Extrañar...Echar de menos...Faltar?

[NiCACHiCA]

Up until now, I thought to talk about missing someone you would use "extrañar" or "echar de menos" (te extraño, te echo de menos). But I recently heard "faltar" used on my telenovela when someone was explaining she missed her sister who had just gotten married and was leaving her parent's house.

I understand "faltar" can be translated to "miss", but I wasn't sure if that was a common translation. I guess my question is can all three of these be used interchangeably? And my memory is probably bad, but I thought the girl said something along the lines of "le falta", but I thought it should be "le falto" for "I miss her/him". Is that right?

(My Spanish is used mainly for LA...so any knowledge of what is most common in LA would be great!)

Thanks in advance!!

[chileno]

Originally Posted by NiCACHiCA

Up until now, I thought to talk about missing someone you would use "extrañar" or "echar de menos" (te extraño, te echo de menos). But I recently heard "faltar" used on my telenovela when someone was explaining she missed her sister who had just gotten married and was leaving her parent's house.

I understand "faltar" can be translated to "miss", but I wasn't sure if that was a common translation. I guess my question is can all three of these be used interchangeably? And my memory is probably bad, but I thought the girl said something along the lines of "le falta", but I thought it should be "le falto" for "I miss her/him". Is that right?

(My Spanish is used mainly for LA...so any knowledge of what is most common in LA would be great!)

Thanks in advance!!

Right.

"She is missing her other half"

"A ella le falta su otra mitad"

I miss you- Me haces falta, te extraño, te echo de menos.

También significa perder...

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Adding to chileno's statements:


"Echar en falta" is a synonym of "extrañar" and "echar de menos". Not a common expression in Mexico, but I've heard it in some Venezuelan and Colombian telenovelas, so I guess they might use it more.

As for a possible situation as the one you describe, I can think of the girl missing her sister saying "me falta mi hermana", as if "everything is just the same as it was before she left, but I need her around".

If she had said "le falto (a mi hermana)", that would rather mean that the unmarried girl is assuming her married sister misses her.

[NiCACHiCA]

Originally Posted by chileno

Right.

"She is missing her other half"

"A ella le falta su otra mitad"

I miss you- Me haces falta, te extraño, te echo de menos.

También significa perder...

"Me haces falta" -- can you explain what the (literal) translation would be to english?

Also, are you saying perder can also mean "i miss you"? or "faltar" can also mean "to lose", as in "I am missing my shirt" ("Me falta mi camisa")?

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

As for a possible situation as the one you describe, I can think of the girl missing her sister saying "me falta mi hermana", as if "everything is just the same as it was before she left, but I need her around".

Could you explain further (or possibly give more examples) of why it's "falta" rather than "falto". I am confused...if you are speaking in present tense and are saying "i miss her" why the verb would conjugate to "falta" instead of using "falto" to show I am the one missing her? (Maybe I'm translating too literally?? The only reasoning I can come to is maybe it somewhat mimics the verb "gustar" when conjugating?? or, i could be wayyyyy off! )

Also, is there not a need for the personal "a" before "mi hermana"? (this could be a "silly" question and i'm showing my ignorance of Spanish?!)

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

If she had said "le falto (a mi hermana)", that would rather mean that the unmarried girl is assuming her married sister misses her.

And can you explain how "le falto (a mi hermana)" translates into the single sister saying her married sister misses her!? Maybe I'm not far enough in my studies, but I can't make any sense from that!!



I'm just now getting around to posting more (it scares me!!) so I'm sorry if this is too many questions for one post!!

[chileno]

Originally Posted by NiCACHiCA

"Me haces falta" -- can you explain what the (literal) translation would be to english?

This is why I recommend reading and writing a lot, because one's mind wants and demands an explanation, and what's understood is going, most likely, to be "faulty" at best. In the off chance that anyone could understand it right away, most likely it will be "forgotten" as soon as it was remembered...

But there we go, it is never for naught anyway.

I miss you. ( a part of me is gone )

Originally Posted by NiCACHiCA

Also, are you saying perder can also mean "i miss you"? or "faltar" can also mean "to lose", as in "I am missing my shirt" ("Me falta mi camisa")?

Missing persons = personas perdidas.

My shirt has been missing for several days now....

Originally Posted by NiCACHiCA

Could you explain further (or possibly give more examples) of why it's "falta" rather than "falto". I am confused...if you are speaking in present tense and are saying "i miss her" why the verb would conjugate to "falta" instead of using "falto" to show I am the one missing her? (Maybe I'm translating too literally?? The only reasoning I can come to is maybe it somewhat mimics the verb "gustar" when conjugating?? or, i could be wayyyyy off! )

Also, is there not a need for the personal "a" before "mi hermana"? (this could be a "silly" question and i'm showing my ignorance of Spanish?!)

And can you explain how "le falto (a mi hermana)" translates into the single sister saying her married sister misses her!? Maybe I'm not far enough in my studies, but I can't make any sense from that!!

Not at all.

A mi hermana le falta/le hace falta salir más. In this case falta = need

My sister needs to go out more.

