Catalan gracias: How to say “thank you” in Catalan – Curs de Català

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AbazaAbkhazAcholiAfrikaansAkanAlabamaAlbanianAmharicArabicAragoneseAraneseArchiArmenianArvaniticAssameseAsturianAvestanBambaraBashkirBasqueBavarianBelarusianBembaBengaliBislamaBosnianBretonBulgarianBurmeseCatalanCebuanoChamorroChechenCherokeeChickasawChineseChinese TraditionalChuvashCornishCorsicanCrimean TatarCroatianCzechDanishDolganDutchEnglishErzyaEsperantoEstonianEweEyakFaroeseFilipinoFinnishFlemishFonFrenchFrisianFriulianFutunanGagauzGalicianGeorgianGermanGilakiGreekGuernésiaisGujaratiHaitian Creole FrenchHatian CreoleHawaiianHebrewHiligaynonHindiHopiHungarianIcelandicIdoIgboIndonesianIngushInterlinguaIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKabyleKalmykKannadaKaqchikelKashubianKazakhKekchíKhakasKhmerKiribatiKoreanKoryakKumykKyrgyzLadinLaoLatgalianLatinLatvianLingalaLingua Franca NovaLithuanianLivonianLojbanLombardLugandaLuxembourgishMacedonianMadureseMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMamManxMaoriMarathiMarwariMinangkabauMingrelianMirandeseMokshaMongolianNauruanNavajoNeapolitanNepaliNiasNogaiNovialO’odhamOccitanOld EnglishOriyaOssetianPersianPiedmontesePitjantjatjaraPolishPortuguesePotawatomiRapa NuiRomanianRussianSamoanSanskritScotsScottish GaelicSerbianShorSicilianSilesianSinhalaSkolt SamiSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSrananSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTagalogTahitianTajikTamasheqTamilTatarTausugTeluguTetumThaiTlingitTok PisinTonganTsongaTswanaTurkishTurkmenTzeltalUdmurtUgariticUkrainianUmbunduUrduUzbekVendaVenetianVepsVietnameseVolapükVõroWalloonWarlpiriWelshWolofXârâcùùXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu


gracias

gràcies (Catalan / català)

The original Spanish definition:

gracias (Spanish)

[Expresión de gratitud o cortesía, utilizada en respuesta a algo que fue hecho o donado. ]

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  • …in Breton.
  • …in Bulgarian.
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  • …in Georgian.
  • …in German.
  • …in Greek.
  • …in Hebrew.
  • …in Hungarian.
  • …in Ido.
  • …in Indonesian.
  • …in Interlingua.
  • …in Italian.
  • …in Japanese.
  • …in Kaqchikel.
  • …in Khmer.
  • …in Malagasy.
  • …in Polish.
  • …in Portuguese.
  • …in Romanian.
  • …in Russian.
  • . ..in Serbian.
  • …in Slovak.
  • …in Slovenian.
  • …in Swedish.
  • …in Ukrainian.
  • …in Volapük.

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14 Useful Catalan Words & Phrases for Expats | Barcelona Expat Life

14 USEFUL CATALAN WORDS & PHRASES FOR EXPATS IN BARCELONA

Knowing the local language is a huge advantage when relocating abroad. Although many people speak English in Barcelona and even if you can speak Spanish fairly well, you’ll definitely want to add these Catalan words and phrases to your vocabulary to really impress the locals in Barcelona.

Catalans view their culture, their heritage and especially their language, as entirely unique to that of the rest of Spain. Here are some essential Catalan words and phrases that will help you in your day-to-day life in Barcelona.

Catalàn vs. Castellano

In Barcelona, 98% of the population speaks Castilian Spanish (Castellano). Around 50-60% of Barcelona’s total population speaks Catalàn. 

As the region of Catalonia has two official languages, you’ll find that signs and other important public information are always provided in both languages.

Food & drink

1. Menú del día

In Spain, the ‘menú del día’ (menu of the day) is offered at restaurants during the midday meal (la comida). Enjoying the menú del día is the most economical way to eat in Spain as you can usually get a three course meal between €10-15.

2. Una caña

One phrase you will hear often when living in Spain is ‘una caña’. This refers to a small draft beer—usually around 200 ml. One reason for its popularity, is that the smaller size means the beer stays cooler in the summer.

