Great Expectations — Page 1

English → Spanish Chapter I. Level 8/10

My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip.

Siendo Pirrip el apellido de mi padre, y siendo Felipe mi nombre de pila, mi lengua infantil no podía hacer de ambos nombres nada más largo ni más explícito que Pip.

So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.

Así que me llamé a mí mismo Pip, y llegué a ser conocido como Pip.

I give Pirrip as my father's family name, on the authority of his tombstone and my sister,—Mrs. Joe Gargery, who married the blacksmith.

Doy Pirrip como el apellido de mi padre, basándome en la autoridad de su lápida y de mi hermana, la señora Joe Gargery, quien se casó con el herrero.

As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them (for their days were long before the days of photographs), my first fancies regarding what they were like were unreasonably derived from their tombstones.

Como nunca vi a mi padre ni a mi madre, y nunca vi ningún retrato de ninguno de los dos (pues sus días fueron mucho antes de la era de las fotografías), mis primeras fantasías sobre cómo eran fueron derivadas de manera poco razonable de sus lápidas.

The shape of the letters on my father's, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair.

La forma de las letras en la lápida de mi padre me dio la extraña idea de que era un hombre cuadrado, corpulento y moreno, con el cabello negro y rizado.

From the character and turn of the inscription, "_Also Georgiana Wife of the Above_," I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly.

Del carácter y el giro de la inscripción, «También Georgiana, esposa del anterior», saqué la conclusión infantil de que mi madre era pecosa y enfermiza.

To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine,—who gave up trying to get a living, exceedingly early in that universal struggle,—I am indebted for a belief I religiously entertained that they had all been born on their backs with their hands in their trousers-pockets, and had never taken them out in this state of existence.

A cinco pequeñas lápidas de piedra en forma de rombo, cada una de aproximadamente medio metro de largo, dispuestas en una ordenada fila junto a la tumba, y consagradas a la memoria de cinco hermanitos míos, quienes renunciaron a ganarse la vida excesivamente pronto en esa lucha universal, les debo la creencia que albergué con devoción de que todos habían nacido boca arriba con las manos en los bolsillos del pantalón, y jamás las habían sacado en este estado de existencia.

