what is "Yo cacho que te echan la culpa de todo" in english?
does this mean something like I blame you for everything? I can't seem to find out what cacho and echan mean.
22 Answers
I don't think "cachar" as "to understand" is Spanglish. I have used this since I was a kid (please no jokes about this).
In Argentina we also use "cachar" as "make fun" (te esta cachando - He's making fun of you). Or "cachada" as joke. Where does it come from? I have no idea.
"Cachar", as a verb, has existed in Spanish for centuries, but initially it meant "hacer cachos" (to shatter/smash).
"To catch" in English and "capturar" have the same meaning and Latin root (like "capture", of course), and they are related to "cazar", "captar", "recibir", "ocupar", "percibir", "catar", "acatar", "aceptar", "cautivo", "excepción", and many others related with the idea of "to take/grasp".
The advantage of using "cachar" instead of "capturar" is that it has two syllables instead of three, and it comes from English (after French and Latin); otherwise, it means exactly the same, and it not understood in all Spanish speaking countries, which can make communication harder than it should be.
As a synonym of "understand" (e.g. I didn't catch that), it makes sense etymologically, but I can't say whether it is a coincidence of use between English and South American Spanish, or it is due to English influence, but I can assure you that it won't be understood by most people in Spain. My mother is a Spanish teacher, and I bet she wouldn't understand that "Yo cacho que te...". I didn't understand it until I started to read other people's comments.
Guillermo said:
I don't think "cachar" as "to understand" is Spanglish. I have used this since I was a kid (please no jokes about this).In Argentina we also use "cachar" as "make fun" (te esta cachando - He's making fun of you). Or "cachada" as joke. Where does it come from? I have no idea.
It is listed:
- tr. coloq. Arg., Bol., Par. y Ur. Burlarse de alguien, hacerle objeto de una broma, tomarle el pelo.
cachar1.
1. tr. Hacer cachos o pedazos algo.
This is the only definition which makes any sense to me.
cachar as "to catch, to understand", is in my opinion, and hopefully Lazarus will now see this thread (wink, wink) outrageously Spanglish.
NEVER used in Spain. Good for us!
Anyway, given that this cachar is used as : to understand...
I believe, think, get the idea.... that they blame you.
Eddy, I agree with Natasha.
I posted this, but don't know where it went, here it goes again, i cannot say it any clearer:
"cachar" in this context, is a typically Chilean saying that means to understand/to get it, like we would say in English, get it?
Yo cacho que - i understand (or get it) that
te echan - they are throwing/putting on you
la culpa - the blame
de todo - for all
So let's say Dionne that you and I are having a conversation about Mike & Paul, and then I say, "cacho que te echan la culpa de todo". What does this mean'. It means that THEY (Mike & Paul) are blaming YOU for all. You want to know who is to blame, therefore, the answer is YOU'. Who is putting the blame'. They, ie: Mike & Paul.
James Santiago said:
I am in complete agreement with Natasha.
It is the first time ever! (Just Kidding!)
Eddy is very knowledgable in both languages. Is there a possibility that "blame / blamed" is used differently in Britain? I know some people use "blamed" as a sort of pseudo-curse word, i.e. swearing without really swearing. I'd better stop, I'll get this whole thread in trouble . . .
I am in complete agreement with Natasha. To be to blame for something means that one actually is culpable, while to be blamed for something is ambiguous about the actual culpability. "Te echan la culpa" means "they blame you," not "you are to blame." They are indeed very different animals. The latter in Spanish would be "la culpa es tuyo."
However, Eddy is right about cachar, which is defined as:
cachar, verbo transitivo
- (AmL fam) 'pelota? to catch;
'persona': la caché del brazo I caught o grabbed her by the arm - (AmL fam) (sorprender, pillar) to catch
- (RPl fam) (gastar una broma) to kid (colloq)
- (Andes fam) (enterarse) to get (colloq)
Eddy said:
Word it whichever way you like. One is in the present, the other is in the past. Meanwhile Dionne, choose whichever you feel suits your post.
Given that it is a business context, I suggest he put it in the best light possible.
Eddy said:
Word it whichever way you like. One is in the present, the other is in the past
I would say that one is active and the other is passive. If it were a present/past distinction, the auxiliary verb would be changed:
You ARE to blame / You ARE blamed
You WERE to blame / You WERE blamed
Quite different . . .
Natasha's correct about the English. The two sentences do not mean the same thing! Nor, for that matter, do I think that "you are to blame for every thing" is a reasonable translation of the Spanish.
If the writer is assigning blame then it should be "tienes la culpa de todo", while "te echan la culpa" means that other people are blaming you. I believe that the writer is expressing sympathy for the addressee (because he is being blamed).
P.S. "echar la culpa" = "to blame (someone)"
Word it whichever way you like. One is in the present, the other is in the past. Meanwhile Dionne, choose whichever you feel suits your post.
Eddy said:
Dionne said:
that is exactly the problem. i need to know which one is correct.
They both mean the same thing in English but I think "I understand that you are to blame for everything" would be preferred as the Spanish phrase in in the present as is this translation.
Oh great! One of THOSE discussions where native speakers don't agree!
In my opinion, they mean something very different.
Mom to child:
You are to blame for all this mess!
Wife to husband:
I know that you are blamed for all the problems at work, but really it's the fault of the economy.
You are to blame means the speaker is assigning fault.
You are blamed means someone else is assigning fault.
Dionne said:
that is exactly the problem. i need to know which one is correct.
They both mean the same thing in English but I think "I understand that you are to blame for everything" would be preferred as the Spanish phrase in in the present as is this translation.
that is exactly the problem. i need to know which one is correct.
Eddy said:
I think a better translation might be, "I understand that you are to blame for everything"
Another possibility is:
I understand that you are blamed for everything.
