meaning of "kind of"

Question

in a conversation about the weather because is cold, someone says: ..." I kind of like cold water" what´s the meaning of this sentence?

Edited title to make it more meaningful. - pesta, Aug 25, 2011

Answer 1

Good question! The saying, "kind of" expresses a moderate preference. When a person says "I kind of like cold weather" they are saying they slightly prefer it to some other type of weather. "Kind of" may also indicate that the person prefers cold weather only at certain times or under certain conditions. Finally, "kind of" can be used to diminish the importance or controversiality of a person's statement. A person might use it in this way because he or she is embarrassed to admit something. Here are some examples:

I kind of wish I'd had gone to the bathroom before we left. In this case, the person uses "kind of" because he or she is embarrassed to ask (the driver) to stop just so that he or she can use the bathroom.

He kind of looked better in a suit. The person making the statement is expressing a minor preference. The person may look somewhat better in a suit, but only slightly - "kind of better."

The milk smells kind of sour. In this case, the person making the statement may be unsure of whether the milk is good or bad. They may be asking someone for a second opinion.

Hope that helps!

-Mateo

Answer 2

• you look kind of tired -> pareces como cansado

• I kind of expected this -> me esperaba algo así, me lo temía

• do you like it? ? kind of -> ¿te gusta? ? vaya or más o menos

• it was a kind of saucer-shaped thing -> era una especie de objeto con forma de plato

Answer 3

"Kind of" and "sort of" are interchangeable in this context and carry a "more or less" a mas o menos meaning. There is a parece que... quality to it,

"What's it like?" It's kind of rectangular" "It's sort of rectangular" would mean it's more or less rectangular, it's roughly rectangular. It looks rectangular to me. From another angle you could say "It's pretty rectangular." meaning it's quite but not precisely rectangular.

I kind of liked your answer more. - Yeser007, Aug 25, 2011

You're sooo adorable, Yeser! ;) - territurtle, Aug 25, 2011

I thought yours was pretty good too :-) - lagartijaverde, Aug 25, 2011

Answer 4

kind of = un poco (informal)

Answer 5

También:

una especie de

un tipo de

una clase de

That's a different meaning of "kind of". - lorenzo9, Aug 25, 2011

Good call. Tienes razon. Son traducciones válidos. Bien dicho. - _Mateo_, Aug 25, 2011

Answer 6

Kind of = mas o menos/un poco/tal vez/casi/prefiero

I kind of like the blue better = prefiero el azul un poco mas

"kind of like water" = mas o menos/casi como el agua.

depende del contexto.