3. Cava vs. Champagne

Cava is the sparkling wine of Spain, most notably, of the state of Catalonia. It is quickly making a name for itself as a serious rival to the world famous French Champagne. Cava is also very much an everyday drink and most restaurants and bars will serve it by the glass (copa de cava).

Traditions

4. La Mercè

Every year at the end of September, Barcelona holds its largest street party (La Mercè Festival). The festival lasts for around 5 days, with thousands of people taking to the streets of Barcelona to see the events, parades and fire runs (Correfoc).

5. Castellers

The tradition of building human towers in Catalonia, more commonly known as ‘Castellers’, has existed for over 200 years. The Castellers perform their tower building during the main parts of larger festivals, such as La Mercè.

6. Calçotada

Calçotadas are traditional Catalan barbecues take place from January to April. No calçotada is complete without the typical sweet, grilled spring onions known as ‘calçots’.

Government organisations

7. Generalitat de Catalunya​

The Generalitat (Government of Catalonia) is the system that is responsible for organising Catalonia’s self-government. Everything regarding information, procedures and services in Catalonia can be found on their website.

8. Mossos d’Esquadra & Guàrdia Urbana vs. Policía Nacional & Guardia Civil

The Mossos d’Esquadra are the official police force of Catalonia. They combat crime and terrorism, and also help to keep order during demonstrations and protests in Barcelona. 

 

The Guàrdia Urbana are the municipal police force for the city of Barcelona. They supervise the daily life of the citizens, ensuring their safety and general well-being. They also regulate traffic and issue fines if necessary. 

 

The Policía Nacional is the official national police force of the Spanish Government. They handle criminal investigation, judicial, terrorism and immigration matters.  

 

The Guardia Civil the military police force of the Spanish Government. They monitor borders, airports, roads, the coastline and other important places, objects or persons. 

9. La Agencia Tributaria

The Agencia Tributaria (Tax Agency), is the revenue service of Spain and is responsible for the effective application of the national tax and customs systems.

GREETINGS & PLEASANTRIES

10. Hola/Bon Dia (Hello)

The official greeting in Catalan is ‘Bon dia’. If you can’t quite remember the phrase, a simple ‘Hola’ is the best way to greet people in Barcelona.

11. Adéu (Goodbye)

In Barcelona, it doesn’t matter whether people are speaking Spanish (Castellano) or Catalan because when it comes to saying goodbye, it’s the norm to say ‘adéu’.

12. Merci/Gràcies/Gracias (Thank you)

Catalan people have adopted the French word ‘merci’ to say thanks. If this French word doesn’t appeal to you, there are other words that can be used for thanking people in Barcelona, for example ‘gràcies’ in Catalan and ‘gracias’ in Spanish!

13. La Senyera & L’Estelada

As you walk around Barcelona, you’ll see three different Catalan flags hanging from balconies and official buildings:

La Senyera – four red stripes on a yellow background. 

L’Estelada – an added white star on a blue background. L’Estelada

(Vermella) – an added red star. 

 

La Senyera is the official flag of Catalonia, Aragón, the Balearic Islands and Valencia. L’Estelada is an unofficial flag and is generally waved by supporters of Catalonia’s independence from Spain. The difference between the two types of L’Estelada is their political stance, L’Estelada was adopted by Nationalists and L’Estelada Vermella was adopted by leftist groups to symbolise a socialist independence movement of all Catalan-speaking areas.  

14. Barcelona, Barna, BCN, Barça, Barca

The common abbreviation for Barcelona by locals is “Barna“. Another common abbreviation is “BCN“, which is also the airport code of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport. The abbreviation “Barça” applies only to the football team (FC Barcelona). The term “Barca” actually means ‘a small boat’ in Spanish.  

 

One final word you may see or hear a lot as an expat in Spain is the word ‘Guiri’. This is a colloquial Spanish word used to describe foreign tourists, particularly from countries in Northern and Western Europe. 

More about Catalan culture

lessons from Western Europe for Eastern

80th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War. How is Soviet military equipment produced there again? What kind of wonderful anti-fascist enthusiasts are doing this business? There was a war in Spain and communists with communists, but why are they putting up new monuments with red stars?

