Two Words English Lacks: Comadre & Compadre

 

As you venture into learning another language, sometimes you run into words or expressions that do a better or more efficient job at expressing a feeling or situation. It goes both ways, I always miss the word silly while using Spanish, because I think tonto usually has too negative of a connotation for my intentions, but on the other hand and I think aprovechar doesn’t have an equally rich equivalent in English. Less frequently, you come across a word that exists in a foreign language that your native language lacks completely. One word in particular that I appreciate in Spanish is compadre (comadre for females). In my life I have very close friends, friends so close that to me they are family. I’ve always wished that there would be a word to distinguish between a mere friend, and someone who I’ve known intimately for years and have an extremely close relationship with. In Spanish, such a word exists, compadre and comadre which literally translate to god-father and god-mother.

 

Spain and Latin America both have a strong Catholic heritage, and traditionally the godparent role is significant during baptism and throughout the lives of children. These godparents take on the responsibility of helping the parents raise the child and participate in other significant milestones in childhood, like first communion, confirmation, and quinceañeras for girls. In Latin America, lifelong friends or family that have always spoken to each other informally (using the informal tú) may mark their new compadre relationship by using respectful or formal speech (using the formal usted). This was true with the Costa Rican family I stayed with for three weeks while I was in high school. I was always confused why they used usted instead of tú for family members but it was because of their adherence to the formality coupled with the tradition of their newly given positions.

 

 

A  compadre relationship is the strongest bond one can have outside of the nuclear family. To make someone your comadre or compadre it must be someone you love and trust  to the extent that if you would pass away that you would trust them to rear your children in your stead. That’s a huge honor and responsibility! While in some places the word compadre is used to explicitly describe the ritualistic relationship derived from Catholic traditions, in others it merely is used to describe a best friend, or a relationship closer than most. In Mexico, it can sometimes be shortened to compa, but is typically used only among male friends. I love the versatility of this word, the strong sentiment it conveys and cultural ties that it is entrenched in, making it one of my favorite words in Spanish. Even though this word isn’t the exact word I still crave for in English, the word for a friend, no matter the gender, who is so close that they are almost family, I still appreciate the deep richness of the implications of being someones compadre.

What do you think?! How do you use compadre? Do you have any other words you prefer in one language or another? Share below!