Alhaja

[María José]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Actually, we say the same thing in English. "That guy is a gem!" Depending on the TONE (which is of utmost importance for this phrase), it could either mean (1) that the guy is truly a fabulous and wonderful person, or (2) that the guy is such a loser that you need a euphemism to describe him....

If I'm not mistaken it's never positive in Spanish.

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by poli

Tío in Spain is like bloke in England. Most Americans will understand the word bloke but never use it unless they want to sound British. Most latinos understand tío to mean guy/bloke, but don't use it because it sounds continental. From what I can tell, to latinos tio means uncle y nada más sino en Peru donde tío significa vejestorio.
En Puerto Rico no usan alaja en un modo despectivo, pero perla es la palabra.
Este hombre es una perla.--is no compliment.

Thanks ... my best friend is Peruvian. So ..... I assume that in Peru, tio doesn't ALWAYS mean vejestorio. Right? Because my friend's son calls several of his father's friends "Tio Joe" or whatever....

[poli]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Thanks ... my best friend is Peruvian. So ..... I assume that in Peru, tio doesn't ALWAYS mean vejestorio. Right? Because my friend's son calls several of his father's friends "Tio Joe" or whatever....

It mean uncle first. But some guy who's un tío is an old fellow.
In Spain it means guy or dude

[Elaina]

Okay here is my

Joya and Alaja are synonyms....

I have heard people use....
-Alaja when referring to a ring, watch, chain, medallion, etc.
-Joya usually is referred to a precious stone or precious jewelry item.

Which I think we have discussed this before, brings us to the use of....
alaja ..... alajero....for Jewelry Box
joya....... joyero....for jeweler.

Please remember........I am not saying that is the correct way of saying things. I am just saying this is what I have heard and have had the experience of using.

Please don't kill the messenger....

[laepelba]

Thanks, Elaina ... those distinctions are helpful!

And "joyería" for jewelry store, right?

[Elaina]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Thanks, Elaina ... those distinctions are helpful!

And "joyería" for jewelry store, right?

Yes...

[bobjenkins]

Esas joyas/alhojas son muy ricas, pero ten cuidad, algunas son falsas. No puedas tu confianza en los ladrones que quieren robarte.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by María José

When we say (slang):'Este tío es una alhaja', we mean exactly the opposite: a bum, a loser...

En español mexicano, para hablar de alguien con mala reputación: "ese tipo es una (verdadera) joya/joyita"
(Diminutive adds even more contempt).

Originally Posted by bobjenkins

Esas joyas/alhojas son muy ricas caras/lujosas , pero ten cuidado, algunas son falsas. No puedas pongas tu confianza en los ladrones que quieren robarte. /no confíes en los ladrones que quieren robarte / no puedes confiar en los ladrones....

[María José]

Another word: bisutería. In English it is costume jewellery.
BTW, there is a Spanish brand of jewellery that I love (some people hate it because they think it is very posh). Their most representative piece is a bear. The brand name is Tous.

[poli]

Originally Posted by María José

Another word: bisutería. In English it is costume jewellery.
BTW, there is a Spanish brand of jewellery that I love (some people hate it because they think it is very posh). Their most representative piece is a bear. The brand name is Tous.

Me enseñaste la palabra empalagosa, me no me dejas olvidarla

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

A la bisutería también se le llama joyería de fantasía.


Btw, Lou Ann, in Mexico it's always more common to say "joya". "Alhaja" sounds more sophisticated as a word. Jewelry boxes are always called "alhajeros".

[laepelba]

Thanks, Malila!

[poli]

I have been told that cofre is used instead of alajero.
Incidentally another English word (from French I assume) for bisuteria is bijou.

[irmamar]

In Spain "joyero" means both jeweler and jewelry box (Brute, jeweller and jewellry box in BrE? )

Laura, tío and tía are widely used in Spain.

[EmpanadaRica]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Laura, tío and tía are widely used in Spain.

¡Ok gracias irma!

[sosia]

Originally Posted by irmamar

In Spain "joyero" means both jeweler and jewelry box (Brute, jeweller and jewellry box in BrE? )

Laura, tío and tía are widely used in Spain.

Hey, dude: Eh, tío (bloke, tipo)

in Mexico it's viejo and vieja, ¿Angelica?
And in CHile ¿Chileno?
And in Argentina ¿ookami?

saludos

[chileno]

Originally Posted by sosia

Hey, dude: Eh, tío (bloke, tipo)

in Mexico it's viejo and vieja, ¿Angelica?
And in CHile ¿Chileno?
And in Argentina ¿ookami?

saludos

@Irma & Poli: Joyero es la palabra usada en chile para el cofre de las joyas.

@Sosia: dude = gallo,a (tipo,a)

[EmpanadaRica]

Originally Posted by chileno

@Sosia: dude = gallo,a (tipo,a)

¡Qué divertido!

Se nota este significado en español chileno en WordReference!

gallo2 -lla adjetivo (AmL fam) tough (colloq)
■ sustantivo masculino, femenino (Chi fam) (m) guy (colloq);
(f) woman;

[poli]

In Spain gallo is a fish.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Sosia: hay varias opciones para "dude" o "guy"... "el tipo"/"la tipa" (peyorativo), "el cuate"/"la cuata"... "viejo" se puede usar entre amigos como "hey, dude"; "qué onda, viejo". Pero "vieja", en lengua coloquial, siempre es peyorativo.