Le hago falta a mi hermana - She needs/misses me


As to your last question, please tell me what you want to say in English...(about a single sister and married sister)

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by NiCACHiCA

Could you explain further (or possibly give more examples) of why it's "falta" rather than "falto". I am confused...if you are speaking in present tense and are saying "i miss her" why the verb would conjugate to "falta" instead of using "falto" to show I am the one missing her? (Maybe I'm translating too literally?? The only reasoning I can come to is maybe it somewhat mimics the verb "gustar" when conjugating?? or, i could be wayyyyy off! )

Yes, it's like gustar. "Me gusta" // "Me falta"

(A mí) me falta mi hermana (I miss my sister)
(A ti) te falta tu padre (You miss your father)
(A él) le faltan sus amigos (He misses his friends)
(A nosotros) nos faltan nuestros hermanos (We miss our brothers)
(A ellos) les faltamos nosotros. (They miss us)

And can you explain how "le falto (a mi hermana)" translates into the single sister saying her married sister misses her!? Maybe I'm not far enough in my studies, but I can't make any sense from that!!

Just like above:

(A mí) Me faltas (tú) (I miss you)
(Yo) te falto (a ti) (you miss me)


I used only people for the examples, but please note that "faltar" (as Chileno pointed out) can have other meanings.

- Me faltan algunos ingredientes para poder hacer la sopa. -> I still need some ingredients so I can make the soup.
- Ya abrí tres ventanas pero me falta una más para abrirlas todas. -> I have opened three windows, but I still have one more to go so they'll all be open.
- Me falta mi camisa. Estaba aquí con toda mi ropa. -> I'm missing my shirt. It was here with all my clothes.

Also, is there not a need for the personal "a" before "mi hermana"? (this could be a "silly" question and i'm showing my ignorance of Spanish?!)

Personal "a" is present in "extraño a mi hermana" / "echo en falta a mi hermana" / "echo de menos a mi hermana".

In the case of "me falta mi hermana", "mi hermana" is a direct object, and preposition "a" is for indirect object.

I'm just now getting around to posting more (it scares me!!) so I'm sorry if this is too many questions for one post!!

Don't worry about asking. That's how we all learn.

[NiCACHiCA]

Thanks for the help! I'm pretty excited that I could recognize "faltar" was acting like "gustar" in the above posts!! It makes much more sense knowing that!

I'm still a little stumped on the (Yo) te falto (a ti).

(I know Chileno told me not to try & translate it) But the way my mind works, it helps if I can know what it translates to English (even if it's crazy talk) so that I'll know (for future reference) if I want to say "you miss me", how to construct the same sentence in Spanish.

So my attempt at the English explanation for "(Yo) te falto (a ti)" would be: To you, I am lacking/missing. ???

[bobjenkins]

Originally Posted by NiCACHiCA

Thanks for the help! I'm pretty excited that I could recognize "faltar" was acting like "gustar" in the above posts!! It makes much more sense knowing that!

I'm still a little stumped on the (Yo) te falto (a ti).

(I know Chileno told me not to try & translate it) But the way my mind works, it helps if I can know what it translates to English (even if it's crazy talk) so that I'll know (for future reference) if I want to say "you miss me", how to construct the same sentence in Spanish.

So my attempt at the English explanation for "(Yo) te falto (a ti)" would be: To you, I am lacking/missing. ???

Think of it like this

correct sentence	way to conjugate verb	object that is being missed
Yo falto el tiempo	(falto = first person conjugation, I am missing/lacking)	(el tiempo) is an object that "I lack"

---

(a ti) is just another object, like el tiempo that "I lack"
---
But we just replace that object as an object pronoun .. [(a ti) = (te) = you]

Yo te falto / I miss you

----
Now if you say,

Yo te falto a ti , adding the (a ti) that gives more emphasis.

And finally (yo) is optional, and can be added for more emphasis too, so..

(Yo) te falto (a ti) - I miss you


----
Aquí están más ejemplos

optional pronoun	indirect object pronoun	conjugated verb	optional prepositional pronoun
(Yo)	te	falto	(a ti)	I miss you / I lack you
(Tú)	me	faltas	(a mi)	You miss me / You lack me
(Nosotros)	le	faltamos	(a ella)	We miss her / We lack her

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@NiCACHiCA: "I'm lacking to you" would be a too literal translation, but I think it works. The idea is that everything in your environment is fine, but I'm not there to make it complete. (How arrogant! Right?)
But the usual sentence is "me faltas (tú)". Which is rather something nice to tell to a loved person.


@Bob: Sorry, but your "correct sentence" is actually incorrect:
Yo falto el tiempo
A mí me falta el tiempo. -> I don't have time - I lack time (?)

And "Yo te falto" actually means "You miss me", not "I miss you", which would rather be "Tú me faltas".

[chileno]

Te extraño - te echo de menos - me haces falta = I miss you

Me faltas tú = Something/one is missing from me and that's you.

Falta alguien = Someone is missing

Falta algo = Something is missing.

Is it of any help?