If you've read this blog before, by now you should know that Galicia has its own language, galego. After a few years of living here, I made the switch to speaking in Galician and now almost exclusively speak it (except for English of course). Some characteristics I like about the language are the sound, especially the letter x which is pronounced like ¨sh¨. I also appreciate the plethora of contractions, like my own native language. Especially when you compare it with Spanish's only two options del and al, Galician has a ton.
There are a lot of cute Galician words, but many of them don't mean what you think they'd mean based on a literal translation. Can you guess what these words mean based on their literal translations?
1. riquiño/riquiña
literally ¨little rich¨
actually ¨cute, adorable¨
This has to be one of the most common words in Galician, as far as adjectives go. It means cute/sweet. But don't get your hopes up, because if your crush uses it to describe you, he/she likely means it in a you're-sweet-but-not-attractive-to-me kind of way. Oops.
2. cabalo do demo
literally ¨devil's horse¨
actually ¨dragonfly¨
Why do they call them devil's horse? Probably the same reason we call them dragon's fly (although at least they do fly...)
3. sapoconcho
literally ¨toad-shell¨
actually ¨tortoise¨
When you think about it, this one makes so much sense. What are tortoises if not shelled toads?
4. miñaxoia
literally ¨my jewel¨
actually ¨gullible, poor thing¨
One time someone called me this, and at first I was delighted because it sounds like a term of endearment. Wrong. How did ¨my jewel¨ evolve into that?!
5. lucecú
literally ¨light butt¨
actually ¨firefly¨
Another one that is actually spot on. I must admit, lightning bugs have a dozen different names in Galician, probably also depending on where you live. But I just adore this one because it's so accurate. (The more standardized word for it is vagalume, literally meaning ¨wandering fire.¨ That's sweet!)
6. mexacán
literally ¨piss dog¨
actually ¨dandelion¨
In speech, most Galician people would probably use the Spanish translation of this flower, which is similar to English diente de león. But in a book about natural remedies I saw mexacán and found it amusing. Apparently the actual etymology is bed rather than dog, because dandelions are a diuretic. Either way, it sounds silly.
7. rula
literally ¨turtle dove¨
actually ¨sweetheart, dear¨
From studying Spanish I already knew that apparently every language has its own objects it compares to someone being dear. In English we have honey and sweetie, in Spanish they have heaven or ¨my life.¨ And in Galician, if someone calls you ¨my turtle dove¨ take it as a compliment! Surprisingly the opposite of ¨my jewel.¨
I'm sure there are plenty more curious Galician words, but that's all for now!
