Meaning Changes - Ser vs. Estar

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by laepelba

"sauer" - is that a BrE spelling? In the US, we spell it: "sour"....

We do too in BrE, what I wrote was German (as in Sauerkraut). I confess I was using a table of ser/estar differences from a Spanish grammar book written in German. (That is why one or two of the verbs don't really count, but they were in the list because it makes a difference when translated into German.)

There are some words in German and English which have almost identical pronunciation (like sour/sauer) and being a little dyslexic, I often confuse the two languages.

[conejodescarado]

No sé si éste sea útil o no, pero una chica mexicana con quien chateo en Skype acaba de poner este vídeo en línea:

[swr999]

Originally Posted by Perikles

...
guapo/a
ser guapo/a: to be handsome, pretty
estar guapo/a: to look nice (even though normally ugly)
...

I might change this usage a bit:

ser: Ella es una niña guapísima. (a statement of fact)
estar: "Niña, ¡qué guapa estás!" (looks especially beautiful tonight)

same 'niña', but special occasion.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by swr999

ser: Ella es una niña guapísima.
estar: "Niña, ¡qué guapa estás!" (looks especially beautiful tonight)

same 'niña', but special occasion.

Orthographic corrections, for those who might be learning.

[pacomartin123]

Originally Posted by Perikles

guapo/a
ser guapo/a: to be handsome, pretty
estar guapo/a: to look nice (even though normally ugly)

It reminds of an observation I have made. If a woman tells a man "You look handsome today" the man says "thank you". If a man tells a woman "You look beautiful today" the woman says "What do I normally look like?".

I've always taken it as the difference in the ways that the sexes hear a statement, not in any way a comment on the nature of the English phrase. Most men figure out to omit the word "today", as it can accidentally turn an intended compliment into an insult.

I would like to know from a native Spanish speaking woman how the phrase "estas guapa" would be interpreted. Would you take it as a backhanded insult, or as a compliment.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by pacomartin123

I would like to know from a native Spanish speaking woman how the phrase "estas guapa" would be interpreted. Would you take it as a backhanded insult, or as a compliment.

Good question. My guess is that it would be a compliment, an observation of her taste in clothes, hairstyle, makeup, etc., irrespective of her underlying ugliness/beauty.

But I'm guessing how a woman would react to something, and I'm old enough to know better.....

[wrholt]

It seems to me that if one knows that a woman has intentionally dressed up for some reason, then "estás guapa" would suggest that one has noticed and appreciated her effort. Tone of voice and expression undoubtedly help, too.

[aleCcowaN]

Interspersing (is it that?) "...especialmente..." (or "...particularmente..." in Spanish) would do the trick, both languages

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree with wrholt.

If you say "estás guapa", it means you're making a compliment on how the woman looks at a certain moment. Same for "te ves bien/guapa/bonita..."
All of these express a compliment for a moment in time.

If you say "eres guapa/bonita/linda...", you're making a compliment on the permanent features of the woman.

Most women I know, however, if you say "estás guapa", "qué bien te ves" or so, would take it as a compliment and be glad that something made them look better at that moment.

[pacomartin123]

It seems as if "estás guapa" would be the correct compliment for a coworker. An added especialmente wouldn't hurt if it is your wife or girlfriend.

There is a decent Wikipedia article that states:
The Spanish verb "ser" is etymologically related to the English words "essence" and "is", and estar with "state", "status", "standing", "stance" and "stay".