What do you call that in Spanish? iPhone app

Question

In the iPhone application, "phrases", "misunderstanding", section;

"What do you call that in Spanish?" is translated "¿Cómo se llama esto en español?" Isn't that literally "What do you call this in Spanish?"?

Wouldn't "What do you call that in Spanish?" be "¿Cómo se llama eso en español?"?

Thanks

Answer 1

HI amaken, welcome to the forum

Technically you are right, but the first sentence is more colloquial in Spanish. We use esto here , not eso.

Actually, we could also substitute that for this here, in English. I can see no difference in the context.

Answer 2

Thanks for the answer. What a great web site. I understand "esto" is used. Just one more question. I'm confused about referencing several items, some close, say in your hand, and some far away. Would you use "esto" for everything?

In English I might say "What do you call this in Spanish? ,,, and that?"

Would you say "¿Cómo se llama esto en español?,,, y esto?"?