# How do Mexicans refer to the Mexican-American War? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737 "2011-02-17T19:38:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/1 "2011-02-17T19:38:32Z")
I’ve been told that in Viet Nam they refer to the American War. How do Mexicans refer to what we in the United States call the Mexican-American War? For that matter, how do Spaniards refer to the Spanish-American War? ---
**Author:** ![No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/no_me_ayudes_compadre/32/5224_2.png) [@No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Me_Ayudes_Compadre)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/2 "2011-02-17T19:52:43Z")
It’s essentially referred to as the “U.S. Intervention”. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/3 "2011-02-17T20:12:45Z")
The Spanish-language Wikipedia has: [Intervención estadounidense en México](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intervenci%C3%B3n_estadounidense_en_M%C3%A9xico) [Guerra Hispano-Estadounidense](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerra_Hispano-Estadounidense) ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/4 "2011-02-18T03:12:29Z")
Now that we have that settled, how do Koreans (North and South) refer to the Korean War? What do the mainland Chinese call it? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/5 "2011-02-18T03:27:45Z")
Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > In South Korea the war is usually referred to as “625” or the 6–2–5 War (yook-ee-oh junjeng), reflecting the date of its commencement on 25 June.[citation needed] In North Korea the war is officially referred to as the Fatherland Liberation War (Choguk haebang chǒnjaeng). Alternately, it is called the Chosǒn chǒnjaeng (“Chosǒn war”, Chosǒn being what North Koreans call Korea).[36] In the People’s Republic of China the war is called the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (traditional Chinese: 抗美援朝戰爭; simplified Chinese: 抗美援朝战争; pinyin: Kàngměiyuáncháo zhànzhēng).[37][38] The “Korean War” (朝鮮戰爭/朝鲜战争; pinyin: Cháoxiǎn zhànzhēng) is more commonly used today. Chao Xian is a general term for Korea. Which leads me to think, do Koreans usually write in MM/DD? ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/6 "2011-02-18T04:02:30Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Which leads me to think, do Koreans usually write in MM/DD? According to the Wikipedia, they use yyyy mm dd. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/7 "2011-02-18T04:40:03Z")
> [@](#): > > How do Mexicans refer to what we in the United States call the Mexican-American War? The War of Northern Aggression… (Ok, I’m joking) -XT ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/8 "2011-02-18T04:43:28Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > According to the Wikipedia, they use yyyy mm dd. As do the Chinese. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/9 "2011-02-18T08:45:23Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > For that matter, how do Spaniards refer to the Spanish-American War? La guerra de Cuba, the war over/in Cuba (“de” is commonly translated as “of”, but it has several different meanings - 27 as per the dictionary). Whomever translated that güiquipedia article was clearly not from Spain… ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/10 "2011-02-18T12:53:04Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > As do the Chinese. So do we. It’s an ISO standard. Okay, maybe not in every day speech, granted, but we do use it. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/11 "2011-02-18T21:28:22Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > La guerra de Cuba, the war over/in Cuba (“de” is commonly translated as “of”, but it has several different meanings - 27 as per the dictionary). Whomever translated that güiquipedia article was clearly not from Spain… Wouldn’t “La Guerra de Cuba” actually extend all the way back to 1895 and the start of the 3rd. Cuban Independence War? In Puerto Rico we’ve been calling it La Guerra Hispano-Americana – using the popular usage of “Americano” rather than the academician or editorialist’s “estadounidense” – since the generation born after it began reaching adulthood; before that it was just La Guerra del 98. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/12 "2011-02-19T01:42:57Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > So do we. It’s an ISO standard. Okay, maybe not in every day speech, granted, but we do use it. Michiganites use it? 😕 (Michiganders?) ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/13 "2011-02-19T02:21:01Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Michiganites use it? 😕 > > (Michiganders?) Michigander is my preferred usage, although there are those that prefer Michiganian. They’re evil, so don’t pay any attention to those ones. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/14 "2011-02-19T02:36:54Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Michigander is my preferred usage, although there are those that prefer Michiganian. They’re evil, so don’t pay any attention to those ones. What’s good for the Michigoose… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/15 "2011-02-19T03:08:25Z")
…is good for General Motors? I thought Korea was _Han Kook_ in Korean. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/16 "2011-02-19T08:42:46Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > So do we. It’s an ISO standard. Okay, maybe not in every day speech, granted, but we do use it. Yes, for certain values of “we”. Just because something is an ISO standard doesn’t mean that anyone actually uses it—after all, sensible paper sizes are also an ISO standard ([ISO 216](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_216)) but their use is virtually unknown in the US. [ISO 8601](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601) dates are probably used in the US only in certain scientific and technical fields. In administration, including the government, it’s rare or nonexistent. Compare this with, say, Canada, whose federal government recently adopted ISO 8601-style YMD dates, which are now supplanting the former DMY. (In Canada MDY is also seen, perhaps due to American influence. The resulting ambiguity will be greatly helped by widespread public adoption of YMD.) You can see [a map of date format by country](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_format_by_country) on Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/17 "2011-02-19T18:20:48Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Yes, for certain values of “we”. Just because something is an ISO standard doesn’t mean that anyone actually uses it—after all, sensible paper sizes are also an ISO standard ([ISO 216](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_216)) but their use is virtually unknown in the US. > > [ISO 8601](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601) dates are probably used in the US only in certain scientific and technical fields. In administration, including the government, it’s rare or nonexistent. Compare this with, say, Canada, whose federal government recently adopted ISO 8601-style YMD dates, which are now supplanting the former DMY. (In Canada MDY is also seen, perhaps due to American influence. The resulting ambiguity will be greatly helped by widespread public adoption of YMD.) > > You can see [a map of date format by country](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_format_by_country) on Wikipedia. Everybody in Canada that I’ve run across uses mm/dd/yy, although some computer uses of yyyy-mm-dd are replacing that (logical - simpler to sort). Even back in the dark ages of paper banking, the banks, those pillars of Canadian standards, used mm/dd/yy or mon. dd/yy Only the government ever used dd-mm-yy(yy) that I ever ran across. However, they fooled Microsoft so that it imposes dd-mm-yy if you accidentally let slip you are in Canada during a Windows install. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-mexicans-refer-to-the-mexican-american-war/571737/18 "2011-02-21T07:49:55Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Wouldn’t “La Guerra de Cuba” actually extend all the way back to 1895 and the start of the 3rd. Cuban Independence War? > > In Puerto Rico we’ve been calling it La Guerra Hispano-Americana – using the popular usage of “Americano” rather than the academician or editorialist’s “estadounidense” – since the generation born after it began reaching adulthood; before that it was just La Guerra del 98. La generación del 98 (Literature) takes its name from being the generation which went through la guerra de cuba. In Spain we wouldn’t call it la guerra hispano-americana because of the very different meaning something-somethingelse has here, we simply don’t use that construction to signify “versus”. I realize there is a dash there to distinguish between “hispanoamericana” and “Hispano-Americana”, but over here dashes are “rarer than hen’s teeth”: people would think it’s the whole word, not two words made opposite by a dash.