No manches
"No manches" technically means "Don't stain." and is a very common phrase in Mexico.
If someone is beating you at a game and they make a particularly good move you might say: ¡No manches!
One of your friends is supposed to come to dinner and cancels at the very last minute: ¡No manches!
Someone tells you that your favorite soccer team lost again: ¡No manches!
Someone tells you something surprising or hard to believe: ¡No manches!
What are good ways to translate this into English? Do "No way!" and "You've got to be kidding me!" work or is there a better translation? It seems to me that there should be a more literal translation that works but I sure can't think of one. I see that there is another thread on this but I'd like to hear other ways to say it other than "No kidding." Any thoughts?
Thanks.
11 Answers
Most of you are right, No manches means "Do not stain" (do not stain it, do not stain me)
Is used as an expresion of disbelief, among other feelings, it is used specially in central Mexico, mexico city, and among the Chilango young population (chilango means mexico city native, the word is derivated from Chilli, or Jalapeno, because the Anahuac valley of Mexico - Tenochtitlan in aztec times had more than 200 diferent species of chiles in cultivation.)
it is used as a principal expression of surprise when you hear some news.
it is nothing bad, it just used as an expresion amongs young people
You cant never tell your mother, "No manches" when she tells you that your cousin hook up with a 14 year old girl and he run away with her. you have to say APOCO? (like ?"really?" this expression is nothing sexual like "No mames" (are you sucking me off?) so is safe for young women to use also.
when you want to warn somebody about danger you say "Aguas! (water!)
Mexicans have many slangs, and the words they use have 1,2, or 3 meanings and levels or uses (like some word in French) and you have to account the person conjugation (I, You, He, his, She) and the level of respect of the person who you are talking to, Your mother, your father, your brother, your granmother, If you feel like the person you are talking to is older that you, is she a woman or you just meet him or her you use respect languaje (como esta usted, in place of como estas tu o como estas) is difficult but most mexican will correct you on the spot, they are good for that, so you wont make the same mistake twice.
Good luck in your learning!
To my knowledge No manches/mames is used all over Mexico, by everyone. In fact, I hear them both used even here in the US. Those expressions are used by young people and people my age (46) and everyone in between. And probably even older.
As several other members have already stated, "no mames" is vulgar. But walk up and down the streets of Mexico and you'll quickly run out of fingers and toes trying to count the number of times you hear it. And the same thing goes for "no manches", except it isn't vulgar.
Spend any significant amount time watching Mexican movies, audio/video of normal everyday people speaking or even better, actually being around Mexicans and you'll quickly realize these words are heavily ingrained into everyday Mexican speech.
Other words I'd say are staples of Mexican Spanish are órale, ándale, and güey (wey). These are just a few (of the non-vulgar) words that come to mind.
To be honest, I love Mexican Spanish. For me it has the most colorful and fun words and expressions of all the Spanish countries. But I'm probably heavily biased.
Ive heard that statement many times, and was taught that its the tamer version of "no mames." Ive always translated (or was taugh to translate it) as "Get out of here!", "No way!", or "No kidding?"
no manches like saying no mames (no mms). no mames is more vulgar than no manches. I would be careful who you say it to. its like saying te pasas. in English its like saying hell no. sometimes if you say that people will either get mad, others (like your friends) wont mind, and others will say yo no mancho/mamo. te pasas is a better way to say it
No manches is, as far as I know, an expletive similar to no mames but stronger and less often used. Careful how you use this.
We use the verb "manchar" (to stain) instead the more vulgar verb "mamar" (to suck). Of course the meaning of this two verbs is very different, but they sound very similar to each other. That is why we use the former instead the more vulgar. So we say: "No manches!" as a tamer form of "No mames!", which literally would be: Don´t suck!
The meaning of both expressions is something like: You must be kidding! or Get out of here!
This sounds like a regional thing. I've never heard that expression. Once you find a good translation, but sure to put it in the phrasebook. Or put it in without a translation.
It's closer to become an interjection to express surprise, anger, gibe, taunt...
I completely agree with Morphine. I don't use it. In my view, is vulgar.
Go to www.jergasdehablahispana.org
Select "Mexico" as your country and type in "no manches". These are not translations to English, but other expressions in Spanish that are synonyms. ...Probably not an expression to use with your grandma!
I have heard "Mancho!" When a card player "buys" a card in the game called Telefunken. No idea what they mean.
Has anyone heard of that game?