80th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War. How is Soviet military equipment produced there again? What kind of wonderful anti-fascist enthusiasts are doing this business? There was a war in Spain and communists with communists, but why are they putting up new monuments with red stars? Lessons from Western Europe for Eastern.

What is fascism? In fact, this summer, we Europeans missed such a date as the 80th anniversary of the start of the Spanish Civil War for nothing. What Pablo Picasso depicted in one of his paintings of Guernica is the first mass bombing of residential areas in history. This is where fascism first showed its grin, namely in Spain, when fascist Italy and, of course, Nazi Germany came to the aid of the rebellious General Franco. But, on the other hand, where is the Spain of the 30s and where are we today? Here is an interesting thing. What foreign war do we remember several times a year? Just a Spanish civilian, when we watch the film “Officers”, where there is just a clearly defined Spanish episode.

Yumatov’s hero climbs out of a Soviet T-26 tank – these were indeed supplied to the republican government along with crews and instructors. And yet, we have a feeling that the consultants when shooting this scene were not Soviet veterans of that war, but Spanish communists who later found themselves in exile in the USSR, who brought this scene to the degree they needed.

Where does this feeling come from? On the wall of the pavilion of the Gorky film studio, where this film was shot, for the first time, a very important inscription Partido Comunista de España flashes, understandable without translation. Further more. On the wall flashes: “Long live the Republic!”. And again the inscription Partido Comunista de Espaça – the Communist Party of Spain. And there is no other party.

In fact, the then tiny Communist Party of Spain, of course, can not be called either, but in general there were many parties on the Republican side. Moreover, there were two communist parties in Spain at that moment. The second was called POUM and was the communist party of the Trotskyists, with which, it must be said, the communist-Stalinists cracked down even somewhere harder than with the Francoists. But, of course, in the Soviet film about it is silent. But there is another very revealing episode in it.

When Yumatov’s character starts to help the wounded man, he says merci to him. But after all, in Spanish thank you “will not be merci, but gracias. Merci is French. At first glance, there is one logical explanation for this – on the wounded – a French helmet.

In fact, there were no French soldiers in Spain. “French-style helmets were purchased for all Republicans. But then why does it still sound not like gracias, but French merci? The answer is simple: this is how the Spanish communist emigrants, in this case quite rightly, introduced a Catalan republican into a Soviet film. In Catalonia, in the move is just not gracias, but precisely merci. And then the Catalans fought under fascist bombing. They fought to the last. Including for the right to speak their own language. “.

What we have learned about the Soviet view of the history of the Civil War in Spain will not be out of place for us, but for now – Spain itself, Catalonia and “beautiful Barcelona”. This is a phrase of the Soviet screenwriter Vsevolod Vishnevsky, who in 1939 wrote the text for a documentary film based on the footage of the legendary Soviet front-line cameraman Roman Karmen.

Barcelona – the largest port and city of Spain – welcomes the first Soviet steamship “Zyryanin”. What else, besides tanks, did Soviet ships carry then? Let’s ask these two Catalan veterans of that war about it. It is already difficult to recognize them from their youthful photographs. One is already a hundred years old, the other is 102! But memory is excellent.

– What Russian words do you remember?

– Samolet, – says Cristobal Florido, in 1936-1939 – a mechanic of the Soviet I-15 aircraft.

Closer examination shows that the aircraft of the Spanish Republic are Soviet. It was they who shot down Nazi bombers, preventing them from approaching residential areas.

Even if today’s not very rich quarter of Barcelona is home to a completely amazing organization – the Association of Republican Aviators. Now it is more often not those pilots themselves, but their descendants. But they understand the Soviet technology of the 30s as if they still serve it themselves. However, the fact of the matter is that, like their fathers and grandfathers, they call those aircraft not by their Soviet series, but by their Spanish nicknames: I-15 – snub-nosed, I-16 – Moshka.

“My father flew the plane that we had Katyushka, although officially it was, of course, the Tupolev-SB-2 high-speed bomber,” said Aquilino Mata, president of the Association of Spanish Republican Aviators.

And who would have thought , but in Catalonia, such bombers are still being produced!In one of the Catalan garages, work is in full swing on recreating the same Tu-2-SB on a scale of 1: 1. One by one, they are trying to reconstruct the atmosphere of those days – there is a whole club of such reconstructions.

