'se tenota'?

[M Dot]

title of this bachata song im feeling, what does it mean? thanks.

 

[Marianopolita]

A brief explanation-

M Dot-

The phrase in Spanish is 'se te nota' which is an impersonal construction and the equivalent parallel in English is formed differently. I will extend the phrase a bit to ensure comprehension.

For example let's say you go to work today and one of your co-workers says to you "I am so upset about xxx". You may respond "se te nota en la cara" which means "it's written all over your face". This construction is used regularly in Spanish and it may take a while to get used to. Once you understand the construction and how it's formed it will be easy for you to use and understand in all tenses.

More examples:

Se te nota xxx (followed by an adjective) "triste", "indeciso" etc.
Se te notaba xxx
Se le nota xxx
Se le notaba xxx



I hope this helps.


-LDG.

 

[MrMike]

"I can tell" is a simple translation, but not 100% accurate, see above for in depth explanation.

 

[Chirimoya]

In the context explained by Lesley, how about "it shows" as an approximate equivalent?

 

[MrMike]

That sounds better, yes.

 

[A.Hidalgo]

Chirimoya you hit the nail in the head and to the point. Muy bien.

 

[Marianopolita]

Chiri-

Chiri 'it shows' is exactly what I was eluding to in my explanation but I wanted to see if the OP would arrive at that via what I stated.

One general comment though 'se te nota' could be said as "it shows" in English but when an adjective is placed after it becomes "you look" xxx. See my examples below.

Se te nota triste= You look sad BUT
Te noto triste= You look sad ('to me'- as in my opinion)


All for now.

-LDG.

 

[C Rebelz]

lol i see u like Joe Veras(talented)

it means "u can tell"

 

[M Dot]

thanks for the help yall. Thats what I thought but i wanted to make sure because im not fluent.