compañera

English translation: female classmate/coworker/colleague

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Spanish term or phrase:	compañera (México)
English translation:	female classmate/coworker/colleague
Entered by:	Vocabulum (X)

17:16 Jan 20, 2007

Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting / Mexico

Spanish term or phrase: compañera

Same sentence as the one I just posted. I can't decide if "compañera" should be "girlfriend" or "a girl he knew" (I can't use "friend" alone because the sentence would no longer be funny). Opinions? (Thanks, everyone!)

Cuando dejó aquel hotel de paso, una compañera le rentó un diván para vivir —sólo un diván— en un apartamento de la Place Blanche, zona de no muy buena reputación

Patricia Rosas KudoZ activity Questions: 1427 (none open) (60 closed without grading) Answers: 1631 United States
Local time: 01:51

classmate or coworker

Explanation:
Hola Patricia,
En México usamos mucho el término "compañera/o" para referirnos ya sea a alguien que asiste a la escuela con nosotros (no necesariamente una amiga íntima) o a una persona con la que trabajamos (no necesariamente una amiga íntima).
Saludos cordiales, :)

Selected response from:

Vocabulum (X)
Local time: 02:51

Grading comment

I'm going to stick with "girl he knew" but it was very helpful to see that this is the main way in which the term is interpreted. Thanks for your help!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +5

classmate or coworker

Vocabulum (X)

5 +1

girlfriend

JH Trads

3 +2

a girl he was friends with

Sp-EnTranslator

3 +1

comrade

Aïda Garcia Pons

partner

Victoria Lorenzo

companion/associate/partner/consort

Taña Dalglish

Discussion entries: 9

Patricia Rosas

United States

ASKER

14:59 Jan 23, 2007

Before closing this question, I wanted to thank everyone for there input (esp. Andrea!). It has been so interesting to see how each person would approach the problem. THANKS!

Andrea Quintana

Argentina

23:34 Jan 21, 2007

...para designar también a la pareja que convive con uno sin haberse casado (no es la esposa, tampoco la novia y tampoco la amiga). Pero 'UNA compañera' es alguien c/quien la relación no es muy estrecha; sólo comparten alguna actividad.

Andrea Quintana

Argentina

23:30 Jan 21, 2007

Hi again, Patricia. En español, 'girlfriend' sería una 'amiga' o 'novia'. 'Compañera' es alguien que comparte clases, trabajo, u otra actividad. Puede no ser necesariamente amiga. PERO... últimamente he escuchado este término para designar...(sigo abajo)

Taña Dalglish

Jamaica

16:03 Jan 21, 2007

Patrica. Hola. Ultimately, the term you use/decide upon could maybe be qualified by the word "lady" or "woman"? ... just some other ideas. Saludos.

Patricia Rosas

United States

ASKER

15:51 Jan 21, 2007

Mauricio: The girl is mentioned only once (here in this sentence). I took it to mean that she did NOT share "su divan" -- that he got the couch in the living room, and nothing more ;-)

He was attending school, so she may have been a classmate, but what I need is one or two gender-specific words. My question really is whether "compañera" in Mexico is understood solely as classmate or whether "girlfriend" might be a possible interpretation. I could also use a "girl he knew", but somehow, I have to indicate that she was a she and not a he.
Thanks!

Mauricio Coitiño

Uruguay

15:39 Jan 21, 2007

Did they share any kind of activity (political, artistic, etc)?. I think that the expression "sólo un diván" is meant to stress the character's poor living conditions. It doesn't read "sólo SU diván".

Patricia Rosas

United States

ASKER

17:58 Jan 20, 2007

I forgot to mention that the target audience is primarily in the US, so I don't think mate will work (would for Australia!). I also hesitate to use the gender-neutral "classmate" or "companion" etc. since I think that the fact that a GIRL rented him her couch (and ONLY her couch) ...

Andrea Quintana

Argentina

17:23 Jan 20, 2007

sería una 'mate' o algo así. Saludos.

Andrea Quintana

Argentina

17:23 Jan 20, 2007

Hola, Patricia. Si sólo le renta un diván, no diría que es una 'girlfriend', sino más bien 'a girl he knew', como tú dices. Sin embargo, el término 'compañera' implica que compartían alguna actividad (trabajo, clases, etc.). En ese caso, (sigo abajo...)

Answers

5 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

girlfriend

Explanation:
hth

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 mins (2007-01-20 17:23:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

al igual que compañera, "girlfriend" cubre los varios significados posibles...en cambio "girl he knew" restringe el significado, lo limita respercto de "compañera"

JH Trads
United States
Local time: 04:51
Native speaker of:

Spanish,

French
PRO pts in category: 7

Notes to answerer

Asker: Hugo: Lo que no me queda claro es si compañera a veces puede indicar "girlfriend" o si es que normalmente indica "classmate, coworker, associate, etc." ¡Me lo puedes clarificar, por favor? No quiero usar las otras respuestas porque no indican el género (con la excepción de la respuesta de Claudia--pero con esa, regreso a mi punto de partida). ¡Gracias!

24 mins confidence:

companion/associate/partner/consort

Explanation:
Other options:

Consort ? (.... en un apartamento de la Place Blanche, zona de no muy buena reputación), but this has the connotation of being a high-priced prostitute, which is not the meaning that one may wish to convey.

I am trying to be funny here - they use a term "this is my "main squeeze" (smile!). Of course this term applies to when the main has more than one friend who is a girl and is involved with more than one partner.

Saludos y suerte

Taña Dalglish
Jamaica
Local time: 03:51
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 40

25 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +5

classmate or coworker

Vocabulum (X)
Local time: 02:51
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 8

Grading comment

I'm going to stick with "girl he knew" but it was very helpful to see that this is the main way in which the term is interpreted. Thanks for your help!

Notes to answerer

Asker: Vocabulum--thanks for your answer. I see that everyone agrees with it, but i just can't use it because I have to make sure that the term isn't gender neutral. Thanks anyway!

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

comrade

Explanation:
Hi Patricia,
Since in the previous posting you said the text's about someone's doings in Paris in the '60s. I was wondering if compañera could be seen as a political, communist thing. A synonym for camarada in Spanish?

Should this be the case, you could try comrade (you may want to specify that it's a "she comrade").

Aïda Garcia Pons
United States
Local time: 01:51
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Catalan,

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 12

6 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

a girl he was friends with

Explanation:
or, a girl who was friends with him.
Too coloquial, maybe? Hope it helps!

Sp-EnTranslator
United States
Local time: 04:51
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 20

12 hrs confidence:

partner

Explanation:
Hay una buena relacion entre ellos

Victoria Lorenzo
Local time: 02:51
Native speaker of:

Spanish

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compañera

English translation: female classmate/coworker/colleague

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English translation: female classmate/coworker/colleague

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