Katyushka is a Soviet bomber, Polikarpov is a Soviet fighter that covers these bombers. Members of the military-historical club in Catalonia show how the fighters of the Republican Air Force were preparing for battles with the Francoists. And it is no coincidence that their form is also similar to the Soviet one. There are a lot of historical coincidences around the corner of history in Catalonia.

The very center of Barcelona, ​​the so-called orange courtyard in the residence of the Catalan government. There are still traces of fascist shelling on the tower. And the vice-president of all Catalonia, Neus Munte, today is the niece of one of the Republican aviators.

– Why should we remember that era?

– For the sake of self-respect. We say that people who have forgotten their roots no longer know what kind of people they are. This is the main thing, Munte is sure.

Manuel and Nelli are not Russians, but Spaniards. But, of course, our Spaniards. Manuel was born in Moscow. Graduated from the Soviet decade. But I always thought he was Spanish.

But they are not exactly the Spaniards that you immediately want to think about. Many people know about Spanish children who were taken in Soviet orphanages during the war years in Spain. But then not only children came to the Union, but also young people. About them, then already very matured, the first and, it seems, the last full-fledged domestic documentary film was released in the now distant 1984th. There were Jaime Mata, Francisco Meroño, Leopoldo Morquillas. All are graduates of a special flying school, which was organized for the Spaniards in the USSR in Azerbaijan, in Kirovobad. Our new acquaintances are the children of those cadets. Nelly’s father died while fighting in our Air Force in the spring of 1945 in Hungary.

Among those who continued to serve in the USSR was Jose Bravo – the one who carried out air cover for Stalin himself when he reached Tehran in 1943 just through Azerbaijan.

In addition to sons and daughters in Spain, the memory of those Spanish heroes is also kept by grandchildren. And there are just a fantastic number of such anti-fascist enthusiasts in Catalonia.

For example, you walk through the cellar of a Catalan cava factory, local champagne, and they explain to you: it was in such dungeons in these places that the Republican Air Force stored its ammunition in the 1930s. And when you go down into one of the dungeons, local enthusiastic historians show photos of Spanish Republican pilots with our legends – Alexander Osipenko, Anatoly Serov.

All over Spain – 99 graves of our pilots. And it is right that on memorable days they play the first Soviet anthem – 0 “Internationale”.

And here they continue to rummage through the archives. The fact is that in the interests of secrecy, Soviet pilots were often buried in Spain under false names or even in unmarked graves.

And when the descendants of those pilots stand next to the photographs of their fathers as if in one formation, and also bring epaulettes of their ancestors with red stars, it’s even somehow inconvenient to ask: how is it today and the red star? “But those others had a swastika,” say the Catalans.

In today’s Spain, in honor of those pilots, new monuments with red stars are erected. One of those who erected such a monument was the mayor of a city near Barcelona, ​​​​where there was a republican airfield.

– If you built something like this in Eastern Europe, you would be accused of betraying the national interest. When do you think this idiocy will end in Europe?

– I think we still have to work and work to make history known as it was, including with red stars.

– Even those of us who are not communists would know.

– Yes.

If only everything were so simple. There are things that idealist European democrats don’t even think about.

“How can that be? Just think! Only here in Spain such a dictator as Franco was buried with all honors and still rests in the most honorable place! Hitler, no Mussolini, no Pinochet Just some kind of shame, “says Daniel Lamas, great-nephew of I-15 pilot Miguel Lamas Quevedo.

Few people know, but in today’s Spain they are reconstructing not only the atmosphere, but also apparatuses. Republican aviation continued to fight on the I-16 until the end of the civil war. As for the personnel policy, then only the Spaniards remained in the Spanish Republican Air Force – either those who were trained by their Soviet comrades, or those who returned from the flight school in Kirovobad. But the Soviet pilots all left at 1938 year. And then traces of many of them are lost. Why? This is a very interesting and often sad question.

After returning from Spain, many died in the Stalinist repressions, for example, Comrade Douglas, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Air Force Yakov Smushkevich and Hero of the Soviet Union pilot Ernst Schacht. Was it not because Stalin destroyed them that it was in Barcelona that they witnessed a war between communists and communists – Stalinists and Trotskyists?

“It’s a wild thing, but the Communist Party of Spain had a hand in it” – Nelly knows what she’s talking about, she’s Spanish on her father’s side, and her maternal grandfather was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Argentina.

