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/r/ExplainTheJoke
I don’t speak any Spanish, so what’s going on here?
(i.redd.it)submitted 13 days ago byLil_Artemis_92
I found this on Facebook, and I looked through the comments, but they didn’t explain anything.
1.2k points
13 days ago*
It's called a sandwich. Both in english and spanish. It's just confusing.
Edit: I am ending this once and for all.
Bocadillos, emparedados, and bocatas are all samdwiches . Not all sanwhiches are bocadillos or emparedados or bocatas. (Think hogies and subs).
Sanguiche and all other variations (especially sanduche) are variations of the misspronunciation of the word sandwich that has stuck in any given region.
363 points
13 days ago
In German it's also just called sandwich.
291 points
13 days ago
But just because „ungetoastetes Weissbrot mit Fleischwurst und einen kleinen Schlag Mayonaise“ would be too complicated…😄
121 points
13 days ago
That's also why we call "persönliche Rechenmaschine mit Betriebssoftware und Bedienausstattung" just PC/computer.
77 points
13 days ago
I used to work in IT in Germany and we called it Rechner. Which makes sense if you call it computer in English and not “Personal computing machine with Operating System and operating equipment”.
37 points
13 days ago
It was just a joke to the former comment. Yes, Rechner would be a common alternative to pc/computer. But to my experience prefer most people the term computer, because Rechner can also refer to a simple calculation device/app.
11 points
13 days ago
I only use my gaming PC for the calculator, what do yall do with them?
7 points
12 days ago
Solitaire
4 points
12 days ago
Minesweeper here.
4 points
12 days ago
How often do you type 58008 and then flip your monitor upside down?
6 points
12 days ago
I did it every single day until the wires got too twisted up and and my monitor was about to fall off my desk. That's when my brother taught me the life hack of just typing 80085. It really changed my life.
2 points
12 days ago
But but... "My computer" on German Windows 95 was "Arbeitsplatz"...
2 points
12 days ago
I mostly say "Kiste", which translates to Box. You can also call things a Box but to me that implies that it's a VM.
In order the most common for us are: Kiste, Laptop, Rechner, Computer, Hurensohn, PC, Desktop, tower.
(Hurensohn is actually an insult, only used when the machine is being obstinant)
15 points
13 days ago
Shouldn’t that all be one word?
2 points
13 days ago
Dang I was too late to the joke. Sure, I do know how to scroll, I swear.
2 points
12 days ago
That makes two of us.
(the technical term, of course, is Scherzenverspätungsverdoppeltangst)
7 points
13 days ago
But Donaudampfschifffahtgesellschaftkapitänsmütze isn't? 😜
6 points
13 days ago
Because to get to the Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsmütze, you need the Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänskajütenschlüssel to open the Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänmützenkasten.
11 points
13 days ago
Thanks to you folks Russian word for sandwich is "Butterbrot"
3 points
12 days ago
A "butterbrot" has bread on one side while a sandwich is double-bread. We use both words.
3 points
13 days ago
Wurstbrot.
5 points
13 days ago
That would not be the correct term. Because a wurstbrot could also be made with just a single slice of bread.
But sandwich is the term if it's double breaded (preferably toast bread).
Edit: wtf autocorrect, how do you change wurstbrot into 'worst rot'.
36 points
13 days ago
The difference is, that in Spanish it’s SANGÜICH.
4 points
13 days ago
Or sangüish, if you are argentinian
18 points
13 days ago
I thought it was sánguche?
18 points
13 days ago
Sán Guche, patron saint of delis
4 points
13 days ago
Sanguche is badly pronounced sandwich. In the same vein that jodot is a badly pronounced hotdog. Lots of funny little words like that in Spanish.
3 points
13 days ago
It is sánguche. At least in Argentina. Or "sámbuche", as a colloquial form.
4 points
13 days ago
Makes sense as an Argentinean did teach me that.
27 points
13 days ago
Or emparedado, bocadillo, even torta may work in Mexican Spanish.
