# Appealing to spanish-speaking dopers. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 7, 2007, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000 "2007-01-07T00:47:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/1 "2007-01-07T00:47:07Z")
Hi there, I’m trying to write a sentence that says: “i only have the honeyed words of a false prophet”. What I came up with was “Todo lo que tengo es la voz mielosa de una falso profeta” but ‘mieloso/a’ doesn’t appear to be a real spanish word. What should I write instead? ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/2 "2007-01-07T01:01:18Z")
[QUOTE=Gozu] Hi there, I’m trying to write a sentence that says: “i only have the honeyed words of a false prophet”. What I came up with was “Todo lo que tengo es la voz mielosa de una falso profeta” but ‘mieloso/a’ doesn’t appear to be a real spanish word. What should I write instead? [/QUOTE] Solo tengo las palabras enmieladas de un falso profeta. ---
**Author:** ![intention](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e95f7d/32.png) [@intention](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/intention)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/3 "2007-01-07T05:53:43Z")
ummm … should be un profeta falso, actually, unless you’re thinking of a woman prophet. Falso modifies profeta, and so must follow it. w. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/4 "2007-01-07T16:16:10Z")
“Solo tengo las dulces palabras de un falso profeta” would be the most natural sounding translation even if a bit loose. honeyed could be translated “melosas” or “acarameladas” if you needed to convey the idea of actual honey or candy but “dulces” (sweet) is much more universal. is the prophet is female, it would be “de una falsa profetiza” although there is a trend towards not using those female forms (started with women taking more professional and political positions whose female forms are really awkward) and letting articles do the gendering so it then would be “de una dulce profeta” Where will this sentence go? That would be the tie breaker. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/5 "2007-01-07T16:20:51Z")
As an ‘Advanced Beginner’ (thanks **Nava**!), I vote for “Solo tengo las dulces palabras de un falso profeta.” What does ‘honied words’ mean anyhow? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/6 "2007-01-07T16:55:01Z")
I’m with one of the alternatives from my neighbor **Sapo** - “Tan solo tengo las palabras (acarameladas/dulces) de un falso profeta.” ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/7 "2007-01-07T18:38:38Z")
Uh, why are you all ignoring the rule that adjectives follow nouns in spanish, as Intention pointed out? Is there a specific reason you’re writing “un falso profeta” instead of “una profeta falsa”? Also, why are you giving a masculine article and a masculine adjective to a feminine noun? Does the word “profeta” break the gender rule? ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/8 "2007-01-07T18:46:30Z")
Some nouns ending in a, like profeta and turista, will take the masculine article if the gender of the person the noun is referring to is unknown, or known to be masculine. e.g. “Un turista americano” could be a male American tourist or a non-specific American tourist, while “Una turista americana” is a female American tourist. As for “un falso profeta” or “un profeta falso” - the former _sounds_ better to me. I don’t know whether there is a grammatical rule or whether it’s simply idiomatic. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/9 "2007-01-07T19:45:14Z")
[QUOTE=Rusalka] Uh, why are you all ignoring the rule that adjectives follow nouns in spanish, as Intention pointed out? Is there a specific reason you’re writing “un falso profeta” instead of “una profeta falsa”? [/QUOTE] The placement of the adjective in Spanish doesn’t always follow a specific rule. The placement can affect the meaning. _Un gran hombre_ is a great man and _un hombre grande_ means the man is large. > [@](#): > > Also, why are you giving a masculine article and a masculine adjective to a feminine noun? Does the word “profeta” break the gender rule? As Martha points out, don’t be confused with the a- or o- ending of some nouns. Profeta is of masculine gender. Also the article’s gender can indicate a different meaning for the same word. For example, _el policía_ is an individual policeman while _la policía_ is the police force. _La capital_ is the capital city and _el capital_ is the financial term. Marx wrote “El capital” ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/10 "2007-01-08T02:23:06Z")
Besides many other factors, Placing the adjective before the noun makes for a more poetic reading (and it was much more common in times of yore). Also, if there are several modified nouns in the sentence, it makes for a better rythm when reading it. As for honied/honeyed words, I presume it means appealing or enticing. This false prophet speaks a message that is sweet to hear (even if misleading or evil) ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/11 "2007-01-08T07:52:08Z")
I would use \*empalagosas \*instead of _dulces_. Empalagoso (a) means “excessively sweet”. _Solo tengo las palabras empalagosas de un falso profeta._ ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/12 "2007-01-08T12:36:40Z")
“empalagosas” is such a great word 🙂 I use it very often. It does imply, though, that the sweetness is repelling. I believe that honeyed, in this case, is supposed to mean the sweetness is alluring. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/13 "2007-01-08T13:02:40Z")
[QUOTE=Rusalka] Uh, why are you all ignoring the rule that adjectives follow nouns in spanish, as Intention pointed out? Is there a specific reason you’re writing “un falso profeta” instead of “una profeta falsa”? Also, why are you giving a masculine article and a masculine adjective to a feminine noun? Does the word “profeta” break the gender rule? [/QUOTE] Another vote for **Sapo** ’s version. In my part of Spain “melosa” is a kind of meat, though, so I wouldn’t use that one but this is completely a local problem. It doesn’t even appear in the dictionary! As for that rule, like all rules it’s got exceptions. Putting the adjective in front of the noun can be done to emphatize the adjective or for poetic effect. It’s very common in the Bible; I don’t have my Bibles here but I’m reasonably sure that the Spanish one refers to “falsos profetas” quite often - not to “profetas falsos”. The thing is, it’s more important that they are fake than that they are prophets… fake is bad whether it refers to prophets or Picassos. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/14 "2007-01-08T13:08:15Z")
Oh, and the female form is profetiSa. **Sapo** was overcorrecting… ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/15 "2007-01-08T14:28:57Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] Oh, and the female form is profetiSa. **Sapo** was overcorrecting… [/QUOTE] oops! Is this the part where I can claim that I have only heard the word from an old spanish priest? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appealing-to-spanish-speaking-dopers/387000/16 "2007-01-08T14:49:44Z")
Nah, it’s the part where we get to make paper planes from the Diccionario and toss them at each other 🙂 But not aiming to hit, we’re playing nice.