The meaning of 'Ajeno/a'

Question

I've come across this word a few times recently and I'm not sure if I'm understanding it correctly. Would you say that it means something like 'someone else's or 'another's'?

Or would there be a better way to look at it?

Answer 1

Yes. Someone else's, but it can also mean "foreign" / "alien", or "unknown".

Amigos de lo Ajeno: friends of someone else´s belongings - in other words, thieves.

Ajeno a las polémicas: unacquainted with controversy

unacquainted :) Gracias! - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 20, 2010

Quaint, yes. - Gekkosan, Dec 20, 2010

And could you say for instance: Estas ajeno/a a la verdad = mentir? - bomberapolaca, Dec 20, 2010

Answer 2

Hi, MC. Here are other examples of how the word can be used:

con el dinero ajeno = with other people's money

puso los huevos en un nido ajeno = it laid its eggs in another bird's nest

meterse en lo ajeno = to interfere in other people's affairs

según fuentes ajenas a la empresa = according to sources outside the company

el mal humor es ajeno a su carácter = he's not at all bad-tempered in character, being bad-tempered is quite alien to his character frm

todo le era ajeno y desconocido = everything was strange and unknown

thanks Marianne, it seems to be a very useful word :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 20, 2010

Answer 3

This is what I've come across in Wiki: “Respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz” —State seal of Oaxaca

Respect for the rights of others is peace

Oaxaca is as nice as this sentence Saludos!

nice :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 20, 2010