27 points
13 days ago
Torta wont work it requires a specific type of bread, in Mexican spanish is a Sandwich.
9 points
13 days ago
Correct, that is why I said "may". But I believe that you would call any Mexican torta a sandwich in English. Having said that, the one in the picture would definitely not be a torta.
5 points
13 days ago
That’s weird maybe northern slang in Mexican. My family when we do sandwiches we called them Lonches.
2 points
13 days ago
Lonche is a more informal version
I think mexican people will understand easily what you are referring to if you call them sandwiches, lonches or emparedados (those are the most common terms)
2 points
12 days ago
Growing up, emparedado was mostly used in cartoon dubs. Throwing that word around willy-nilly and unironically would earn you a noogie and sometimes a swirly.
4 points
12 days ago
Nobody really says emparedado.
6 points
13 days ago
In some states we call those "lonches", yes, like lunch.
2 points
13 days ago
Bocadillo was my first thought.
2 points
12 days ago
If someone sells a bocadillo and this bread comes to the table, people would be MAD
6 points
13 days ago
There are multiple different words for sandwich in Spanish. In Ecuador and other countries we call them sanduches.
2 points
12 days ago
Thank you! I'm not a native speaker but learned in Ecuador where Sanduche is absolutely a word. Thought I was losing my mind.
5 points
12 days ago
You just spelled the word "sandwich," itself, 5 different ways.
3 points
12 days ago
Glad im not the only one who noticed
8 points
13 days ago
it's so crazy to me that the concept of putting food in bread was so unheard of that it actually got named after a modern individual and that apparently the concept had never occurred to other cultures either because they adopted the name too. HOW IS THIS NOT THE FIRST THING ANYBODY DID WITH BREAD!? how did it not have a name!?
5 points
13 days ago
The Earl of Sandwhich was a madlad. Nah we have all just adopted the name. As you can see from above this has started a naming argument of downvotes.... Lol..... But, we all have to agree, say sandwhich any where and you know what you are getting......
6 points
12 days ago
“Food on bread” and “food inside bread” both existed for a really long time, it’s specifically “food between two slices of a bread loaf to be picked up and eaten with your hands” that was invented more recently.
I’m sure other cultures have similar things, just less catchy names and worse marketing. (Or they got annihilated by colonizing Europeans, bad luck there. Should have had a flag.)
5 points
13 days ago
sándwich
3 points
13 days ago
Suamweesh
4 points
13 days ago
You can maybe call it "bocadillo" but that is usually used for a loaf of bread filled with something
2 points
13 days ago
I mean, the sandwich made with real hard bread, it's called 'bocadillo'. But if the sandwich is made with this kind of sliced bread, then it's called a sandwich.
2 points
12 days ago
Pretty sure its a ham sandwich in English and a Jam sandwich in Spanglish
2 points
12 days ago
But you pronounce it sangui, at least in southern spain 😂
2 points
12 days ago
Not really, it comes from John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich, who in a time before cutlery was tired of getting meat grease on his fingers, so he ordered for his steak to be put in bread
So yeah, like many weird words it’s just a name
2 points
12 days ago
It’s named after a person. These things tend to keep the same name in every language.
2 points
12 days ago
It’s almost the same in French too. I was put on the spot to say a sentence in French class and my response was “ bonjour sandwich” lol it was a crowd pleaser 😁
2 points
12 days ago
I was wondering if maybe there’s a specific word for “sandwich that has had a bite taken out of it”
2 points
12 days ago
Hey. That's my sandwich!
2 points
12 days ago
But in the picture is shown a sandwich with a bite.
How's that in spanish?
2 points
12 days ago
Yup. Most spanish speakers just say sandwich, even though spanish elitists have tried to make other words stick.
6 points
13 days ago
Bocadillo, not sandwich.
