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"guy (informal)" in seven languages

Meaningguy (informal)

Spanish

tío

/ˈtio/

masc.other source · Late Latin THĪUM 'uncle', from Greek theîos

Spain only; also 'uncle'. Tía is 'some woman'.

French

mec

/mɛk/

masc.other source · slang of uncertain origin

Italian

tipo

/ˈtipo/

masc.other source · Latin TYPUM 'figure, type', from Greek

Portuguese

cara

/ˈkaɾɐ/

masc.other source · Portuguese cara 'face' (Latin CARA, from Greek kára 'head')

Brazilian slang: o cara is masculine though cara 'face' is feminine.

Romanian

tip

/tip/

masc.other source · French type, from Latin TYPUS 'figure' (Greek týpos)

Catalan

paio

/ˈpaju/

masc.other source · Spanish payo 'peasant; non-Roma', of uncertain origin

English

guy

/gaɪ/

other source · Guy Fawkes, the 1605 plotter

English → Italianguy (informal)tipoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh.What English and Italian share

The story

Pure slang, so purely unrelated: in Spain your tío is both your uncle and some guy, French mec is of obscure origin, and an Italian tipo is literally 'a type'.

Learn it

Practice the People deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • es¿Quién es ese tío?
  • frC'est qui, ce mec ?
  • itChi è quel tipo?
  • ptQuem é aquele cara?
  • roCine e tipul ăla?
  • caQui és aquell paio?
  • enWho is that guy?

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