Wisdom of the Day 45: Ley pareja no es dura / rigurosa

Question

Buenos Días familia,

Back again with another Wisdom of the Day for y'all. So, for those who don't know, in this thread, we will discuss the proverb or expression, your understanding, and its translation. Some offer phrases that serve as synonyms, THAT'S GREAT! As well, pictures are always welcome! Your participation is what makes this fun and keeps the learning locomotive running.

"Ley pareja no es dura / rigurosa."

If you are brave, don't google for it, just try to guess or to find out using the dictionary what it might mean. We have many great resources to use with this that will really help you accelerate your learning. Let's see how you do, and no natives!!! (por favor)

• familia? is it Portuguese with the accent or am I getting confused? :) - Kiwi_Girl Apr 3, 2011
• Good catch, Kiwi... should be without the accent for it to be español... :) - cristalino Apr 3, 2011
• Lol... not sure why I did that, but very good recognition Kiwi =) - DJ_Huero Apr 4, 2011

Answer 1

I think the word pareja might be the red herring here so I hope you don't mind DJ, and it's not too early, if I put this excerpt from RAE which might be helpful:

parejo, ja. (Del lat. *paricŭlus, dim. de par, paris, igual). 1. adj. Igual o semejante.

• Heeeeyyyyy! Lookit who's back! Nice job, Holmes! Now we're cookin'! :-) - Gekkosan Apr 3, 2011
• :) - Kiwi_Girl Apr 4, 2011
• Jaja, I know! Welcome back Kiwi, and what an honor to have you join us on a thread... =) - DJ_Huero Apr 4, 2011
• goodness, what a lovely welcome from you both, muchísimas gracias mis amigos :) - Kiwi_Girl Apr 4, 2011
• Ahhhaaaaaa!! - Luciente Apr 4, 2011

Answer 2

As fellow hispanohablante Gekko pointed out, the word "pareja" is more along the lines of things being evenhanded, impartial or equally distributed or applied... so having said that, if laws or rules of law are applied evenhandedly or equally among the masses, from the poor & unfranchised to the high & mighty, then no unfairness or inequality will result... so apply rules fairly and everyone should be content or so the theory goes!

• Heh-heh. This is an aphorism, so there is a much simpler way to express those lofty truths! :-) - Gekkosan Apr 3, 2011
• My reptilian friend, I tend to deal with lots o' loftiness when it comes to these nuggets of "sabiduría" :) - cristalino Apr 3, 2011

Answer 3

DJ asked me to go ahead and provide the answer if one wasn't given outright - but quite frankly, I think there are way too many HINTS out there for that!

In fact, someone already gave the reply, albeit in a somewhat twisted way.

And the exact and literal translation is floating around the Forum, in a rather shameless way if you ask me.

So there's no reason for a native speaker to spell it out, I think. Fair is fair, after all.

• lol - nice that deserves a vote just for the convolutions :p - Kiwi_Girl Apr 4, 2011
• I've missed you terribly!! Glad to see you writing again. :-) - Gekkosan Apr 4, 2011
• aw thanx, I'm not properly back, still have lots of wedding albums keeping me busy but puedo ver la luz al final del túnel :) - Kiwi_Girl Apr 4, 2011
• Hmmm... wedding planner eh? Useful information... =) - DJ_Huero Apr 5, 2011
• Wedding Phographer, actually. Darned good one. too! - Gekkosan Apr 6, 2011

Answer 4

Before looking up anything:

"Partner law is not hard / rigorous"

Hmm, that doesn't mean a lot to me. Looking up 'ley', it can mean loyalty as well as law - doesn't really help.

Ok, after some thought I gave up and googled it! Rather obscure, me parece.

• This has nothing to do with partners or couples. :-) - Gekkosan Apr 3, 2011
• Good attempt, but Gekko is right. =) - DJ_Huero Apr 4, 2011

Answer 5

You should do sayings in Engish too.

• Hmmm... ok, I start that today. =) - DJ_Huero Apr 4, 2011

Answer 6

Ok, this is a strech:

The law between a couple isn't harsh.

? Uhhhh... pienso que es que las reglas entre una pareja dependen del amor y de la comprensión y por eso, cuando una persona le hace algo malo y le pide el perdón, la otra persona probablemente va a perdonarle por el amor....

• This has nothing to do with partners or couples. :-) - Gekkosan Apr 3, 2011
• Great attempt, but again, Gekko is right. ;-P - DJ_Huero Apr 4, 2011

Answer 7

Too many principles can weigh you down.

• Yeah, those principles are such a nuisance. ;-) - Leatha Apr 3, 2011

Answer 8

Lets see if I really got it

"Ley pareja no es dura / rigurosa."

" a smooth (evenhanded or uniform ) law ,harms no one"

Many possibilities in the dictionaries s This took a while.

• Dictionaries, ¿que no, mi rey? :) - cristalino Apr 3, 2011
• Not bad Paco =) - DJ_Huero Apr 4, 2011

Answer 9

Multiplied regulations (of a legal system) do not work out and have no force of law.

• Nah... - Gekkosan Apr 3, 2011
• Nice shot bombera - DJ_Huero Apr 4, 2011

Answer 10

Ok, shot in the dark:

If you are not breaking the law, you do not have to fear it.

• Not so much to do with The Law. - Gekkosan Apr 3, 2011
• shucks. - amykay Apr 4, 2011
• Shouldn't that be "Aw shucks?" :) - cristalino Apr 4, 2011

Answer 11

"Family law is not dogmatic/strict"

I think. Ley pareja seems to be what we call "Family Court Law" and "dura/rigurosa" would apply to that. The law as applied in family court is not harsh nor is it to be adhered to strictly and it is not "severe".[removed]void(0); ??? Maybe?

• Simpler than that. - Gekkosan Apr 3, 2011
• On track... good shot... =0 - DJ_Huero Apr 4, 2011

Answer 12

Oho! I will just post the link!
http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Discourse/Proverbs/Spanish-English.html
Right,no! Wrong, no! Well, a very simple concept, very difficult in the practice! very good! But not exactly what the words say, is it? Very idiomatic? Neato.

• Right but, you see? It can be translated in one single line. Simple. :) - Gekkosan Apr 4, 2011

Answer 13

I dont know maybe it means that the law is not hard if we obey it

• Interesting look on it. =) - DJ_Huero Apr 4, 2011

Answer 14

If "pareja" can mean "igual" then I think it means that the same law isn't "hard" because everyone has to follow it the same.

Haha, Trato de ser valiente sin ayuda pero siempre estoy equivocada.

• Actually, that's pretty close to it - just kind of awkwardly stated. :-) - Gekkosan Apr 4, 2011

Answer 15

Ehhh.. Rules are made to be broken.. and all's fair in love and war!

Don't know.

• Actually, kind of the going the other way, in this train of though... :-D - Gekkosan Apr 3, 2011
• typo. thought - siempre Apr 3, 2011
• Right Siempre - thanks. - Gekkosan Apr 3, 2011