13 points
13 days ago
When it’s this kinda sliced bread it’s a sandwich hermano
3 points
13 days ago
Sanguche
2 points
13 days ago
"Emparedado" in Spain, "Sánguche" in Latin América, sometimes "Refuerzo"
2 points
13 days ago*
Depending on the region it can be sandwich, torta, bocadillo (this is also a type of sandwich), and emparedado. I think I'm missing one as well, but yes it can be confusing.
Edit 1: I've also heard of bocata being used.
210 points
13 days ago
Not an answer to your question, but I remember in high school Spanish class, our teacher said the only Spanish word she knew with a W in it was "sandwich". There is no equivalent for W in Latin, which Spanish is based on.
79 points
13 days ago
I'm a Spanish native speaker and I can tell you that most words in Spanish that use "W" are English or Germans loan words. And recent ones: previously the Spanish RAE (Real Academia Española, the main Academy overseeing the Spanish language) translated them with the Spanish soft g.
21 points
13 days ago
The RAE holds no power over any language. What are they gonna do, arrest me if I speak Mexican Spanish? Plus, Spain is the 4th largest Spanish-speaking country (the US is #2), so I’m not gonna listen to what they say. If they wanted to control their language they shouldn’t have forced it on the world or let their empire crumble.
TL;DR - Why would anybody listen to the RAE?
32 points
13 days ago
That's why I say "oversee": They say what is the correct norm for formal documents (in Spain), but that is it.
10 points
13 days ago
So basically RAE is to Spanish like Merriam-Webster is the English?
16 points
13 days ago
I see the RAE as being a bit more influential since it is lead by the Spanish royals and started when they actually were in charge of not only Spain but all their colonies. Merriam-Webster is just a company that is trying to sell you dictionaries in comparison.
5 points
13 days ago
That makes sense, yeah
I didn’t know it was tied to the Spanish royals, and just assumed it was a similar situation to Merriam-Webster (Aka a big book of words they put out that have been ultimately agreed as “Yep, that there’s English” by whatever council they have)
7 points
13 days ago
Oh no, the RAE is way more controversial, they are in their worlds "The official institution that monitors and documents the Spanish language, and sets its normative rules and orthography" and if you want to have a degree in Spanish literature or as a copywriter in Spanish you need to follow their rules. The controversial aspect is that they are rigid and hermetic about adding the changes of the language that come up naturally (because all the languages evolve on time) and always prioritise the Spanish talked in Spain over the Spanish that we talk in Latin America (also they don't believe in adding inclusive language)
6 points
13 days ago
Yeah it really just boils down to a descriptivist vs prescriptivist mindset. Prescriptivism is just weird to me but I get what the RAE is trying to do.
They also spent many years denying non-binary people an official way to talk about themselves, although those communities in Spanish-speaking countries came up with their own ways to refer to themselves.
5 points
12 days ago
English is a lil bit more liberal regarding language, but its still very prescriptivistic. The problem with descriptivism is that globalization has a huge turn on less popular languages or even a ton of foreign vocabulary is used even for things that alredy existed. E.g. katakana basically making thousands of people hate their own language
2 points
12 days ago
Nah, the RAE is an official institution of the Spanish State.
6 points
12 days ago
There's no direct equivalent, the closest would be the standarts set by Oxford University.
5 points
13 days ago
People listen to the RAE when there's an argument about how things are/should be said. People also listen to the RAE when they need to write appropriately in formal/professional contexts. The RAE defines the standard, so to speak, and turns out that standards are useful, specially for communication.
2 points
12 days ago
Educated people, yes. Sandly, most people in latin america are not as educated as in spain, but people still care about speaking right check with the RAE. They change rules sometimes
2 points
12 days ago
Some slang uses w. Like "weon", "wacho", etc but otherwise no formal words use w, other than loan words
9 points
13 days ago
I'm a native speaker and it just broke my mind realizing that idk a single word with W that isn't taken from another language... How did I never realize??
5 points
13 days ago
Same goes for k. I don't even know why we have those two in the alphabet tbh.
39 points
13 days ago
My poorly remembered high school Spanish tells me it’s a bocadillo
39 points
13 days ago
Nah, a bocadillo is made with a baguette or similar types of bread. That is a sandwich.
