Bodily functions and how to excuse oneself

Question

In the US.... if someone sneezes, you say "bless you" if you burp, you say "excuse me."

I was wondering (to all of you Spanish-speakers out there) what do you say when someone sneezes? In school I was taught "salud." In Spain, I heard they said "jesús."

But I live in Spain now, and I never hear anyone say anything, no matter how loud the sneeze is. Once I even heard a man say "salud" himself after sneezing. In that case, is it like an "excuse me?"

And do people say anything when they burp? Or do you just blush and continue on with your life?

I am curious to know about the differences in Spain as well as South America/Central America.

Answer 1

Nuh uh Missy, it's "God Bless You"... jeje.

Most common way for a sneeze, "¡Salud!"

When people burp I've heard simply, "Perdóname", or as well a humorous little pardon phrase but I don't remember it... be back with more info soon.

EDIT:

The phrase is as follows... "Se oye mal pero descansa el animal." Meaning, "it sounds bad but the animal rests" or a more in depth translation, the burp sounded bad but the animal (hunger) can now rest. Note this may be a regional saying, however no slang there so most should be able to understand.

Where did you hear that? What region or country? - missy8888, Mar 2, 2012

It would be a mexicanismo =] - DJ_Huero, Mar 15, 2012

Actually, we use that same expression in Colombia! It is very common! - farallon7, Mar 15, 2012

Answer 2

I now I'm kind of late, but in Colombia if you sneeze once, we say: ¡Salud!, twice, ¡Dinero!, three times, ¡Amor!, after that we say, ¡Eh mijo/a necesita un doctor! = Good grief, you need to see a doctor!

Answer 3

This depends a little bit on the culture. "salud" or "Jesús" are both fine, and if you want to make your Spanish speaking friends laugh, if someone sneezes more then once, then there are some funny expressions you can use. The first time you say "salud", the second time you can say "dinero" (money) and the third time you can say "amor" (love). That is used especially in México. I have also heard, kind of in that same line, taht you can say "Jesús" and then "María" and then "José". But just "salud" or "Jesús" work perfectly fine by themselves or even several times.

If you are the one sneezing or making other natural but embarassing noises, you can just say "perdón" and that is like "excuse me" or "pardon me". Suerte.

I was taught the "Jesus Maria Jose" one in school, but I have never actually heard someone use it! - missy8888, Mar 2, 2012

Answer 4

Bless you!(sneeze) _¡salud! i'm sorry _lo siento.(condolence) excuse me _perdón. excuse me,sir _perdone señor. excuse me, madam _perdone señora. If you need to get by someone or leave a group of people and you want to say excuse me_con permiso. excuse me(informal-begging pardon) _ disculpa. excuse me (getting attention) _permiso. pardon me _perdón.

I´m sorry, but your answer doesn´t provide me with context. I don´t just want basic translations. I want to know context of how to say them and how it is different in other countries. - missy8888, Mar 2, 2012