senora

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wollie
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senora

Postby wollie » Sun Nov 18, 2018 1:30 pm

I always use "senora" for all women. I have just being told that senora is Mrs and translate confirms this.
Just curious about this, someone here will know i am sure.

Many thanks

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peteroldracer
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Re: señora

Postby peteroldracer » Sun Nov 18, 2018 4:29 pm

Señora is married woman, señorita an unmarried, chica a girl, niña a daughter or often used to young girl and mujer a woman but also used when talking about one’s wife (mi mujer)....
Simple language isn’t it!?
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wollie
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Re: senora

Postby wollie » Sun Nov 18, 2018 6:11 pm

Thanks for reply.
I am just comparing to us, we have Mr, Mrs, Miss and Ms. It seems the Spanish have not got to Ms yet.
Saying that, what is the term used for say 50 year old single lady or a divorcee.
It seems to me that senorita is a term for a young single lady.
If say we do not knowstatus married/single, is senora the right term for all women?

biribiri
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Re: senora

Postby biribiri » Mon Nov 19, 2018 12:52 am

Where we live niña is widely used to address any female aged from 0-90 :lolno:

Lavanda
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Re: senora

Postby Lavanda » Mon Nov 19, 2018 9:42 am

When addressing any female “Guapa” is the best option for both men and woman to use.

Nina, chica, jovenvita, senorita, senora, dona, bruja, anciana, all can be used but depends on how well you know the person.
(I can’t get the tildas on this iPad but you get the idea, I hope).

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peteroldracer
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Re: senora

Postby peteroldracer » Mon Nov 19, 2018 10:07 am

“(I can’t get the tildas on this iPad but you get the idea, I hope).”
On your keyboard, bottom row, 2nd from left should be a globe sign. Put your finger on it and you get a choice of keyboards, pick the ‘Español (España) and the accents are there for you. You can spellcheck in Spanish too....
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.

Lavanda
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Re: senora

Postby Lavanda » Mon Nov 19, 2018 11:02 am

Brilliant. Thank you.

wollie
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Re: senora

Postby wollie » Mon Nov 19, 2018 11:58 am

Thanks for all replies but i still do not know what best term to use for single/separated/divorced 50+ lady.
The reason i ask is a woman said i referred to her as Mrs when i said senora, i will stay using senora unless
someone has better idea.
I am working on the basis of general term to fit-all if possible...

Gasman
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Re: senora

Postby Gasman » Mon Nov 19, 2018 12:13 pm

If you don't know the lady well enough to know if she is married or not, then for a 50+ year old, err on the polite side by using señora. If you know for a fact that she has never married, and she asks you to call her señorita, go ahead. General rule of thumb is for anyone of marriageable age, to use señora unless corrected. Use it alone, not with the surnames - she is NOT Mrs Sanchez. Otherwise, avoid it .... the other complication is that even when married, females in Spain always (except some aristocratic types) keep their own name, with father's surname first, then mother's surname as second surname - so to address Mr Sanchez's wife (mujer or woman) as Mrs Sanchez, doesn't work - she is still Maria Dolores Gomez Marquez for example - if you know her reasonably well, Dolores or Loli will do! You see then, that she is not MRS Gomez either - seriously difficult language at times!

wollie
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Re: senora

Postby wollie » Mon Nov 19, 2018 12:36 pm

Gasman,
Thanks for very informative reply, i did know about the two surnames but you explained it so well it is much clearer.
I will send your text to my friend with an added note to say i was right "as usual"

Regards

wollie
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Re: senora

Postby wollie » Mon Nov 19, 2018 1:09 pm

Gasman,

so to address Mr Sanchez's wife (mujer or woman) as Mrs Sanchez, doesn't work - she is still Maria Dolores Gomez Marquez for example - if you know her reasonably well, Dolores or Loli will do! You see then, that she is not MRS Gomez either - seriously difficult language at times!

I notice that Mrs Sanchez does not seem to change her name and retains her full single name i think.
Am i right in thinking it is just the children of a marriage that take a surname from each parents with the dads name listed first.

Many thanks...

Gasman
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Re: senora

Postby Gasman » Mon Nov 19, 2018 6:58 pm

Wollie - just the children of a marriage -

Well basically it works like this - everyone at birth takes the fathers surname and the mothers surname, and that sticks with them for life - so the next generation takes their fathers surname and their mothers surname, ad infinitum
Juan Sanchez Pinto marries Maria Dolores Gomez Marquez
They have children Juan-Pablo Sanchez Gomez and Maria del Mar Sanchez Gomez - brother and sister have same surnames.
Juan-Pablo Sanchez Gomez marries Marta Vasquez Gonzalez and they have Juanito Sanchez Vasquez
Meanwhile Maria del Mar Sanchez Gomez marries Francisco Llorca Casado and they have Pacquito Llorca Sanchez

I have also tried to show the pattern where the first born follows the christian name of the father (for a boy) and the mother (for a girl) ... (Juanito is a small Juan, and Pacquito is a name for a very small Paco which comes from Francisco - how they get Paco from Francisco I have never found out !!!). Pacquito's grandfather is probably Paco so they had to find another version to carry on the line. Juan-Pablo is probably JuanPo to his mates, as Jose-Luis becomes Pepe-Lu, and Juan Martin becomes JuanMa, etc etc.

clearer now?

Lavanda
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Re: senora

Postby Lavanda » Mon Nov 19, 2018 7:29 pm

Yes. Agreed. However the name taken from the father is his father’s and the name taken from the mother is her father’s. Women may keep their own name but only pass on that of their father.

We have friends called Juan Manuel, JuanMa, and Luis Miguel, LuisMi.

Gasman
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Re: senora

Postby Gasman » Tue Nov 20, 2018 6:42 pm

As an aside, for formal addressing, eg official documents, tax returns, simple addressing on envelopes, Don is for Mr, and Doña is for Mrs. Not sure how young girls are addressed on paperwork ...
The French have a similar attitude to ladies, as they become of marriageable age, they generally to refer to ladies as Madame, and often suffer a severe reprimand "Mam'selle, s'il vous plait" Miss, if you don't mind. It is just a hazard of life!

Lavanda
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Re: senora

Postby Lavanda » Wed Nov 21, 2018 7:41 am

Yes. Doña, as I wrote in my list. Older lades especially, whether married or not or if their status is unknown seem to like that form of address, a lot.

wollie
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Re: senora

Postby wollie » Wed Nov 21, 2018 9:01 am

Lavanda wrote:Yes. Agreed. However the name taken from the father is his father’s and the name taken from the mother is her father’s. Women may keep their own name but only pass on that of their father.

We have friends called Juan Manuel, JuanMa, and Luis Miguel, LuisMi.
Personally though not perfect i think that the fact a lady retains their birth name for their lifetime is great and is better than any system than i am aware of. Its almost impossible to pass on 4 surnames and i suppose tradition of male as head of family made it obvious that it be the fathers name be carried forward.


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