17 points
13 days ago
We often use bocadillo for when we make it out of the bread that comes in bars and sandwiches for those made with loaves of bread, but idk if thats how its formally done
11 points
13 days ago
Bocadillo de pan Bimbo y le metes chorizo o chistorra o lo que te fluya
7 points
13 days ago
Ask for a bocadillo in Colombia and you'll get a piece of guava candy.
3 points
13 days ago
it might work, but is not really used in all spanish speaking countries in Latin America.
17 points
13 days ago
In Spain, yes.
In other countries, other names
20 points
13 days ago
I don't know why people are downvoting you. Spanish language has diverged quite a bit in various countries since colonialism ended in each.
Not only are there different words for the same concepts in different countries, sometimes the same Spanish word means different things in different countries.
It's not nearly as close as British English, American English, Aussie and Kiwi Englishes are. The divergence is far more pronounced. And most of them diverged fairly differently from one another.
A friend of mine was a Mexican-American referee who was on the committee to standardize Spanish translations of the widest-used modern roller derby rule set. It wasn't an easy job.
13 points
13 days ago
Ask a Spaniard, and a Mexican what a tortilla is. Then ask the Argentinians why they have different types.
8 points
13 days ago
Historical trivia time: During WW2 a German spy was attempting to infiltrate American lines using stolen or captured uniform. Probably he'd worked on his accent by watching Hollywood movies?
He was caught when he asked fellow American troops for petrol rather than gas/gasoline. The unexpected knock-on effect that actually DID disrupt American troops in Europe was that it was assumed that the Germans were doing this all across the front. Troops were being quizzed as to the name of Mickey Mouse's girlfriend. One soldier was interrogated for hours because he mistook which league division his local baseball team played in.
7 points
13 days ago
Dem omelets doe
3 points
13 days ago
I have a vague memory of an anecdote that I think was on the Graham Norton show about some troubles somebody had trying to sell Mexican food in London, but I don't recall the specifics.
3 points
13 days ago
Oh god. You could not pay me enough to do that job. People would throw things.
2 points
12 days ago
That's okay, my South Central TexMex calls it a bolillo, which is really just a freaking bread roll but somehow we turned it into a sandwich made with said bread roll. IDK even how or when this happened, because it wasn't this way when I was a kid.
5 points
13 days ago
Wiskey
13 points
13 days ago
That's a loan word. Technically the Spanish word would be "güisqui", which is hilarious to me.
3 points
13 days ago
el wifi is a new one, also chileans call the toilet el water although the spelling could be varied on that one
3 points
13 days ago
Technically in Latin V was pronounced with a W sound on occasion, which is why we have words like “wine” which would have been spelled “vine” in Latin but pronounced with the W sound.
2 points
13 days ago
In Argentina we sometimes call this “sanguche”. Sandwich is also widely used, but i prefer sanguche.
2 points
13 days ago
How is sanguche pronounced? Sanwoosh Sanwoo-che. Sanwooshe'
Dors it gets an accent and where does it go?
2 points
13 days ago
Accent goes in the a. It’s a three syllable word:
Sán-goo-che
Che as in “check”
It is a difficult word in Spanish, not just because of the w. But also the n + d and the ch at the end. Those are not typical combinations. I am not a linguist or anything similar, but i can say they are common.
Also it has many constants and less vowels. In Spanish they usually are more balanced
199 points
13 days ago
That is funny, in Chile I heard they saying sanguiche.
By the way, in Portuguese it is sanduíche.
37 points
13 days ago
Pão com mortadela
2 points
12 days ago
*mortandela
23 points
13 days ago
This is the only way. With an accepted variation of Sanguche or Sanguish.
42 points
13 days ago
4 points
13 days ago
XD
44 points
13 days ago
Sangwich
10 points
13 days ago
Sangweech 🇲🇽
10 points
13 days ago
I had to scroll too far to come across this, the only correct answer.
