cuentagotas

15:33 Apr 15, 2001

Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature

Spanish term or phrase: cuentagotas

tardará en cambiar porque nosotras entramos con cuentagotas

she is saying that the masculine world is slow to change because we enter with...something? not sure what...

jle171

Summary of answers provided

medicine dropper

David Lowery

because we're entering (the field) very little by little

Parrot

lit. eyedropper, fig. baby steps

scalesj

(Ear) DROPPER ,( Eye) DROPPER, etc.

Bertha S. Deffenbaugh

"because our progress is so piecemeal and fitful"

Paul Becke (X)

we are entering a little at a time

lengualabs

because of our involvement being so piecemeal

Ricardo Galarza

drop by drop

George A.R (X)

Please see the explanation below

two2tango

bit by bit

Reinaldo Quiles

because we enter with a trickle / we trickle in

Omar Perez

cuentagotas = eyedropper, liquid medicine dropper, (metaphor for extremely slow))

Ana-Maria Hulse

"measured with a dropper" or "measured in miniscule droplets"

Fuad Yahya

we just manage to squeeze into it one by one

Isabel Peralta

Answers

3 mins

medicine dropper

Explanation:
Technically it means medicine dropper, but used like this it means that they are giving little by little.

David Lowery
Local time: 16:14
Native speaker of:

English

8 mins

because we're entering (the field) very little by little

Explanation:
This refers to the limited input allowed by a medicine dropper.

Parrot
Spain
Local time: 22:14
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 34

8 mins

lit. eyedropper, fig. baby steps

Explanation:
Hello!

The "cuentagotas" is literally an eyedropper, or a medicine dropper, but the phrase is used in a figurative sense and the same one doesn't work in English, I would use some other phrase to explain it.

You could say-
The masculine world is slow to change since we are moving into it with baby steps

Or something to that effect.

Hope that helps!

J

Simon & Schuster's

scalesj
Spain
Native speaker of:

English

19 mins

(Ear) DROPPER ,( Eye) DROPPER, etc.

Explanation:
DROPPER es la palabra. Agregar EAR o EYE solamente lo hace más específico. Si es solamente CUENTA GOTAS, no se necesita nada más que DROPPER.

Del ENCARTA WORLD ENGLISH DICTIONARY:dropper

Hear this word spoken
Click the speaker icon of the best audio format for your computer.

drop·per [dróppr ] (plural drop·pers) noun
tube for dispensing drops: a small glass or plastic tube with a rubber bulb at one end that is used to suck up liquid and release it one drop at a time (often used in combination) an eye dropper

Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P) 2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

See a pronunciation key

See a printable version of this article

Search for "dropper" in Encarta Encyclopedia

Saludos y suerte,:)

BD

Bertha S. Deffenbaugh
United States
Local time: 13:14
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 4

27 mins

"because our progress is so piecemeal and fitful"

Explanation:
Certainly not a translation of simply the term requested, but it couldn't be abbreviated to make sound sense or to sound right.

Paul Becke (X)
Local time: 21:14
Native speaker of:

English

47 mins

we are entering a little at a time

Explanation:
drop by drop from dropper

lengualabs

8 hrs

because of our involvement being so piecemeal

Explanation:
You will never be able to transliterate the metaphor into English, nor will you find a similar figure of speech in the English language, as you might in other cases.
For example: "El tema está ahora en el caldero, o sobre el tapete", can be easily translated as "the issue is right now at the front burner"; or "el tema fue relegado a un segundo plano", could be "the issue was relegated to the back burner".
In this case, however, no such luck. "...because we get in the field through a dropper", as it will be the literal translation, will never sound right.
That's why I would lean towards rescuing the real meaning of the expression. And "...because of our involvement being so piecemeal" (or "...because of our entering the field being so piecemeal") grassps the meaning well; obviously not as fancily as it will be with the use of a metaphor, but it does the job.

Hopes it helps

Ricardo Galarza
Uruguay
Local time: 17:14
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 8

12 hrs

drop by drop

Explanation:
Roget's Thesaurus includes this expression as a measure of relative quantity, meaning by degrees, gradually.This answer combines both literality and meaning.

Reference: http://ecco.bsee.swin.edu.au/text/roget/search.html
See Roget's Thesaurus for "gradual"

George A.R (X)

14 hrs

Please see the explanation below

Explanation:
"Con cuentagotas" means "very restricted" or "very limited in numbers". My proposal:
"The masculine world will be slow to change because so few of us enter it"

two2tango
Argentina
Local time: 17:14
Native speaker of: Spanish

14 hrs

bit by bit

Explanation:
It is certainly a dropper (lit.) as well as a figure of speech so it should go with a comparatively popular expression in English such as this one I offer or one that may better convey this idea.

Popular hearsay.

Reinaldo Quiles
United States
Local time: 16:14
Native speaker of:

Spanish

17 hrs

because we enter with a trickle / we trickle in

Explanation:
my preference because trickle maintains the Spanish "medicine dropper" metaphor.

Omar Perez
United States
Local time: 13:14

22 hrs

cuentagotas = eyedropper, liquid medicine dropper, (metaphor for extremely slow))

Explanation:
tardarᠥn cambiar porque nosotras entramos con cuentagotas.

It will take a long time to change because we (women) enter into it (whatever the it may be) "few and far between"....
I believe the intended colloquial use of the eyedroper is to indicate que very slow pace women are entering men's world. I would use the colloquial because the original has used it.
All the best good luck.

my experience with English. I am a native of Spanish.

Ana-Maria Hulse
United States
Local time: 13:14
Native speaker of:

Spanish

1 day 22 hrs

"measured with a dropper" or "measured in miniscule droplets"

Explanation:
The first liberty I would like to take is with the word “entry.” I would use “entry” if we were talking about a particular field of sphere of activity (sports, politics, the corporate sphere, etc.), but since we are talking about the “masculine world,” I would rather use “involvement,” “engagement,” or something comparable. I don’t think “entry” is wrong. This is just a matter of preference.

With that said, I would phrase the last part of the sentence as follows:

“...because our involvement (or entry) has been measured with a dropper.”

“...because our involvement (or entry) has been measured in miniscule droplets.”

"...because of our drop-by-drop rate of entry (or involvement)."

"...because our rate of entry has been such a miniscule trickle."

The need to adjust the figurative language of the source text to the target language is an established fact. Equally established, though, is the need to retain as much of the figurative language as can reasonably be retained. I would not hesitate to use parallel metaphors like “baby steps” or explanatory expressions like “little by little,” “bit by bit,” or “piecemeal,” if no meaningful closer expression were available.

Fuad

Prior experience with similar material

Fuad Yahya
Native speaker of:

Arabic,

English
PRO pts in category: 10

3 days 19 hrs

we just manage to squeeze into it one by one

Explanation:
It is an absolutely non-literal translation, to me this has some kind of drammatic effect related to the one in the source text, as sometimes you have to squeeze an eyedropper for it to release a single drop...just an idea

Isabel Peralta
Spain
Local time: 22:14
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Spanish

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