# silly spanish question



## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

I don't speak much spanish, but at least I can order in McDonalds. 

But I was stumped yesterday when they were out of those little black plastic cups that you use to pump ketchup into and then dip your fries in. The guy at the register speaks English well, so I asked him what they are called in spanish. He thought for a second or two and said something that sounded like "hontas", but the first consonant was very soft and could have been something else. I haven't been able to find anything in my translator dictionary that matched. The only thing that was even a word was "tontas", which my dictionary translates as "silly" or "foolish", and now I'm wondering if he was making fun of me.

So what would you call those things in spanish, is there a single word or would you have to say "pequeña copa negra"?


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## luterdan (May 8, 2015)

eastwind said:


> I don't speak much spanish, but at least I can order in McDonalds.
> 
> But I was stumped yesterday when they were out of those little black plastic cups that you use to pump ketchup into and then dip your fries in. The guy at the register speaks English well, so I asked him what they are called in spanish. He thought for a second or two and said something that sounded like "hontas", but the first consonant was very soft and could have been something else. I haven't been able to find anything in my translator dictionary that matched. The only thing that was even a word was "tontas", which my dictionary translates as "silly" or "foolish", and now I'm wondering if he was making fun of me.
> 
> So what would you call those things in spanish, is there a single word or would you have to say "pequeña copa negra"?


What are they called in English??? I would also call them little black cups or condiment cups.

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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Better go back to MacDo and ask the guy to spell it out..


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

luterdan said:


> What are they called in English???


Excellent question! It doesn't seem that Spanish or English (or perhaps any other language) has a single word answer because the item just isn't that common or important unless one eats fried potatoes dipped in catsup frequently. Although my Spanish is OK, when specific vocabulary is missing I've learned to just give a short description of the item and an example of what it's used for: _"una copita así de grande (hold thumb and index finger 4 centimeters apart) en que se echa catsup pa' las papas fritas"_ Cumbersome, but it works. OTOH, when more important, higher frequency vocabulary-- like "urinal"-- is required, it's best memorized rather than having to rely on a physical description and pantomiming its function.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

I’m not sure what the “official” name would be for these little “ketchup cups” in either Spanish or English. So far any native Spanish speaker I’ve surveyed doesn’t either. Common words for container: recipiente, contenedor, envase. 

I generally think of “envase” as something which is enclosed or has a lid, including bottles, tins as well as plastic containers with lids, and envase can also refer to packaging, so I wouldn’t use it in this context, unless it’s to go and has a lid. 

I would probably ask for a “pequeño recipiente para el ketchup”, but I imagine “una copita para el ketchup” would be understood.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Well if you go to Burger King you just put the ketchup directly on the fries as the ketchup is in little enveloppes or you put the ketchup on the paper... so no cups to ask for,,no word to look for..


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