¿Cómo se dice "bless you" y "bless your heart" en español.

Question

Como se dice "bless you" y "bless your heart" en español.

Answer 1

"Dios te/le bendiga" is the translation of "bless you", that's true, but that doesn't mean that we use that expression in the same way that "bless you" or "bless your heart" are used in English.

For one, we don't say "Dios te bendiga" when someone sneezes; we say "Jesús". And we don't show pity by saying "Dios le bendiga" when we speak ill of a third party, like some people do with "bless his/her heart".

There's only two contexts in which I hear people say "Dios te bendiga". One in the most literal sense, when a priest or a religious person wishes that God bless you. And second, when plain people wish to thank somebody who they view as a person of higher status, either for giving them money - as in charity - or for helping them to get out of a mess (for example interceding for them before the authorities).

Is that "Jesús" widely used in Spain?, Isn't "salud" the most common word to say when someone sneezes, at least in most countries? :S - InésDelRío, Nov 9, 2010

Yep, "Jesús" is used much more often than 'salud' in Spain - bill1111, Nov 9, 2010

Answer 2

Bill said:

There's only two contexts in which I hear people say "Dios te bendiga". ...

Hmmm...I have heard this a lot more often than those circumstances.

I heard it in México 1) after a stranger gave me directions - she said this as in a way of "God bless you" in your travels; 2) the mom of my host family said this as I went off to school, to say "Have a safe day" and; 3) from shop keepers when I would leave a store.

My friends from Guatemala also use "Dios te bendiga" when they sign off on an email.

Well there's cultural differences between countries, no doubt. This is one of those things that are more typical in rural areas and with older generations. Younger people usually don't talk like that anymore. - bill1111, Nov 9, 2010

Answer 3

Dios te bendiga = informal (friends, children, family)

Dios le bendiga = formal (acquaintances, strangers, etc.)