La palabra del día: Ajeno/a/s

Adjective. From the Latin aliēnus, and this one from alĭus, other. Belonging to another person.
Most dictionaries will translate ajeno as alien, but, the real translation is a bit more complicated. It is important to notice that ajeno is just an adjective while alien can be an adjective and a noun. In fact, the title of the movie Alien cannot be translated into Spanish and it is known in the Spanish world simply as Alien.
We use this adjective in expressions like amigo de lo ajeno, a thief; in the tenth commandment (mandamiento): no codiciarás los bienes ajenos: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; and sentir vergüenza ajena, to feel embarrassed by someone else’s behaviour; trabajador/a por cuenta ajena: employed person (It makes sense, as an employee works for someone else’s interests).
In Legal Spanish, we use ajeno in venta de cosa ajena, fraud by selling something that does not belong to you; in the verb enajenar, to transfer the property; and the noun enajenación, transference of property. dc

40

SHARES

Share

Share

Share