Qué dicha
 
Almost every Spanish textbook teaches that to greet someone you should ask ¿Cómo está?, ¿Cómo estás?, or more informally, ¿Qué tal? But here in Costa Rica, what’s most commonly asked is ¿Cómo le va? and the response is Bien, por dicha. The word dicha is used a lot. It roughly translates as thank goodness. Estoy bien, por dicha. (I’m well, thank goodness). Por dicha traje paraguas (Thank goodness I brought an umbrella). ¡Qué dicha que vino! (Thank goodness/That’s great you came!) Another word used a lot is pena. Dictionaries translate it as sorrow or pity, and in many countries, such as Spain, it’s used with that meaning. But Costa Ricans use pena to mean embarrassment. She didn’t dance because le dio pena, she was too embarrassed. If someone is going to tell you that they can’t make it to the appointment, they might begin with Me da mucha pena con usted pero..., I’m ashamed to tell you... To learn other words and expressions Costa Ricans use, los tiquismos, check out: http://www.costaricaspanish.net/tiquismos-costa-rican-street-spanish/ http://books.google.com/books?id=St_cw-ETw3oC&dq=tiquismos&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=IpE1_GJYJK&sig=AjxnLeHvL4dpfw56V5hagKH5l2A&hl=en&ei=E9KVSajmCqTUMNnTjPIL&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPP1,M1 http://www.costaricaspanish.net/tiquismos-costa-rican-street-spanish/http://books.google.com/books?id=St_cw-ETw3oC&dq=tiquismos&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=IpE1_GJYJK&sig=AjxnLeHvL4dpfw56V5hagKH5l2A&hl=en&ei=E9KVSajmCqTUMNnTjPIL&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPP1,M1shapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1
Friday, January 16, 2009