Ask a Question

(Create a thread)
Go Back   Spanish language learning forums > Spanish & English Languages > Vocabulary > Idioms & Sayings


Ser un negado para ...

 

An idiom is an expression whose meaning is not readily apparent based on the individual words in the expression. This forum is dedicated to discussing idioms and other sayings.


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old July 28, 2017, 07:37 AM
aleCcowaN's Avatar
aleCcowaN aleCcowaN is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Posts: 3,127
Native Language: Castellano
aleCcowaN is on a distinguished road
Ser un negado para ...

I've found dictionaries to be imprecise, when not plain wrong about the term "negado".

Ser un negado / ser un trabajador negado do mean to be skill-less or unskillful. It means to have no talent or skill.

But "ser un negado para..." just means not being gifted or even average for some specific activity. It's use is pretty colloquial. Some uneducated people would replace negado by torpe, because they are only used to skills of the physical kind. Negado covers any physical or intellectual activity.

Is there some equivalent in English for "ser un negado para..." other than those all-encompassing unforgiving highly wrong "hopeless, useless, a dead loss" I've found?

Just think negado is meant to work by subtraction, that means some lack of specific talents caught our attention just among the whole set of abilities the person has. To be clear, this example "tiene buena entonación, buena potencia, pero cuando se trata de ritmo, es un negado" (my approximate translation: "he's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he's really wanting") to depict a person who won't succeed in the music industry.

"Es un negado para todo" is an elaborated work-around to soften the blow and say someone is useless.
__________________
[gone]
Reply With Quote
   
Get rid of these ads by registering for a free Tomísimo account.
  #2  
Old July 28, 2017, 08:07 AM
Rusty's Avatar
Rusty Rusty is offline
Señor Speedy
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: USA
Posts: 11,299
Native Language: American English
Rusty has a spectacular aura aboutRusty has a spectacular aura about
to be inept at something

to suck at something
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old August 04, 2017, 12:54 PM
aleCcowaN's Avatar
aleCcowaN aleCcowaN is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Posts: 3,127
Native Language: Castellano
aleCcowaN is on a distinguished road
Thanks, Rusty.

I had thought of "to suck at something" as the closest match, but there's always a competitive edge and denigration floating all around this kind of English expression. Sort of calling for-eyes the sight handicapped as if it is their fault.

Expressions in Spanish lack such negative charge, or they have it toned down. Another closely related expression is "no se me da/n". It's right for me tell "los idiomas no se me dan" and I had to do a triple effort to learn some English "porque soy medio negado". Those phrases in Spanish continue to be true, but I don't think "I suck at English". In fact I'm proud of what I've achieved as dozens of other intellectual activities have been pretty easy to me, but overcoming my troubles with languages by adapting my brain to the task has been far more rewarding.
__________________
[gone]
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old August 04, 2017, 07:36 PM
Bobbert's Avatar
Bobbert Bobbert is offline
Pearl
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Southwestern USA
Posts: 281
Native Language: American English
Bobbert is on a distinguished road
aleC, Do any of these help?

He's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he’s lacking.
He's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he’s unpolished.
He's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he’s a little off.
He's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he’s way off.
He's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he’s unskilled.
He's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he’s inadequate.
He's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he’s deficient.

A little more coloquial:

He's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he just hasn’t got it.
(Where I come from, we would say, he just ain’t got it!)

He's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he comes up short.

He's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he’s a little behind.

He's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he’s not up to scratch.

He's got good pitch, a powerful voice, but when it comes to rhythm, he’s not up to par.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old August 06, 2017, 10:27 AM
aleCcowaN's Avatar
aleCcowaN aleCcowaN is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Posts: 3,127
Native Language: Castellano
aleCcowaN is on a distinguished road
Thank you, Bobbert.

Certainly, they are all good to describe that from the point of view of an external observer, but I think I'm facing here another untranslatable cultural thing. Expressions in Spanish tend to describe defects as an internal process, hence you can use "ser un negado" to describe a person that may try something and come short, in spite of their powerful will. That's why you can say "soy un negado para esto" without falling into the winner-loser dialectics so popular in the USA.

Maybe my problem is I parse every instance of English indicative as if it is Spanish indicative and give too much credit and weight to what is said in English. The English verbal system is more elastic. In "ser un negado", the use of the only substantive verb means I have to take full responsibility for what I say. That is also true for English in some way, that why I often suggest the use of E-Prime in opinion forums, which existence I learnt from fellow forum user wrholt.
__________________
[gone]
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old August 07, 2017, 04:24 AM
pinosilano's Avatar
pinosilano pinosilano is offline
Emerald
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Salento, South Italy
Posts: 758
Native Language: castellano (second language Italian)
pinosilano is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty View Post
to be inept at something

to suck at something
Un "negado" es uno incapaz de hacer una determinada cosa.

Han habido famosos escritores que se han declarado "negados" para la poesia.
__________________
... ...'cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old August 07, 2017, 07:26 AM
Rusty's Avatar
Rusty Rusty is offline
Señor Speedy
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: USA
Posts: 11,299
Native Language: American English
Rusty has a spectacular aura aboutRusty has a spectacular aura about
I don't see why the suggested English phrases can't be used to describe un negado. They appear to work well in my mind.

Let's add "to not have the knack for something" to the list. This also indicates an inability to do something.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old August 07, 2017, 08:14 AM
aleCcowaN's Avatar
aleCcowaN aleCcowaN is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Posts: 3,127
Native Language: Castellano
aleCcowaN is on a distinguished road
I really like that. "To not have the knack for..." works exactly the same way as "negado...", by subtraction.
__________________
[gone]
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old August 07, 2017, 02:37 PM
poli's Avatar
poli poli is offline
rule 1: gravity
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: In and around New York
Posts: 7,810
Native Language: English
poli will become famous soon enoughpoli will become famous soon enough
Most commonly people say, I'm not good at, or I'm good at (I'm good at tennis but I'm not good at golf.)
__________________
Me ayuda si corrige mis errores. Gracias.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old August 07, 2017, 02:42 PM
aleCcowaN's Avatar
aleCcowaN aleCcowaN is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Posts: 3,127
Native Language: Castellano
aleCcowaN is on a distinguished road
The difference in Spanish is the degree:

No soy bueno para los idiomas. (the result is a poor performance)
Soy un negado para los idiomas. (the result is the absence of any performance -or a pee-pee-poor performance-)
__________________
[gone]
Reply With Quote
Reply

 

Link to this thread
URL: 
HTML Link: 
BB Code: 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Site Rules

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Podía ser - podría ser BobRitter Grammar 1 August 15, 2015 09:50 PM
Me dijo que pidiera a la compaña que enviara un coche para ir al aeropuerto para loveisall Translations 5 September 18, 2010 02:33 AM
SER TUYO -o- SER TU bobjenkins Grammar 4 December 29, 2009 12:47 PM
Procesos selectivos para la admision al cuerpo de maestros y para la ROBINDESBOIS Translations 1 July 05, 2009 04:51 PM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:02 AM.

Forum powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

X