Sobre la palabra gente / About the workd gente . 5 minutes of Spanish + Podcast (English version)

 

Hello, how are you? Good morning, good afternoon or good evening, depending on where you are or what time you are listening to us.

 

Welcome to episode 226 of “The 5 Minutes of Spanish” and thank you very much for being here listening to us. What topic do we have today?

 

Yesterday we went to Cabo San Lucas to sign for the new location.

 

We are moving again in Cabo San Lucas, but now it's definite.

 

We saw that there are a lot of people on the street, so today we are going to talk about a very interesting word in Spanish and very short: “gente”.

 

Ah, right! “Gente” means “people”, right? Where does this word come from?

 

The word “gente” comes from the Latin gens, gentis, which referred to a group of people with a common origin, such as a family, a clan or a village. Over time, in Spanish, “gente” began to be used to talk about people in general, always with a collective meaning, but in the singular.

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In Spanish, “gente” is a singular noun or noun, even if it refers to a group of people. In English, however, people is plural. People in English is a plural noun.

 

Let's go to the examples

La gente es amable. / People are kind.

 

Exactly. In Spanish, “gente” is always singular. People are very respectful. / People are very respectful.

 

But because of its origin gente is cognate of gentle in English, right?

 

Yes! Gentle in English and gentil in Spanish come from the same root. Originally, gentil was used to refer to people of noble or distinguished lineage. / Yes! Gentle in English and gentil in Spanish come from the same root. Originally, gentil was used to refer to people of noble or distinguished lineage.

 

Nowadays “gentil” in Spanish is kind, polite, courteous.

Gentil- polite, courteus

Gentileza- kindness

 

That also makes me think of the expression “don de gentes”.

 

Tener don de gentes significa tener habilidades sociales, saber tratar bien a los demás./ Having “don de gentes” means having social skills, knowing how to interact well with others.

 

And how about “¡Viva la gente?”

 

It is an expression that celebrates the value of people. It is also the title of a famous song from the 1970s that talks about the importance of community and solidarity.

 

Don't sing it, please.

 

No, I won't sing it.

“Viva la gente”, It's an expression that celebrates the value of people. It's also the title of a famous song from the 1970s that talks about the importance of community and solidarity.

 

How interesting! So, although “gente” is singular in Spanish, it always refers to a group.

 

Well folks, see you in our workshops or classes here in Los Cabos, in the cooking classes, in the workshops on Zoom or listen to us in the next episode.

 

See you soon.

 

Bye-bye.