La Palabra del Día : gatear

Question

gatear - (intransitive verb) to crawl, to clamber; to climb

Post your sentences in Spanish and English, then vote for the ones you like. The best answer will be chosen tomorrow on the basis of the greatest number of votes and language correctness.

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And don't forget to correct your posts as suggested. Do NOT use subject pronouns!

El bebé de mi hermana aún no sabe andar, pero ya ha empezado a gatear

My sister's baby can't walk yet, but she has started to crawl

Please correct my English and Spanish - Vaanz, Nov 22, 2010

Welcome back Vaanz, well done again. - ray76, Nov 22, 2010

Nice one V. :) - galsally, Nov 22, 2010

I think I would be inclined to put: she 'has' started to crawl - ha empezado a gatear :) - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 22, 2010

El bebé de mi hermana aún no sabe andar, pero ya ha empezado a gatear :) Nice pic, Vaanz! - cogumela, Nov 22, 2010

Me gusta :) - amy_moreno, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 1

La Palabra del Día : gatear !
¡Pero .. en movimiento!

( The word of the day: gatear ! But.. in motion! )

nice one :) - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 22, 2010

Right! - cogumela, Nov 22, 2010

Very good! :) - amy_moreno, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 2

Aprender a gatear provisionalmente, es como mi progreso en español aparece.

Learning to crawl tentatively, is how my progress in Spanish appears.

ja ja voting, although it's not at all true! :) - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 22, 2010

Mi progreso en español parece el intento de un niño que está aprendiendo a gatear. :) (Not true!) - cogumela, Nov 22, 2010

Thank you cogu and Kiwi , that was beautifuly phrased ,and much better than my poor attempt. - ray76, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 3

He started to crawl when he was a baby, and now, with this outfit, he can crawl through the forest unnoticed.

Empezo a gatear cuando era un bebe, y ahora, con este atuendo, puede adentrarse en el bosque sin llamar la atencion.

(I still cannot get my computer to put the tilde on letters after I have posted a photo)

(atención) (bebé)

se puede would mean 'one' can - you can just say 'puede' (he can) or 'podrá' (he will be able to) and remember poder is followed by the infinitive - puede/podrá gatear :) - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 22, 2010

I'd say: Con este atuendo se puede gatear a través del bosque pasando desapercibido. Wait for more opinions ... :) Hi, Bryn! - cogumela, Nov 22, 2010

I don't know.. I think in this context 'gatear' is a very difficult fit. 'gatear' can't be used in the same figurative sense as 'to crawl' in this sentence. If I had to translate it I'd say 'se puede atravesar' or 'se puede adentrar'. - bill1111, Nov 22, 2010

I'd translate the whole thing as: 'Con este atuendo se puede uno adentrar en el bosque sin llamar la atención' ('desapercibido' is usually paired with the verb 'pasar', so in my opinion 'sin llamar la atención' works better here) - bill1111, Nov 22, 2010

Thanks so much. I have made a new sentence to include the word of the day. It would seem one needs to be careful with this word as it carries some negative connotations. I have spent 2 hours researching it. lol I am still a bit confused. - Brynleigh, Nov 22, 2010

'Empezó', 'bebé'. By the way, if you start the sentence with 'he started..', the impersonal part looks weird. It would be better to get rid of the 'se' and leave it as ', puede adentrarse en' - bill1111, Nov 22, 2010

Gracias, Billstpor :)) - Brynleigh, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 4

Gatear

Bebito: "¡Tengo el mejor profesor del mundo que me enseña a gatear!"

Wee baby: "I have the best teacher in the world to teach me how to crawl!"

Good pic amy - Vaanz, Nov 22, 2010

'que me enseña a gatear' means 'who teaches me how to crawl'. To say 'to teach me..' you need 'para enseñarme a gatear' - bill1111, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 5

Tienes que gatear antes de poder andar.

You must crawl before you can walk.

Antes de aprender a andar hay que aprender a gatear. Good, ronm! - cogumela, Nov 22, 2010

Good one Ronm, and it's true, so you get my vote, but believe it or not, I didn't crawl! Crazy, huh? I went from sitting to walking :P - melton1995, Nov 22, 2010

Oh wow, Melton. Never heard of anyone doing that before. :) - ronm192, Nov 22, 2010

Y gracias, cogumela. Me gusta tu frase mejor. ¿Pero, es mio correcta, también? - ronm192, Nov 22, 2010

Sería correcta si dices 'poder andar' - bill1111, Nov 22, 2010

Thank you Bill. - ronm192, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 6

Some babies are adventurous when they crawl and need to be supervised. algunos bebés son adventureros cuando empiezan a gatear y la necesidad ser supervisados .

