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"Belén" is a form of "belén", a noun which is often translated as "Nativity scene". "Pesebre" is a noun which is often translated as "manger". Learn more about the difference between "pesebre" and "belén" below.
el pesebre(
peh
-
seh
-
breh
)A masculine noun is used with masculine articles and adjectives (e.g., el hombre guapo, el sol amarillo).
1. (crèche)
a. manger
Juanito, ¿qué hacen estas ovejas en el pesebre de Jesús?Juanito, what are these sheep doing in Jesus's manger?
El pesebre estará vacío hasta el veinticinco de diciembre.The manger will be empty until December twenty-fifth.
b. crib
Mi abuelo talló el pesebre del Nacimiento de un árbol de su rancho. My grandfather carved the Nativity crib from a tree on his ranch.
c. Nativity scene
Los Smith tienen un pesebre en su jardín cada Navidad. The Smiths have a Nativity scene in their garden every Christmas.
el belén(
beh
-
lehn
)A masculine noun is used with masculine articles and adjectives (e.g., el hombre guapo, el sol amarillo).
a. Nativity scene
Compramos un nuevo conjunto de figuritas para nuestro belén, con camellos y todo.We bought a new set of figurines for our Nativity scene, with camels and everything.
b. crib
En Navidad en mi casa solemos poner un abeto y un belén.In my house, we usually put up a fir tree and a crib at Christmas.
c. crèche (United States)
Regionalism used in the United States
Mi familia es atea y por eso no ponemos un belén en Navidad.My family is atheistic, so we don't put up a crèche at Christmas.
2. (colloquial) (trouble)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
a. mess
¿Por qué siempre acabas metido en belenes que no te incumben.Why do you always end up getting into messes that are none of your business?
3. (colloquial) (chaos)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
a. bedlam
El profesor salió un momento de clase y al volver se encontró un belén.The teacher left the classroom for a moment and when he came back, it was bedlam.