Vocabulary

Siendo: Being; present participle of 'ser' (to be)
el: The; masculine singular definite article
apellido: Surname; family name passed down through generations
de: Of, from; common preposition indicating possession or origin
mi: My; first-person singular possessive adjective
padre: Father; male parent of a person
y: And; conjunction connecting words or clauses
siendo: Being; present participle of 'ser', repeated for emphasis
nombre: Name; word used to identify a person or thing
pila: Baptismal font; 'nombre de pila' means given name
lengua: Tongue, language; organ of speech or communication system
infantil: Infantile, childish; relating to or typical of children
no: No, not; negation word in Spanish
podía: Could; past imperfect of 'poder', expressing past ability
hacer: To make, to do; common versatile action verb
ambos: Both; referring to two things or people together
nombres: Names; plural of 'nombre', identifiers for people or things
nada: Nothing; absence of anything, used for negation
más: More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree or quantity
largo: Long; describing something of great length or duration
ni: Nor, neither; negative conjunction linking two elements
explícito: Explicit; clearly expressed, leaving nothing implied or vague
que: That, than, which; versatile conjunction or relative pronoun
Así: Thus, so; adverb meaning in this way or manner
me: Me, myself; first-person singular reflexive or object pronoun
llamé: I called; past tense of 'llamar', to name or call
a: To, at; preposition indicating direction or indirect object
mí: Me; stressed first-person pronoun used after prepositions
mismo: Same, myself; reflexive intensifier emphasizing identity or sameness
llegué: I arrived, I came to; past tense of 'llegar'
ser: To be; fundamental verb expressing identity or permanent state
conocido: Known; past participle of 'conocer', recognized or familiar
como: As, like, how; conjunction or adverb of comparison
Doy: I give; present tense first person of 'dar'
basándome: Basing myself; reflexive gerund of 'basar', relying on something
en: In, on, at; preposition indicating location or means
la: The; feminine singular definite article
autoridad: Authority; power or right to make decisions or judgments
su: His, her, your, their; third-person possessive adjective
lápida: Tombstone, gravestone; flat stone marking a burial site
hermana: Sister; female sibling within a family
señora: Mrs., woman; polite title for a married or adult woman
quien: Who, whom; relative pronoun referring to a person
se: Herself, himself, itself; reflexive pronoun for third person
casó: Married; past tense of 'casarse', to get married
con: With; preposition indicating accompaniment or association
herrero: Blacksmith; craftsman who works with iron and metal
Como: Since, as, because; conjunction introducing reason or comparison
nunca: Never; adverb expressing total absence of an occurrence
vi: I saw; first-person singular past tense of 'ver'
madre: Mother; female parent of a person
ningún: No, none, not any; negative adjective before masculine nouns
retrato: Portrait; painted or photographic image of a person
ninguno: None, neither; negative pronoun meaning not one of them
los: The; masculine plural definite article
dos: Two; the number 2, referring to a pair
pues: Since, well, for; conjunction or filler expressing reasoning
sus: Their, his, her; plural form of possessive adjective 'su'
días: Days; plural of 'día', units of time or lifetime
fueron: Were, went; past tense of 'ser' or 'ir'
mucho: Much, a lot; adverb or adjective indicating great quantity
antes: Before, previously; adverb indicating earlier time or order
era: Was, were; imperfect past tense of 'ser'
fotografías: Photographs; images captured by a camera
mis: My; plural first-person possessive adjective
primeras: First; feminine plural ordinal adjective indicating initial order
fantasías: Fantasies; imaginative or fanciful ideas not based on reality
sobre: About, over, on; preposition indicating topic or position
cómo: How; interrogative or exclamatory adverb of manner
eran: Were; third-person plural imperfect tense of 'ser'
derivadas: Derived; obtained or originating from another source
manera: Manner, way; method or style in which something is done
poco: Little, not very; adverb indicating small degree or amount
razonable: Reasonable; fair, sensible, based on sound judgment
lápidas: Gravestones; plural of 'lápida', stone markers on graves
La: The; feminine singular definite article starting a sentence
forma: Form, shape; outward appearance or configuration of something
letras: Letters; written characters of the alphabet on a surface
dio: Gave; third-person singular preterite of 'dar'
extraña: Strange, odd; unusual or unfamiliar in an unsettling way
idea: Idea; thought or concept formed in the mind
un: A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
hombre: Man; adult male human being
cuadrado: Square; having equal sides, also meaning stocky in build
corpulento: Corpulent, stout; having a large, heavy, bulky body
moreno: Dark-skinned or dark-haired; having a dark complexion
cabello: Hair; the hair on a person's head
negro: Black; the darkest color, absence of light
rizado: Curly; describing hair that forms curls or waves
Del: Of the; contraction of 'de' and 'el'
carácter: Character; nature, personality, or style of lettering
giro: Turn, twist; rotation or stylistic turn of phrase
inscripción: Inscription; text engraved or written on a surface
También: Also, too; adverb indicating addition or inclusion
esposa: Wife; a woman in a marriage relationship
del: Of the; contraction of preposition 'de' and article 'el'
anterior: Previous, former; referring to something that came before
saqué: I drew out, I concluded; past tense of 'sacar'
conclusión: Conclusion; judgment or decision reached after reasoning
pecosa: Freckled; having small brown spots on the skin
enfermiza: Sickly; prone to illness, weak or unhealthy in constitution
A: At, to; preposition indicating location, direction, or quantity
cinco: Five; the number 5
pequeñas: Small, little; feminine plural adjective indicating small size
piedra: Stone, rock; hard solid mineral material found in nature
rombo: Diamond, rhombus; a four-sided figure with equal sides
cada: Each, every; distributive adjective referring to individuals
una: One, a; feminine singular indefinite article or number
aproximadamente: Approximately; roughly, not exactly, about a given amount
medio: Half, middle; indicating the midpoint or fifty percent
metro: Meter; unit of length equal to approximately 39 inches
dispuestas: Arranged, placed; feminine plural past participle of 'disponer'
ordenada: Orderly, tidy; arranged in a neat or systematic manner
fila: Row, line; series of things arranged in a straight line
junto: Next to, together; near or beside something else
tumba: Tomb, grave; burial place for a deceased person
consagradas: Consecrated, dedicated; devoted or set apart for a purpose
memoria: Memory; recollection of or tribute to someone deceased
hermanitos: Little brothers; affectionate diminutive plural of 'hermano'
míos: Mine; masculine plural possessive pronoun of first person
quienes: Who, whom; plural relative pronoun referring to people
renunciaron: They gave up, renounced; past tense of 'renunciar'
ganarse: To earn for oneself; reflexive infinitive of 'ganar'
vida: Life; the state of being alive, existence
excesivamente: Excessively; to an extreme or unreasonable degree
pronto: Soon, early; at an early time or before expected
esa: That; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
lucha: Struggle, fight; a conflict or effort against difficulty
universal: Universal; relating to or affecting everyone in the world
les: Them, to them; indirect object pronoun for third person plural
debo: I owe; first-person present tense of 'deber'
creencia: Belief; something accepted as true without full proof
albergué: I harbored, sheltered; past tense of 'albergar'
devoción: Devotion; deep love, loyalty, or dedication to someone
todos: All, everyone; referring to an entire group of people
habían: Had; third-person plural past perfect auxiliary of 'haber'
nacido: Born; past participle of 'nacer', to be born
boca: Mouth; opening of the face used for eating and speaking
arriba: Up, above; adverb indicating upward direction or position
manos: Hands; plural of 'mano', the body part at arm's end
bolsillos: Pockets; small pouches sewn into clothing to hold items
pantalón: Trousers, pants; a garment covering the lower body
jamás: Never, ever; emphatic adverb of total negation in time
sacado: Taken out, removed; past participle of 'sacar'
este: This; masculine singular demonstrative adjective or pronoun
estado: State, condition; situation or status of being something
existencia: Existence; the state or fact of being alive or present

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