obtener -vs- buscar

Question

Last night at work, I was able to spit out this to my Spanish co-worker:

Tengo hambre. Voy al carro para obtener mi comida.

"Obtener" was the only verb I knew for "to get".

He corrected me with, "para buscar".

But I already knew where my food was, why would I have to search for it?

Yes. I have seen buscar to mean fetch, basically, and I wonder about the difference myself. - webdunce, Jun 29, 2011

Good question! - danrivera, Jun 30, 2011

Answer 1

buscar

1. to pick up (recoger)

• voy a buscar el periódico -> I'm going for the paper o to get the paper
• ir a buscar a alguien -> to pick somebody up
• pasará a buscarnos a las nueve -> she'll pick us up at nine

Verbs change their meaning with context. I suppose that it meant recoger in that context.

Great answer! - territurtle, Jun 30, 2011

Answer 2

buscar seems to imply you know your lunch is in the car, but you still have to search for it just the same?

I totally disagree. Just look the word up in a dictionary:

buscar

3 (=recoger) to pick up, fetch

¿vais a ir a buscarme a la estación? are you going to pick me up o fetch me from the station?

vino a buscar sus plantas she came to pick up o fetch her plants

You don't have to search for anything in order to use "buscar".

That's why I said "seems to imply"... from the more common usage in my region... not every Spanish speaker is familiar with every single entry dictionaries have for very common words I would venture... :) - cristalino, Jun 30, 2011

Answer 3

Tengo hambre. Voy al carro para obtener mi comida.

Imagine yourself saying "I'm hungry. I am going to the car to obtain my food". Does it sound natural to you? "Obtener" and "obtain" do not look similar by accident.

I agree Lazarus you would use the verb obtain in English to mean you wanted to get hold of or acquire something that did not already belong to you like a passport :) - FELIZ77, Jun 30, 2011

Answer 4

Here we tend to use "agarrar" or "pescar" (more colloquial)... but "recoger" is just as good! However, buscar seems to imply you know your lunch is in the car, but you still have to search for it just the same? Like you hid it from yourself, almost... anyway... cheers!

Thanks! Good to know. - territurtle, Jun 30, 2011

Heck, it is even easier (and more economical) to say: voy por mi comida!... - cristalino, Jun 30, 2011

I like that voy por mi comida, cristalino. It's more Spanish-y. :-) - webdunce, Jun 30, 2011

Answer 5

Thanks for the replies. Good to know.

I had only heard "buscar" to mean "to search for" before now.

Answer 6

Perhaps it is that you have already obtained (acquired ownership of) the food. Now it is merely a matter of "fetching" it as it is currently not where you are???

Answer 7

I have a really hard time translating "get" into Spanish because there are so many variations of the use of this word.

For example -

to get sick to get better (after being sick) to get ahead to get caught up in something

There simply isn't one or two or even three verbs in Spanish that would translate this for you in Spanish. It sometimes gets really confusing for me. (pardon the pun)

I think a thread or flashcard set on this would be really useful.