La Palabra del Día: "picar"

Question

picar

verb ( to bite, to sting, to peck; to chop, to mince; to be spicy; to annoy )

Link: instructions for posting pictures

Caefuego is the official corrector of the Spanish sentences. There are many native English speakers here, most of us can offer great suggestions to the English sentences. I will do my best to go through them all, too. Please correct your posts according to Caefuego's suggestions.

Use today's Word of the Day in your own Spanish sentence (and include the English translation as well). Try to use the word in a completely new way and vote on the sentences you like best. The sentence with the most votes will be crowned the Word of the Day winner!

Guidelines:

Write sentences at least 5 words long, but don't write a paragraph either. Write your Spanish sentence, but include the English translation as well. Make the corrections suggested by other users and moderators in the comments section (try not to use personal pronouns unless absolutely necessary). Use your own words! (Don't use a translator, copy from a book, use song lyrics, etc.) Have fun experimenting with Spanish.

Examples:

1. ¿Te picaron mucho los mosquitos en Costa Rica?

Did you get bitten much by mosquitoes in Costa Rica?

2. Pica la cebolla antes de cocinarla.

Chop the onion before cooking it.

Please be generous wqith your votes , people work herd to help you learn and they deserve a thank you in the form of a vote ."Please". - ray76, Mar 27, 2012

" with your votes " - ray76, Mar 27, 2012

Great word rac1 it should evince good and adventuresome posts . - ray76, Mar 27, 2012

Muchas gracias por palabra del día, Rac! Espero que tengas un buen día! - Silvia_Tcherneva, Mar 27, 2012

Yeah, really... V O T E. Thank you, Rac!!!! :)) - 00cdfbd9, Mar 27, 2012

Thank you one and all!:):):) - rac1, Mar 27, 2012

Answer 1

If you love me, don't kiss me, bite me like a serpent and fill my veins with your sweet venom! / Si me quieres, ¡no me beses, picáme como una serpiente y llena mis venas con tu dulce veneno!

:O woah - Ox-Y-Gen, Mar 27, 2012

My vote of the day, fantastic picture and very ambitious sentence. - annierats, Mar 27, 2012

jeje...muchas gracias. - je_suis_ici, Mar 27, 2012

Carson? :-) - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Answer 2

Me encanta cuando mi comida es muy picante.

I love my food when it is very spicy.

¡¡¡Tienes que estar bromeando!!! ¡Eso parece lava! - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Muy bien escrito, por cierto, sólo que en este caso la palabra "cuando" no iría tildada (no lleva tilde). - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

You are right mate , it did look a bit like molten lava. - ray76, Mar 27, 2012

Thank you for your help , I make the same mistake all the time . - ray76, Mar 27, 2012

That kind of mistake is not big deal. Even natives Spanish speakers make it a lot. - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Answer 3

-Me pica la pierna

-My leg itches

.

-Me ha picado una serpiente (regionalismo). Also is valid to say "mordido".

-A snake has bitten me

.

-¡Estos chiles pican mucho!

-These chilies are hot!

.

-Esta piocha es muy buena para picar en terrenos pedregosos

-This pickaxe is very good to break up rocky lands

.

-Me picaron unas abejas

-Some bees have stung me

.

-Tengo que picar este perejil

-I have to chop this parsley

A snake has bitten me. - je_suis_ici, Mar 27, 2012

A snake has bitten..." ; These chilies are..."; This really helps to see how to use picar in many ways. Thanks for posting! - katydew, Mar 27, 2012

Caefuego excelente, pero que me queda a escribir..What on earth is left.. - annierats, Mar 27, 2012

Gracias por sus correcciones, nunca las habría visto. Annie, lo siento. Es que en inglés hay muchas variantes, por eso quise explorarlas. - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

No te preocupes, caefuego, nos aprendemos todo el tiempo. Gracias! - annierats, Mar 27, 2012

Answer 4

No me da ninguna confianza cuando el dentista me asegura que la inyección sería como la pica de un mosquito.

It doesn't give me any conficence when the dentist assures me that the injection will feel like the sting of a mosquito.

