49 Comments
"I want to have a kind boss" doesn't cut it?" Lost my test out on this one.
223
Did not accept by "congenial", which is a meaning in my dictionary. https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/simp%C3%A1tico
I want a nice boss..... And perhaps a nice person marking my Spanish exam when I get this wrong.
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I put, "I want to have a nice wife." and it marked it as wrong. My wife is my boss though...
"Simpático" and "sympathetic" are cognates, but they have come to take different meanings in English and Spanish. So (outside of anatomy) even though they sound similar, "simpático" doesn't translate as "sympathetic", but instead "nice".
Generally Spanish-English cognates will hold the same or similar meanings, but there are a few to keep an eye out for. "Actualmente" for instance, means "currently", not "actually" as might be expected.
By the way, "comprensivo" and "compasivo" are two adjectives that do mean "sympathetic", the latter being a cognate of "compassionate", which shares its meaning across languages.
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Translations of adjective Frequency sympathetic simpático, comprensivo, compasivo, amable
likeable simpático, atractivo
friendly amable, amistoso, acogedor, simpático, cordial, amigo
nice agradable, bonito, bien, bueno, lindo, simpático
decent bueno, bastante bueno, honrado, honesto, amable, simpático
charming encantador, simpático, hechicero
pleasant agradable, amable, simpático, genial
lovely encantador, precioso, hermoso, bello, delicioso, simpático
congenial agradable, congenial, simpático
genial genial, afable, simpático, agradable, suave
Note that "simpático" is only defined as "sympathetic" for an anatomical usage in all three.
That sounds like my kids. They always need something when they actually want it.
On a serious note, just remember "necesitar" is related to our English "necessary" and expresses a need. "Querer" isn't as straight forward, but you could think of the query, "What do you want?"
Yo quero tener un grande recto, porque? Yo no se, simplemente yo quero, entiende?
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The "to have" is completely redundant and just plain bad grammar. So is "tener".
well this sentence has some Ambiguity for me . as "tener" means both "to be" and "to have" . I think "I want to be a nice boss" is also another correct answer. well duo said I'm wrong and I want to know why my sentence is wrong? and on the other hand if both of them are really correct, well it really can have some misunderstandings for your audience when you speak spanish!
This a valid question and I'm sorry to see that some people have chosen to downvote it rather than take the time to answer.
"Tener" means "to have", but it can translate as "to be". The meaning in Spanish doesn't actually change, it's just we say certain things differently to how they do:
Tienes 46 años (means) You have 46 years (but translates as) You are 46 years old.
Tengo frío (means) I have cold (but translates as) I am cold.
While those cases translate "tener" as "to be", this DL sentence doesn't. Here "tener" means "to have" in Spanish, and it translates as "to have" in English.
For "to be" in this sentence you would need "ser": Quiero ser un jefe simpático.
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When using a dictionary, it is important to choose those meanings in the correct context. A specific meaning doesn't necessarily hold in all contexts. This is true for both English and Spanish.
See this dictionary.
https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/tener
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I find translating "sympático" with "nice" quite small minded, showing a narrow image of a language, should allow for more detail in expression. "Nice" works in many cases, when people lack the words to express themselves more in detail - pleasant, friendly or even simply sympathetic should be proposed as well.
There's a concept in English of "nice", right? It can mean pleasant, friendly and even simply sympathetic. Now what if I want to say nice, not pleasant, not friendly, and not sympathetic? In that case, I would use the translation of "nice", which is simpatico