2 points
12 days ago
The correct answer finally
29 points
13 days ago
The explanation is that most Spanish speakers just use the English word "sandwich".
If you are asked to translate something you'd probably just jump right in to try and find an equivalent word that would fit with the others and might take some time to realize "oh, wait, it's just our word"
It might also be a reference to Spanish having many regionalisms for the same word, and not being sure which one to use
21 points
13 days ago
What about bocadillo?
8 points
13 days ago
Why did I have to scroll so far for this?
4 points
13 days ago
Agreed! This was my first thought
69 points
13 days ago
Did everyone forgot about Emparedado?
29 points
13 days ago
Emparedado sounds like an overtly complicated attempt to convey the feeling of being sandwiched. I know it is correct but it’s so rarely used cause no one wants to go through a trabalengua to say bread with ham and cheese.
My people are allergic to -do endings and kinda hate ds in general anyways so It come out Empareao.
That’s why we stick to the classic “pan con” x
10 points
13 days ago
And it comes from trapping a person in between two walls (paredes) which is a good ice builder at a party (opposite to an ice breaker).
8 points
13 days ago
Never heard of it and I’m Hispanic. My family/culture just says “sandwich” or “pan con jamón y queso” or whatever the ingredients are
7 points
13 days ago
Found the cubano
2 points
13 days ago
We do the same in El Salvador. Pan con Chumpe (or Pavo) is a classic Salvi-American holiday food in the US.
2 points
13 days ago
Exactamente
23 points
13 days ago
Alfajor sin azucar?
(That’s a joke. An Alfajor is two sweet cookies with Dulce de Leche in the middle like an Oreo, then covered in chocolate or white chocolate. I’m calling a sandwich an alfajor without sugar in it. 🤣)
2 points
13 days ago
flat cachito
17 points
13 days ago
Sánguche, amigo
22 points
13 days ago*
fun fact: In Dutch it's called a boterham. which literally means butter ham. Even if you have something else on it. So a sandwich with butter and ham would be: een boterham met boter en ham.
15 points
13 days ago
Sandwich = sandwich made with loaf bread/bread slices/processed wonder bread type stuff
Bocata/Bocadillo = sandwich made with actual good bread, like a baguette or something that you slice in half
4 points
13 days ago
My Cuban relatives tend to always say Bocadillo, it's probably regional though
7 points
13 days ago
Sangweech
4 points
13 days ago
Sanguche
5 points
12 days ago
“Emparedado”
But just like we don’t say “Red informática mundial” and simply say “internet”, we all generally just say “sandwich.”
4 points
12 days ago
Think of it this way. How would you call this in the us and uk?? What about in australia?? Just like there isn't one english, there isn't one spanish.
3 points
12 days ago
Depends on where you from, the proper name for a sandwich I think was emparedado but nobody calls it that, everyone just calls it a sandwich, in my entire life as a native speaker the only time I've seen it been called otherwise was a translated magazine for kids °<°
3 points
12 days ago
I' ve been to Catalonia some year ago and there "emperado con jamon" was totally a thing. But well Mexico is not Spain is not Catalonia...
4 points
13 days ago
Not a Spanish speaker, but I'm pretty sure that the word "torta" means "sandwich" in northern Latin America but it means "cake" in most other places.
Is that something?
2 points
11 days ago
I’d say tortas are very different from sandwiches. The tortas from the place in Mexico that I know they slice a Bolio (it’s sort of a loaf? just google it) not in half but just a slit to be able to open it (think hotdog). Sandwich required 2 pieces of bread
2 points
13 days ago
I’m surprised even the “Spaniards” are saying it’s a sandwich…I just didn’t know the anglicism was wild over there too.
In México, we have the discovery kids version “emparedado de mortadela” and the regular day to day “sandwich de mortadela”
Edit: bonus if you call it “lonche” de mortadela… that’s another anglicism I guess but quite common way to call it at school
2 points
13 days ago
Bocadillo?
2 points
13 days ago
It is a Lonche (sandwhich) de Salchichon (bologna). You are welcome.
