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Bien: Well, OK

Bueno... está bien, Tere.

All right... Tere, OK.

Caption 30, Verano Eterno - Fiesta Grande

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Bien, usually meaning "well" or "OK," has a plethora of uses that can change slightly in meaning depending on the context. Here, Tere's mother tells her that "it's OK" for her to take piano lessons with Juan. "OK" is a fairly typical translation for bien.

 

Es ahora bien buena madre con los hijos adoptivos

Now she is such a good mother with the adopted children

Captions 42-43, José Luís Acacio - Simón Bolívar

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The word bien, when placed before an adjective, tends to emphasize the meaning of that adjective. Here, that emphasis is perhaps best translated as "very" or "such a" to give us "Now, she's a very good mother" (or "such a good mother").

Note that when it's not used to describe your mother, bien buena, on it's own, most often means "really hot" or "really fine," (in the colloquial sense) and is used referring to some sexy thing.


¡Mamacita, estas bien buena!
Girl, you are damn fine!

 

Entonces que nosotros, pues, tenemos una... tenemos un dialecto que es bien bonito.

So it's that we, well, have a... we have a dialect that is quite beautiful.

Captions 47-48, Rafael T. - La Cultura Maya

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Sometimes that emphasis that the word bien gives to the adjective it precedes seems to be best translated as "quite," which in this case gives us: "We have a dialect that is quite beautiful."

Bien is used for emphasis in a variety of sayings that are common among younger speakers often prone to exaggeration:

Cantas bien mal.
You sing really badly.

 

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Keep your eyes open for many more interesting uses of bien!

Yo no me acuerdo pero bien pudo ser.
I don't remember but it well could have been (or, easily may have been).

 

Vocabulary

Amamantar, Mecer y Arrullar: Motherly Words

Y después de amamantarlos tanto a unos como otros

And after nursing them each one like the other

Captions 45-46, José Luís Acacio - Simón Bolívar

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José's patriotic tune personifies Venezuela as a mother and in so doing introduces us to some great words for motherly attention.

Amamantar means "to nurse" or even more literally "to breast feed" (coming from the root for mammary glands, mama), and so here we have "And later to nurse them...". This really reinforces the notion of amor carnal ("bodily love") that Madre Venezuela shows her people.

 

Con ese amor tan carnal meciéndolos en su hamaca

With such a carnal love rocking them in her swing

Captions 47-48, José Luís Acacio - Simón Bolívar

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Mecer means "to cradle," "to swing," or "to sway." So here he sings of Madre Venezuela cradling or swinging her children "in their hammock."

 

Los dormía y arrullaba con nuestro himno nacional

She put them to sleep and lulled them with our national anthem

Captions 49-50, José Luís Acacio - Simón Bolívar

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Arrullar means "to lull" or "to coo" (refering to the noise made by pigeons and that made by mothers to lull their babies). Therefore, "She put them to sleep and lulled them."

 

So a late afternoon routine for a mother might go like this:

 

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En la tarde, la madre amamanta el bebe si tiene hambre. Después para que sea quieto, le arrulla en sus brazos. Entonces, cuando ya está más quieto, ella pone el bebe en la cuna ("cradle") y le mece hasta que entra el sueño.

 

In the afternoon, the mother breastfeeds the baby if he is hungry. Then for him to be still, she cradles him in her arms. So, when he is more still, she puts the baby in her crib ("cradle") and rocks him until he falls asleep.

 

Vocabulary

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Caption 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45
Intermediate