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  2. Spanish to English

bidón vs. garrafa

English translation: container

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:bidón vs. garrafa
English translation:container
Entered by: Parrot

14:59 Oct 16, 2001
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Spanish term or phrase: bidón vs. garrafa
Yes, another of those wonderful industrial-container questions. What distinguishes these?

"Los residuos que podia recibir [para reuso o reciclaje] ( de modo orientativo):

o Pepel y cartón.
o Toners.
o Cartuchos de tinta de impresora.
o Fluorescentes.
o Bombillas.
o Vidrio.
o Bidones metálicos.
o Bidones metálicos de dimensiones no normalizadas.
o Bidones de plástico.
o Garrafas de plástico de volumen inferior a 100L
o Garrafas de plástico de dimensiones no normalizadas."
Jon Zuber (X)
Technically, I agree with Oso. However, in shop-floor usage
Explanation:
the two are practically indiscriminate. May I simply suggest "metallic container" and "plastic container"? The most usual industrial models are paint cans and those plastic recipients with hollow molded handles.
Selected response from:

Parrot
Spain
Local time: 07:39
Grading comment
That's what I thought, nice sharp distinctions in dictionaries but not in the real world. Thanks to all respondents.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5tin can/decanter
Oso (X)
5carafe/(plastic?)can
mónica alfonso
4 +1Technically, I agree with Oso. However, in shop-floor usage
Parrot
4Below
Cecilia Coopman, M.A. in Translation
4pictures
Patricia Lutteral
4tank vs. canister
Simon Charass


  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
tin can/decanter


Explanation:
bidón metálico=tin can
decanter=garrafa

Hola Jon,
Estas son las que da el Simon & Schuster's.

Buena suerte y saludos del Oso ¶:^)

Oso (X)
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in pair: 3064
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
carafe/(plastic?)can


Explanation:
Garrafa: carafe, cylinder
Bidón: drum (if big), can (if small)

mónica alfonso
Local time: 02:39
Native speaker of: Spanish
PRO pts in pair: 657
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38 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Below


Explanation:

Bidón: Recipiente de distintas formas y tamaños para contener líquidos, gases, etc, los hay cilíndricos, de gran tamaño y completamente cerrados hasta que se va a usar el contenido, o prismáticos y con una o dos bocas.

Garrafa: vasija grande, semejante a una botella redondeada, muy abultada y con cuello largo, encerrada a veces en un revestimiento de corcho. Tipo botellón

La descripción de ambos en español para que te des cuenta de la diferencia.

Hope it helps!

Cecilia Coopman, M.A. in Translation
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:39
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in pair: 59
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50 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Technically, I agree with Oso. However, in shop-floor usage


Explanation:
the two are practically indiscriminate. May I simply suggest "metallic container" and "plastic container"? The most usual industrial models are paint cans and those plastic recipients with hollow molded handles.

Parrot
Spain
Local time: 07:39
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 7645
Grading comment
That's what I thought, nice sharp distinctions in dictionaries but not in the real world. Thanks to all respondents.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Oso (X): Emotionally, I agree with you! ¶:^D
22 mins
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
pictures


Explanation:
I agree with Cecilia, but regarding containers it seems that size matters. :-))

Here you have pictures of all of them,

garrafas, bigger bidones and even bigger containers (in plain English!):

http://www.aceitesborges.es/spanish/granel/envio.htm#garrafa...

Hope it helps, regards,

Patricia

Patricia Lutteral
Argentina
Local time: 02:39
Native speaker of: Spanish
PRO pts in pair: 505
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
tank vs. canister


Explanation:
tank = 2 : a usually large receptacle for holding, transporting, or storing liquids (as water or fuel)

canister = 1 : an often cylindrical container for holding a usually specified object or substance

Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary

Simon Charass
Canada
Local time: 01:39
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in pair: 230
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