And now, the first amazing paradox. Arrival in the 30s in the homeland of flamenco in Catalonia, in Spain, in Europe! of the Soviet military and, to be honest, some exaggeration of their role by local communists, of course, scared the West then. They decided that the Soviets and Spain were leading to communism

But it’s not just about geopolitics. At the University of Barcelona, ​​historians explain to us: it’s about ideals – not socialism or capitalism, but human rights.

“Fascism is the denial of any opinion that is not yours. And then the Catalan Republicans fought for the right to speak their own language, for self-government, for at least some kind of autonomy,” said one of the historians, researcher of the Association of Republican Aviators.

“We fought, realizing that if we lose the war here, then Germany will go to other countries. When at the end of the war we were forced to leave Catalonia for France, then on the French border, one soldier in front of me said to the French customs officer: “Take my machine gun, but keep it for yourself, it will come in handy soon when the Nazis come to you already. “And he was right,” said Cristobal Florido.

– When the war of democracy and fascism began in Spain, the Western European democracies – England, France – decided, to put it mildly, to abstain. And an amazing paradox arose: Spanish democracy, including its future, was protected by the bloody communist Stalinist dictatorship.

– A paradox that continues to this day. Save our souls again. When, for example, the Poles begin to say that they were conquered, I don’t understand what they are talking about, Nelli admits.

– Does it often happen that Europe does not understand the real intentions of Russia?

– Often, – admitted Ferran Mata, the grandson of the pilot of the Spanish Republic Air Force.

– Until now?

– Yes.

Spain rented cruise ships for police squads in Catalonia :: News :: TV Center

Spanish police have seized another batch of ballot papers in Catalonia for the independence referendum. This time – 2.5 million copies. In Madrid, they again called on the authorities of the autonomy to change their minds and not to vote, but neither the administration nor the inhabitants of the region are going to listen to these words. Thousands of students and schoolchildren took to the streets calling for the defense of democracy and opposition to the dictatorship.

Thousands of students from all over Catalonia marched on one of the central streets of Barcelona on Thursday morning, TV Center reported. This march is like a loud response to Madrid. On October 1, despite all the bans, Catalonia will still vote.

The Catalan firemen did not go to work either. A march to the thunderous applause of the crowd, and now – in full ammunition, they stood at the head of the column. They made their position clear in the morning. Climbing onto the roof of the Catalan Historical Museum, they stretched out a huge canvas “We love democracy.” And therefore, on the first day, they offered the Generalitat to personally stand up for her, placing cordons at the polling stations. Whether the government agreed is unknown. All preparation details are being kept under wraps.

“No, no, let’s do it another time. Sorry. Gracias. Thank you,” Catalan Deputy Prime Minister Oriold Junqueras refused to answer journalists’ questions.

This Russian “thank you” from the deputy head of the autonomy could well be interpreted by the Spanish authorities in their own way. The day before, the respectable newspaper El Pais quite seriously reported on the links of the Catalan authorities with Russian hackers. It is they who allegedly help create Internet resources dedicated to the referendum. Evidence, as usual, no. But three days before the referendum, Madrid is desperately looking for the guilty and the guilty. They promised to bring criminal cases against all those involved, and therefore several Catalan cities have already refused the plebiscite.

“What our government is trying to do goes beyond what our constitution defines. My obligation as mayor is to uphold the law,” said Mataro Mayor David Bote.

Voting has not yet been canceled in the largest cities of the region, but it is not clear whether it will take place. Around the municipal warehouse, where they store everything for the elections, police cordons appeared. A “hunt” for ballots has been announced. 10 million copies were confiscated last week, but, apparently, new ones have already been printed, and to the addresses of polling stations. The Prosecutor General’s Office instructed to seal all schools by Saturday, and on Sunday to post additional patrols at the entrance.

“We are convinced that the people of Catalonia will be able to vote peacefully and calmly on October 1, lining up at schools with ballots in their hands. This is our weapon – a ballot in hand, ready to be thrown into the ballot box,” said the president of Òmnium Cultural Jordi Couchart.

However, even if Catalonia says “si” to independence, it is not at all certain that it will be followed by “adyos” against Spain. The authorities of the autonomy stated that they had no plan for immediate secession.