Corriente: insult?
So I'm reading a book that says corriente is an insult when you say it about someone. But I always hear "Soy normal y corriente" and it means I'm a normal guy. Is it really also an insult, if I said "Es corriente, es un hombre corriente" would it be an insult or mean a normal guy? Gracias.
9 Answers
"Un hombre regular" is better for "a normal guy."
"Un hombre corriente" is usually taken offensively if said to or about another person in his presence; it has the idea of "common." Although in English the expression a common man usually means "a normal, average guy," if we say, "He is common," that is an insult. That would be similar to saying someone is "corriente."
However, if one is speaking of himself, "Soy un hombre corriente" is assumed to mean "I am a normal, everyday guy," since it is assumed no one would insult himself. Furthermore, in your sentence in question, the word normal clarifies how it is to be taken.
Is it similar to ordinario?
Where I am from, common is quite insulting, meaning low class, well at least perceived as lower class than the offender, coarse etc...
"Un hombre corriente" is usually taken offensively if said to or about another person in his presence;
Wow, this must sure be regional.
Soy una mujer corriente.
This is not insulting where I come from.
Actually we say this all the time.
Soy muy corriente en lo que se refiere a las costumbres de cocinar.
Used as common as in vulgar : es un hombre vulgar o ordinario
Ordinario is the false friend here. 
Es un hombre muy ordinario. You would think just an ordinary guy, well no, it means very common and vulgar.
Pienso que no es posible ofender a nadie con 'normal', a menos que sea un 'goth' o algo parecido...
Pues no te creas,
Si digo,
Pepe es un hombre muy normalito.
Lo que digo es que es muy aburrido en el fondo
Pues, me parece que 'normal' es la elección más segura en todos los países, ¿no?
Pienso que no es posible ofender a nadie con 'normal', a menos que sea un 'goth' o algo parecido...
I believe it very much depends on context. To me, definitely "ordinario" is far more likely to insult than "corriente", as ordinario means "coarse" "baste" or "vulgar" (as well as normal). "Corriente" on the other hand usually means just "normal".
So contextually "Corriente" can be taken as an insult when it is used to mean that someone or something is not special, not outstanding, but rather run of the mill.
"Ese restaurante se da ínfulas, pero sirve comida bastante corriente" - "That restaurant makes a big pretense, but they food is rather plain / run of the mill".
I can see what HMM means, given certain contexts. For example, if in a fancy party two guests are gossiping away, and one of them looks at a noticeable woman, for example and says: "¿Esa? ¡Esa es una mujercita bien corriente!" That is definitely not a kind statement. But it is really context, more than the word itself.
Común y corriente is the term that is not an insult, at least in Chile.
Corriente y ordinario both are used to denote being vulgar, again in Chile.
I think ordinario is pretty much always an insult though, never heard it used as ordinary but I have heard corriente used that way, though I must admit, it usually has "Normal y corriente" as the phrase. ...
So if I said "Es un hombre corriente" that's an insult, but if I said "Es un hombre normal y corriente" that is not an insult, because I clarified it, and if you don't clarify it, then you have to use normal or regular on it's own because corriente on it's own is the insult? Gracias.
