Catalan Glossary: Common Words and Phrases

Posted on Jan 27, 2025 in English and Spanish Studies

A

  • Arthritics: Affected by arthritis (inflammation of the joints)
  • Angry: With anger, irritated
  • Astorada: Scared, in shock
  • Tested: Tested, trained
  • Afaitarà: (Popular) To take, to steal
  • Arnado: Damage done by moths (insect larvae that feed on certain tissues)
  • Arsenic: Toxic substance
  • Arramben: (Popular) To take, to take away
  • What good was it?: What purpose did it serve?
  • Avalanche: Many
  • Azaleas: Showy flowers, shrubs, originating from Asia
  • In turn: When one period ends and another begins

B

  • Bain-marie: (Figuratively) Suffocating environment
  • Borer: (Popular) To ruminate, to think deeply
  • Terraces: Chunks of farmland between two banks, terraces
  • Cerro: Neck
  • Piece: Small piece
  • Longifolia: Native forest wildlife
  • Borrassà: Large pieces of cloth used to collect olives falling from the tree
  • Diapers: Pieces of cellulose that adapt to the body like a baby’s panties
  • Fuzz: Police
  • Laundry: Establishment where laundry is done using industrial machines
  • Cantinflas: Mexican film actor, star of comic films from 1936-1982
  • Casalici: Big house, mansion

C

  • Carretoina: Car
  • Carretells: Small barrels of about 30 liters
  • Caliquenyo: Thin cigarette, hard to smoke
  • Codes: River stone
  • Scrapped: Disjointed, in a poor state
  • Herself: Completely, absolutely
  • Take for a band: To follow the flow without paying attention

D-E

  • Doubles: Decaliters
  • Emmezinat: Poisoned
  • Glazing: With many windows and glass doors
  • Surround: Surround, covered
  • The issue, we penalized the police: You know, seriously
  • Escarxofat: Sitting comfortably
  • Fright: Fear, fright, horror
  • Engulfing: To swallow; (Figuratively) watching television without any criteria
  • Blunder: For
  • Scratch: (Figuratively) Taking by unlawful or indelicate means
  • Rinse: Get rid of
  • Shake the dream of the ears: To fend off
  • Encauar me: Put me
  • Entendridora: I got emotional, exciting
  • Staple: Take sharply with the staple, hand
  • Completed: Completed
  • Eixorca: Sterile, cannot have children
  • Persigna is: Makes the sign of the cross with their hand as a show of being Christian
  • Pale: Pale, whitened
  • Fright: Alarm, scare
  • Febrada: (Popular) Illusion of doing something
  • Verbatim: In detail
  • Front: First line of a war army

G-L

  • Gelor: Feeling cold
  • Guaita: See, look
  • Had remained: Shaved
  • Ionquis: Drug user
  • Couple: The woman’s son, daughter’s
  • Brown: (Popular) You are wrong
  • Lhòstia of: (Vulgar) Many
  • Bad part: (Popular) Person who has bad behavior
  • Manyoc: Ball of hair
  • Spoils: Children
  • Moixaines: Stroking the hand that goes to the face
  • Ugly Evil: Cancer
  • Manyagueries: Parties, caresses
  • Matrona: Substantial woman
  • Malastrugança: Feeling bad
  • Mixo: Cat
  • Boix muzzle: Snout
  • Infants: Infants, newborn children
  • Do not lenze: Do not be stupid
  • Nana: No way
  • Waves: Move like the waves of the sea

P-Z

  • Prisada: A series of permanent folds, that is, with folded clothes
  • Pispat: (Popular) Stolen
  • Pipe: (Popular) Gun
  • Tardiness: Slow
  • Together: Together
  • Bonelli: In detective slang, private investigator, detective
  • Potin: Dirty, poorly done jobs
  • Pocapena: (Popular) Shameless
  • Rabejarà: Will get wet
  • Rampinya: (Popular) Takes clothes
  • Mistrust: Mistrust, suspicion
  • Recapte: Food and other supplies for home
  • Reproach: Reproach, action to remind someone that they are not acting as they should
  • Ruminant: Talk between teeth showing disapproval
  • Lock: Lack of ventilation
  • Romàtic: Poor ventilation
  • Sesverin: To lose one’s composure
  • Sem raffle: Mocks me
  • Service: Entire house servants
  • Setciències: Person who claims to know everything
  • Soket: No activity, muted
  • Surava: Fleet
  • Tionades: (Popular) Strokes of the cane
  • Ends: Land owned by the municipality
  • Touch the two: Go away, flee
  • The mushroom touched: Crazy
  • Thunderstorm: From another era, outdated, bad
  • Tricorne: Three-pointed hat used by the Guardia Civil
  • Ufanosos: Green, with much vitality
  • Usufructuària: The inheritance has the usufruct of the person who is entitled to avail of the fruit while living, although it is owned by someone else, in this case, the daughter
  • Venta: Moving effect by the wind
  • Vellúria: Old age, decrepitude