Tal vez no diría "picará muy poco", sino que "la inyección se sentirá como una picadura de abeja/hormiga". Pero se comprende la idea. :) - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Gracias, caefuego, me voy a arreglarlo mañana, estoy trabajando por la noche.. - annierats, Mar 27, 2012

I'll think of rewrite, when I'm less tired.. - annierats, Mar 27, 2012

hola! re your pic, we grew up with 'no pain killer dentists'..it was a 'real pain' :o - racoonka, Mar 27, 2012

I don't want to visit that dentist,lol! - rac1, Mar 27, 2012

Racoonka, I had one of those as well: This can't posibly hurt, she kept saying... I could and did. - annierats, Mar 28, 2012

Slight re-write, a bit belatedly. - annierats, Mar 29, 2012

Answer 5

You are annoying, don't bite me again!

¡Estás molesto, no me pican nuevamente!

Especially los dachsies ... - Lector_Constante, Mar 27, 2012

Yep! lol:):) - rac1, Mar 27, 2012

"Algunos perros muerden si te acercas demasiado a ellos". Si escribes "se muerden" estás usando el verbo en forma recíproca, se muerden el uno al otro. - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Pero Rac... ¿dónde está la palabra del día? Jaja. - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Posiblemente, caefuego el pequeño perro solamante pica.Lol.. - annierats, Mar 27, 2012

Jajajajaja. Muy buen punto, Annie. - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Answer 6

A mí, me gusta mucho ir a acampar, pero no me gustan las criaturas que pueden picarme.

I like camping very much, but I don't like the creatures which can bite me.

jajajajaja - rac1, Mar 27, 2012

A mí me gusta mucho ir de camping ("ir a acampar"), pero no me gustan las criaturas que pueden picarme". ¡¡¡¡Muy bien!!!! - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Estoy feliz! - jennysk, Mar 27, 2012

Answer 7

Katy's correction:

Don't do this at home! They will sting you for sure.

¡No lo hagas en casa! Te picarán con seguridad.

Oh, my how terrible! "They will sting you...." Good sentence, but unnerving nonetheless. - katydew, Mar 27, 2012

Está muy bien, Silvia, aunque tiene doble sentido la oración: "Te picarán con seguridad" = "que seguro de picarán" o "que te picarán de manera segura" (they will bite you in a safely way). - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

o, yes, you are right. Should I change it? Thank you so much, Cae, for waisting your time correcting us! - Silvia_Tcherneva, Mar 27, 2012

Era "safe way". - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

I hope I am not wasting time... =) No, no tienes que corregirlo. Sólo quería que estuvieras consciente del doble sentido que esa expresión podría tener. Si cambias el orden entonces desaparece el doble sentido, así "que con seguridad te picarán" - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Ok, I understand! Your explications are perfect! Thank you so much, Cae! - Silvia_Tcherneva, Mar 27, 2012

I hope so!:) Thank you for your time anyway!:) - Silvia_Tcherneva, Mar 27, 2012

Bees, wasps, ants, mosquitos 'sting'. Dogs, cats, snakes, kids all 'bite". - katydew, Mar 28, 2012

Thank you so much, Katy! - Silvia_Tcherneva, Mar 28, 2012

Sure, anytime. - katydew, Mar 29, 2012

Answer 8

Me pica el bagre.

I'm hungry/starving.

Le picó ese pez y ahora esta sangrando profundamente.

That fish bit him and now he's bleeding __

How does being bitten by ... a catfish?? ... translate as "I'm hungry"?? - Lector_Constante, Mar 27, 2012

In this case it doesnt mean catfish - Rey_Mysterio, Mar 27, 2012

Jajaja... It is slang, Lector Constante. When you are really hungry you feel like if you were being bitten by a catfish. - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

This is very good learning day. I'm amazed. - annierats, Mar 27, 2012

Thanks for the idiom. - katydew, Mar 28, 2012

Answer 9

In some traditional communities, courting involves chopping wood for the girl's family. En algunos comunidades tradicional, el cortejo implica picar (picando?) la leña para la familia de la niña.

Edit: En algunas comunidades tradicionales, el cortejo incluye picar la leña para la familia de la chica.

Wow, and they think they have it rough here, lol.:):) - rac1, Mar 27, 2012

"En algunAs comunidades tradicionalES, el cortejo incluye picar la leña para la familia de la chica (novia)." - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Thanks cae ;) Rac: Siii, they have it easy there. lol :)) - cheskasullivan, Mar 27, 2012

Answer 10

Las verduras debe ser picadó en piezas pequeño para hacer sopa. - The vegetables should be chopped into small pieces to make soup.

