What do "Loma" and "Chula" mean in Spanish? (As in "Loma Linda" or "Chula Vista"
We were travelling in California, and wondered what the town names "Loma Linda" and "Chula Vista" mean. We know "vista" means "view" and "linda" means "beautiful", but we are stuck on the other words.
5 Answers
Regarding 'can't be translated'. It isn't that they can't be translated, but rather they shouldn't in writing and speaking.
For example, you would never tell somebody that you come from The Angels. Los Angeles is the proper name and it stays that way. You can however tell someone that Los Angeles means the angels.
In translation exercises, I personally would not change a proper noun, but I might include the translation as like this. I live in El Peñol, which means the big rock...
chulo/a and lindo/a both mean pretty or cute. so MexGuy and h1deaway are both right. the direct translations are 'pretty hill' and 'pretty view/sight'.
Chula also means pretty. So Chula Vista is "Pretty View"
loma is hill and linda is pretty. roughly translates to pretty hill. I don't know what chula means, but vista is view.
they are names. They can't be translated