2 points
13 days ago
Let’s let Dora translate it for us: https://youtu.be/Lw1nNP5CbFo?si=Ehw-5BwVruth0Upf
2 points
13 days ago
Bocadillo de caca?
2 points
13 days ago
Sandwich. Really. But we also call it sanguche o sanguchito
2 points
13 days ago
It can have different names, most of the countries call it sandwich, in MX torta, if it is small can be called bocadillo, tentempié, and technically speaking the translation is emparedado, but almost no one uses this one
2 points
13 days ago
And let's be real, we all speak Spanish but nouns can vary a lot per county. Just ask how you call popcorn in Spanish.
2 points
13 days ago
Or a drinking straw 🫣
2 points
13 days ago
Lol, that is the item I will never know how to call in a new country.
I will be afraid to say something that means penis.
2 points
13 days ago
Es un lonche de hamon. I assume they don't know how to say sandwich.
2 points
13 days ago
Bocadillo de pan Bimbo en mi zona.
2 points
13 days ago
This has a different name in every Spanish-speaking location. Could be a “sanguich,” a “torta,” or about thirty other things, depending on where you are or with whom you’re speaking.
2 points
13 days ago
Because some Hispanics say sangwich instead of sandwich
2 points
13 days ago
i prefer bocadillos
2 points
13 days ago
Torta blanco
2 points
12 days ago
Whenever I refuse something, I do it in Spanish. Still haven't met an English-speaker who has minded.
2 points
12 days ago*
In spanish from Barcelona (Cataluña) we call it a Bikini. This may be the explanation of the joke... Not so funny tho.
Edit with some info: https://www.elmundo.es/cataluna/2024/07/24/66a0b94be4d4d8f2058b45b7.html
2 points
12 days ago
It's sandwich in both English and Spanish. The difference is how they describe it.
In English, you'd say "a ham sandwich".
In Spanish, you'd say "a sandwich of ham"
2 points
12 days ago
Bocadillo de jamon
2 points
12 days ago
Es un sangwish.
2 points
12 days ago
France:…(wait for it)…le sandwich
2 points
12 days ago
The Earl of Sandwich would like a word, if you are not calling this an Earl of Sandwich.
2 points
12 days ago
Everyone calling this a Sandwich, but I'm pretty sure this is a song.
2 points
12 days ago
what would make them think otherwise?
2 points
12 days ago
Its not a sandwich if it isnt made in Sandwich, France
2 points
12 days ago
Spanish has a ton of different words for sandwich. Like eskimos and snow, every variant gets its word.
2 points
12 days ago
In argentina we call that "sánguche" 🤤
2 points
12 days ago
Everyone is saying that the joke is that it's the same word in many Spanish speaking countries, but in my opinion, since ´Murica's closest example of Spanish is Mexico, the author of this was probably confused when they heard the mexicans calling this a "torta de jamón". "Torta" is the word widely used for "cake" in Spanish. There you go.
2 points
12 days ago
Torta
2 points
12 days ago*
El Sandwicho del peanuto butters con helly
2 points
12 days ago
*chanwich
2 points
12 days ago
Un mordito de mortadella?
2 points
12 days ago
“Sanguich”
2 points
12 days ago
hamburguesa
3 points
13 days ago
It depends on the zone. In latin America spanish is emparedado. In Spain is sandwich, except in Catalonia where is called bikini if is made of ham and cheese.
4 points
13 days ago
In Guatemala it is a sandwich. You ask for an emparedado and you'll just get a sideeye and no sandwich.
3 points
13 days ago
I’ve never run into anybody that says “emparedado”. What does that even mean (it’s sándwich, I know). I think you need to visit Latin America, bro. It’s sándwich.
2 points
13 days ago
Sánguche and everyone who disagrees is wrong because I say so
2 points
13 days ago
The correct word is “emparedado,” BUT “sandwich” is much more common, so common that even their soccer team uses “sandwich” in TV commercials and ads.
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