Thread: Mexican Dialect

What is the closest English translation of the popular Mexican expression, "Me vale madre?"

Originally Posted by Birder

What is the closest English translation of the popular Mexican expression, "Me vale madre?"

I give a f

En ingles yo lo traduzco a "I'll be darned". No se si otros colegas tienen otra expresion.

These are my suggestions, not sure what others think. It will also depend on the context:

1) I could care less
2) I don't give a ______ (care, darn, cr(xx), sh(xx), da(xx), fu(xx)
3) And you're telling me because... (in response to what someone else said)
4) I could give a care
5) So/So what?! (Response)
6) Why should I care?!
7) like I care!

I hope this is what you're looking for!

-Heather

I always took it to mean "I don't give a damn" or worse "I don't give a f***." I think "Me vale" is less harsh. It's like "I could care less."

This is a translator's forum and we are striving to speak correct English and Spanish so just to correct a slight error for those who might be confused by the usage of the phrase "I could not care less" versus "I could care less":

The phrase "I could care less" is an incorrect way to say that you could not be less concerned about something. It means you actually could be less concerned when you are trying to say you could NOT.

To put it another way:

"I could not care less" is the correct way to say you have reached the limits of not caring.

"I could care less" means, yes, you still care, at least somewhat.

This is a common mistake in using this phrase.

Think about it.

vicente

4) I could give a care

Hi heather, I am not familiar with this expression. Vicente, is there a way to use it this way?

[quote=exxcéntrica]Hi heather, I am not familiar with this expression. Vicente, is there a way to use it this way?[/quote]

exxcéntrica (acento! jeje):

Heather's phrase "4) I could give a care" sounds like the British way of saying "I could care less" which, as stated above, I believe to be improper English and should be "I could NOT (couldn't) give a care."

Since it is not a phrase used in the U.S I am guessing a little here but it seems to be just another way of saying "I could not care less"

If we have any Brits on board maybe they can correct me but to me the manner in which Heather uses "give a care" is typically British and you won't hear it spoken like that in the U.S. The Brits say things like "give a hand, mate, give us a kiss, give it a go, etc while Americans would say, "need a little help" or "lend me a hand", "how about a kiss", "let's give it a try", etc.

vicente

After accidentely stumbling upon this website, I read this and thought "Why not offer some Britishly help?"
I've never heard the phrase 'give a care' in Britain and it sounds, to me, more like a translation gone wrong, like how hippopotamus in German literally means river-horse (flusspferd).
Also, I think you'll find us Brits say all of those 'American' phrases as well as the 'British' ones. The British version of the English language is rather a mangled and diverse one; I've heard it said the Dutch and the Germans speak the best English grammatically.
I hope that helped.