- Thread starter granca
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Okra
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Names of vegetables vary in Spanish across the board-
Fruits and vegetables vary tremendously in the Spanish-speaking world but there are what is considered to be generic words for a fruit or vegetable because in many cases there is more than one word. Foreigners are taught generic words and in most cases dictionaries and other references list the generic word(s) first then the others are usually regional and also indicated with an abbreviation or it will say regionalism or even give the abbreviation of the country such as mex. (Mexico), col. (Colombia), ven. (Venezuela), CR (Costa Rica), Arg. (Argentina) etc. In my experience, Spanish speakers from their respective countries know the local word and may not have heard others. If they do know other words it's via friends, reading books or by actually visiting other Spanish-speaking countries.
These words vary much especially the vegetables because of their origin and whether or not they are native to Latin countries or imported from abroad. When I visit a Spanish-speaking country, I make a special trip to the grocery store just to see the names of the fruits and vegetables just in case the generic word is not used, understood or refers to a different fruit or vegetable. Also it's the best way to learn the words.
Specific to okra the most generic word in my opinion is ocra (note the slight difference in spelling in Spanish) however, many dictionaries have 'quingomb?' which ironically, I have never heard anyone use, I mean nobody. In general, with fruits and vegetables I try to use as many generic words as possible because I speak to a diverse group of Spanish speakers on a regular basis but sometimes people will say to me, 'nice word' or 'I have never heard that word' and it gets a great conversation going about regionalisms in Spanish.
In the DR, it's necessary to know the local words for certain fruits and vegetables BUT my mantra is always the more you know in Spanish the better. The DR population only represents 3% of the total Spanish-speaking world (approx). You will note that there are many similarities between DR and Puerto Rico whereas Cuba tends to have a different word but identical to other countries such as Venezuela and/ or Colombia.
I go with the flow if I am in a specific Spanish-speaking country because it avoids confusion and/ or frustration. For example, in the DR I won't say to people 'voy al mercado a comprar cambures'. In Venezuela yes, but in the Caribbean chances are no one will understand what I am going to buy.
Gumbo soup in English is okra soup. If prepared and made correctly, it's great!
There are plenty of interesting variations in Spanish referring to fruits and vegetables:
cambur= banana (Venezuela)
patilla= watermelon (Venezuela)
?apu= okra in Panama (there's no way to know this unless you know Panamanians or you visit the country).. I have never seen the word in any reference (yet)
calabaza= generic= pumpkin // auyama in the DR, Puerto Rico and South America
molondr?n= okra = in the DR as mentioned in post #2
.... this list could go on but I just wanted to give some examples of how vegetables and fruits vary in Spanish.
-MP.
Fruits and vegetables vary tremendously in the Spanish-speaking world but there are what is considered to be generic words for a fruit or vegetable because in many cases there is more than one word. Foreigners are taught generic words and in most cases dictionaries and other references list the generic word(s) first then the others are usually regional and also indicated with an abbreviation or it will say regionalism or even give the abbreviation of the country such as mex. (Mexico), col. (Colombia), ven. (Venezuela), CR (Costa Rica), Arg. (Argentina) etc. In my experience, Spanish speakers from their respective countries know the local word and may not have heard others. If they do know other words it's via friends, reading books or by actually visiting other Spanish-speaking countries.
These words vary much especially the vegetables because of their origin and whether or not they are native to Latin countries or imported from abroad. When I visit a Spanish-speaking country, I make a special trip to the grocery store just to see the names of the fruits and vegetables just in case the generic word is not used, understood or refers to a different fruit or vegetable. Also it's the best way to learn the words.
Specific to okra the most generic word in my opinion is ocra (note the slight difference in spelling in Spanish) however, many dictionaries have 'quingomb?' which ironically, I have never heard anyone use, I mean nobody. In general, with fruits and vegetables I try to use as many generic words as possible because I speak to a diverse group of Spanish speakers on a regular basis but sometimes people will say to me, 'nice word' or 'I have never heard that word' and it gets a great conversation going about regionalisms in Spanish.
In the DR, it's necessary to know the local words for certain fruits and vegetables BUT my mantra is always the more you know in Spanish the better. The DR population only represents 3% of the total Spanish-speaking world (approx). You will note that there are many similarities between DR and Puerto Rico whereas Cuba tends to have a different word but identical to other countries such as Venezuela and/ or Colombia.
I go with the flow if I am in a specific Spanish-speaking country because it avoids confusion and/ or frustration. For example, in the DR I won't say to people 'voy al mercado a comprar cambures'. In Venezuela yes, but in the Caribbean chances are no one will understand what I am going to buy.
Gumbo soup in English is okra soup. If prepared and made correctly, it's great!
There are plenty of interesting variations in Spanish referring to fruits and vegetables:
cambur= banana (Venezuela)
patilla= watermelon (Venezuela)
?apu= okra in Panama (there's no way to know this unless you know Panamanians or you visit the country).. I have never seen the word in any reference (yet)
calabaza= generic= pumpkin // auyama in the DR, Puerto Rico and South America
molondr?n= okra = in the DR as mentioned in post #2
.... this list could go on but I just wanted to give some examples of how vegetables and fruits vary in Spanish.
-MP.
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La palabra-
I mean the word I referenced 'quingomb?' and so did the poster granca.
Many dictionaries have it as the generic word and in my experience it's not that popular. 'Ocra' is more generic.
The RAE has 'ocra' and 'quingomb?' as a regionalism (which makes sense to me).
-MP.
I mean the word I referenced 'quingomb?' and so did the poster granca.
Many dictionaries have it as the generic word and in my experience it's not that popular. 'Ocra' is more generic.
The RAE has 'ocra' and 'quingomb?' as a regionalism (which makes sense to me).
-MP.
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