Is there any real difference between the two terms? We always refer to each other as Mi Esposa o Mi Esposo.. Does this mean I'm married.. kinda? When I asked, she said one you have a ring and the other you don't.
 
Jun 18, 2007
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Normally esposa is used for the wife by marriage while marida is for common law wife. Although marida is not used much, mi mujer is what they use. Marido they use for common law husband and they use that most of the times.
 

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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Never heard marida (talking in general though, not DR)

Mi marido, yes, but mi marida ?

I assumed esposo y marido were the same things (it does in French, that is why)
 

DannyWings

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Nov 17, 2015
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Marido and esposo both mean 'husband. Aslo, there is no such word 'marida' in the Spanish language, unless it is made up by people who truly do not know the language. Maridable=marital. Maridaje=married life. Maridar=to combine,to unite,to get married,to live as man and wife. If u have more then 1 esposa that means you are in jail. Esposas=handcuffs and manacles.
 

DannyWings

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Nov 17, 2015
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Just like in Italian. Marito=husband. Moglie=wife or bride. Donna=woman mainly, but could also mean 'woman'. Therefore, possibly 'mujer' can be used as wife also since 'donna' in Italian and 'mujer' means woman in Spanish. Both languages have the same root.
 

DannyWings

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Nov 17, 2015
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Donna di servizio in Italian is a polite way of saying 'maid' unlike 'criada' in Spanish. Raggazza da marito=eligible girl.
 

pauleast

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Jan 29, 2012
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When my wife (Actually married to her) started calling me her marido I tried out the word marida and she told me that no there was no such word. And she explained that esposo is actually married and marido can also include the meaning if just living together. She was Colombian and we all know that there are language differences between here and there.
Der Fish

Are you sure she wasn't saying mierda
 

Kipling333

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Jan 12, 2010
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Marido is the husband and esposa is the wife ...normal in Spain and in most literature and also in many marriage ceremonies . There is no marida .
 

Aguaita29

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Jul 27, 2011
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I don't think the word "marida" even exists! Your gf must have had too much booze at the resort!
 

Virgo

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Oct 26, 2013
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Marido and esposo both mean 'husband. Aslo, there is no such word 'marida' in the Spanish language, unless it is made up by people who truly do not know the language. Maridable=marital. Maridaje=married life. Maridar=to combine,to unite,to get married,to live as man and wife. If u have more then 1 esposa that means you are in jail. Esposas=handcuffs and manacles.
Right, no such a thing a "marida". MaridO officially means husband, but in practice may be used to describe a common law husband (but NOT a "boyfriend").

"Mujer" is a bit trickier. In addition to meaning "woman", it may mean "wife" but possibly "common law wife" also. I know that in Spain "mujer" is widely used to denote "wife". However in the DR (and possibly elsewhere in Hispanoamerica) "esposa" is much preferred over "mujer" to denote wife. In fact, a married woman may be offended if referred to as "la mujer de..." and may actually correct you "la mujer no, la esposa" to emphasize they are legally married. For that reason, it is much safer to use "esposa" for wife and esposo for husband which work well everywhere. I suppose that if you don't know whether they are legally married you could avoid the whole thing and refer to the person by his/her name.

Mujer could also denote a woman who is no longer a virgin. Which is another reason to be careful. An unmarried woman and/or her family might be offended if referred to as "mujer" and reply "mujer no, se?orita!". Obviously this would depend on the kind of people they are. At least in older times and possibly still today among certain people, even very old unmarried women were called "se?orita", and calling them "se?ora" was offensive and would result in the correction "se?ora no, se?orita". So it was (is?) safer to call any unmarried woman a se?orita regardless of age. (I understand that in France the EXACT opposite is recommended, as implying that she is married (when in doubt) is viewed as a complement!)

"La compa?era de" (the mate of) could be a decent term to refer to a common law wife.
 
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Dolores1

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May 3, 2000
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"Marida" is a colloquial expression. It is used frequently enough. Probably a Dominicanism. It can refer to a legally married wife or a spouse, or even long time girl friend.
 

Virgo

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Oct 26, 2013
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"Marida" is a colloquial expression. It is used frequently enough. Probably a Dominicanism. It can refer to a legally married wife or a spouse, or even long time girl friend.

Maybe is a colloquialism-regionalism within the DR, or a colloquialism-neologism (recent word). I can only say that I have NEVER heard it or read it anywhere (outside this very thread). But obviously I have not heard/read every conversation in the DR.