"Las verduras deben ser picadas en pequeñas porciones para hacer [la] sopa". - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Answer 11

La ortiga es una planta con muchas buenas cualidades, pero puede picar muy fuerte.

The nettle is a plant with a lot of good qualities, but it can fiercely sting.

Muy bien. Tal vez yo diría ¨pero al contacto provoca mucha comezón/picazón¨, pero como lo escribiste suena bien. - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Thanks for your suggestions. - Castor77, Mar 27, 2012

Answer 12

Some people have an acid tongue; their words can sting. Algunas personas tienen una ácida lengua ,Sus palabras son como picaduras venenosas.

"Algunas personas tienen una lengua ácida (¿ponzoñosa?)... Sus palabras son como picaduras venenosas" - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Gracias caefuego. - jennyo45, Mar 27, 2012

Clever, Jenny. - annierats, Mar 27, 2012

I would say "tongue; their words." When you have two independent clauses in a sentence, you need to separate them with a comma and a conjunction, a semicolon, or perhaps a dash. - quoththeraven, Mar 28, 2012

Answer 13

Son las hormigas que me pican. It's the ants that are biting me.

ha ha ha hope I'll never wake up to that! - racoonka, Mar 27, 2012

Yikes!! - rac1, Mar 27, 2012

Answer 14

I have seen many native Spanish speakers confuse between MORDER and PICAR .I want to say a comment about this and I hope you appreciate it and correct me some spelling mistakes.

MORDER:- When a creature injects venom through the mouth. Creatures that bite you are snakes, spiders, ants, and reptiles.

PICAR:- When the creatures sting you with a stinger. Venomous creatures that sting you are bees, wasps, and scorpions.

In English I do not know how you use them ,but in spanish I would say:

1.-La semana pasada fui MORDIDO por una serpiente(snake). I would never say :Fui PICADO por una serpiente.

2.-Fui PICADO por una abeja(bee).

De hecho se usa picar y morder indistintamente si es una serpiente o una abeja, si el animal ponzoñoso tiene o no tiene dientes, aunque tu explicación tiene mucho sentido, creo que así debería ser, pero no siempre es así ni en todas las regiones. - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Para ser consistente, deberías decir, por ejemplo, "fui mordido por unas hormigas". Como de debes recordar, el español se habla en una extensa región y tiene muchas variantes. - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

Dime cuando enseñas a alguien un idioma ,dime acaso enseñas algo informal ? o crees que en todas las regiones de habla hispana usan los términos correctamente?Hay muchos errores que se comete cuando hablamos pero tratemos de enmendarlos. - luisssito, Mar 27, 2012

En todo caso si quieres enseñar variantes dialectales tendrías que ser específico y aclarar el lugar donde se habla de un determinado modo.Y por lo de consistente ,te invito a que mires la palabra que escribí en morder "ANTS" y verás lo que significa - luisssito, Mar 27, 2012

Hi Luissito. Your English is very good. Just a few corrections. I have seen many native Spanish speakers confuse the words MORDER and PICAR .I want to make a comment about this and I hope you appreciate it and correct me if I have any spelling mistakes. - sanlee, Mar 28, 2012

In English I do not know how you use these words, but in Spanish I would say: 1.-La semana pasada fui MORDIDO por una serpiente(snake). I would never say :Fui PICADO por una serpiente. - sanlee, Mar 28, 2012

Last week, I was bitten by a snake. I would never say I was stung by a snake. 2.-Fui PICADO por una abeja(bee). I was stung by a bee. - sanlee, Mar 28, 2012

Thanks a lot my friend :) - luisssito, Mar 28, 2012

You are welcome, Luissito - sanlee, Mar 28, 2012

:) - sanlee, Mar 28, 2012

Thank you Luis . That makes things more clear. Carlos, your additonal comment helped to see there are variances in regions. - katydew, Mar 28, 2012

Answer 15

Picar cebolla no es nada agradable.
Chop onion is not nice.

lol. Very good picture. Safety gears like glasses may be needed when you're choping onions. - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

"Chopping onion" ;) - cheskasullivan, Mar 27, 2012

o.o... Chopping. =P. - -cae-, Mar 27, 2012

jajaja! - Silvia_Tcherneva, Mar 27, 2012

Good use of the word, I didn't mean it could mean chopping up.. Thanks! - annierats, Mar 27, 2012

Did you mean " chopped onion"? - ray76, Mar 28, 2012