Algunos bebés son aventureros cuando empiezan a gatear y necesitan ser supervisados. Hi, jennyo! - cogumela, Nov 22, 2010

Hola coqumela ,gracias por las correcciones. - jennyo45, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 7

Algunos bebés nunca gatean, pero primera caminata.

Some babies never crawl, but walk first.

The literal translation would be: 'nunca gatean, primero caminan'. A more idiomatic version would be: 'aprenden a caminar antes que a gatear'. - bill1111, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 8

¡Qué terrible, n bebé gateando por la autopista! ¿Dónde está su madre?

How terrible! A baby crawls on a motorway. Where is it's mother?

Video

... un bebé gateando por la autopista! ¿Dónde está su madre? Good one, MC! - cogumela, Nov 22, 2010

So sorry about your miners Kiwi girl, I shall keep a candle burning for them ,they and you have my prayers. - ray76, Nov 22, 2010

thanks guys :) yes poor people Ray and their poor families - I know that the prayers of others played a great part in helping to get the Chilean miners through their ordeal and I'm sure they will be just as important to the those suffering the same - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 22, 2010

ordeal in NZ. - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 22, 2010

omg that video was so scary, thank God the baby was not hit! - amykay, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 9

El tráfico de invierno disminuye de un gatear.

Winter traffic slows to a crawl.

Oh ! How can you stand that? - ray76, Nov 22, 2010

Can you say that Cathy? you could well be right, I'm just asking, I'm more familiar with 'a paso de tortuga.' - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 22, 2010

or 'avanza lentamente'? - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 22, 2010

Uuuuhh... That's difficult! El tráfico en invierno se ralentiza a la velocidad del gateo de un niño :) Hi, Cathy! - cogumela, Nov 22, 2010

Hehe. Yes, no Spanish speaker would ever say 'gatear' here. You would usually say things like 'el tráfico en invierno se mueve muy despacio' or 'el tráfico en invierno va a velocidad del caracol' (at a snail's pace) - bill1111, Nov 22, 2010

I have a confession to make. I realized that when I was looking for the sentence, but I just got back from Fargo and had been in a snowstorm and wanted to use the picture! - Echoline, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 10

She scratched, climbed and crawled her way up the corporate ladder of success.

Peleó, trepó, y se abrió paso para ascender peldaños en su carrera profesional.

Please help me with this translation. - JoyceM, Nov 22, 2010

Hmm. 'scratch' or 'crawl' are not verbs usually employed in Spanish in this context. I guess you could say 'Peleó, trepó, y se abrió paso para ascender peldaños en su carrera profesional' ('gatear' is totally out of the question) - bill1111, Nov 22, 2010

I think it's worth pointing out (not just for this definition, but for all of them) that when it says that 'gatear' means 'to crawl', 'to climb'.. it is only in certain contexts, and it's the same in the opposite direction. - bill1111, Nov 22, 2010

Okay, that was a good lesson, but I "learned" my way out of the Palabra del Dia. Time to start over, I guess. - JoyceM, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 11

Mi niño nunca gateó, prefirió ponerse de pie y dar sus primeros pasos directamente, mientras tomandome a la mano.

My son never crawled, he preferred to stand up and walk his first steps, while holding my hand.

is it 'a la mano' or 'de'? - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 22, 2010

... mientras me cogía de la mano. Preciosa y muy bien, gal ! ;) - cogumela, Nov 22, 2010

or 'cogiéndome de la mano', but not 'a la mano'. - bill1111, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 12

Gateo más rápido que tú....

I can crawl faster than you can...

¡Gateo más rápido que tú! Hi, sanlee! ;) - cogumela, Nov 22, 2010

¡Gracias, Cogu! - sanlee, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 13

La mayoría de los bebés comienzan a gatear entre los 6 y 10 meses.

Most babies begin to crawl between 6 and 10 months.

I think this baby is getting ready to crawl. - Maria-Russell, Nov 22, 2010

so sweet. :) - Brynleigh, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 14

"You are crawling around in the entrance to my home!"

"Usted está gateando en la entrada de mi casa!"

Great photo, bandit!!! - Brynleigh, Nov 22, 2010

Great movie! Stars a young James Arness (Gunsmoke) - bandit51jd, Nov 22, 2010

Answer 15

arreglamos

We fix crawl spaces!

'Arreglamos..', and I'm sorry but I can't venture a translation for 'crawl space', as I'm not used to that kind of foundations. Certainly it wouldn't be a literal translation of 'crawl space'. - bill1111, Nov 22, 2010

Hey thanks Billstpor. Crawl spaces are not often built in homes anymore. They were popular in the early and middle part of the 20th century. A lot of people, though, living in older homes do have them. - Maria-Russell, Nov 22, 2010