# April Fool



## boreilly

How do you say "April Fool" in Spanish? Thanks!


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## funnydeal

In México we have a similar day but it is on December 28 and it is called "Día de los santos inocentes" (Day of the innocent saints)


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## boreilly

Thank you, but I wish to say "April Fool!" in Spanish to someone on April Fools Day (which is April 1 in the US).


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## funnydeal

*April Fools' Day* no pl *eq.* Día de los Santos Inocentes (en Gran Bretaña, el 1 de abril) 

(from Diccionario Cambridge Klett Compact)

© Cambridge University Press 2004.


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## belén

boreilly said:
			
		

> Thank you, but I wish to say "April Fool!" in Spanish to someone on April Fools Day (which is April 1 in the US).




Unless they are familiar with the anglo tradition, you will have to tell the Spanish speaker that the April Fool tradition is the equivalent of the Innocent's Day, as Funnydeal has pointed out, because 1st of April doesn't have any special significance in the Spanish speaking countries.

It what you want to do is say to your "victim" "April Fool!" you can say: "¡Inocente, inocente!"


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## boreilly

Yes, the person is very familiar with the anglo "April Fools Day" and the term "April Fool."  But "Inocente, incocente!" does not have the word "April" in it to connect it to the American holiday.  Is there a more direct way to say "April Fool" in Spanish?  Thank you for your input.


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## weird

Hola,   

Acabo de ver una película de terror   , el título es APRIL FOOL'S DAY, pero la traducción que han hecho para la versión española es: INOCENTADA SANGRIENTA  (malísima, pero... haciendo honor a mi nickname...  )

En la película se hacen unas bromas muy pesadas unos a otros y están constantemente diciendose:   HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!!!

En España, como te han dicho los compis, no se celebra esa fiesta en ABRIL.

Se celebra en Diciembre, el día 28. Día de los Santos Inocentes.

También se hacen bromas, que llamamos inocentadas
y llamamos INOCENTE a la persona que ha caído en la "trampa".

Por ejemplo, VIERNES 13 día de mala suerte para algunos paises, en España es el MARTES 13.

Me parece que son las mismas fiestas que cada cultura las interpreta a su modo.

Si hablas con un español, deberás usar INOCENTE. Y si hablas con un angloparlante, pues utilizas la que entendáis entre vosotros. 

Saludos.-


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## Faith

Boreilly as the rest of foreros have told you, there isn't any connection with the American Holiday. So if you call a Spanish speaking person April Fool he/she may not understand you.You'll have to explain them why you say that. It's like for example if the 28th Dec we call an American "Inocente", he/she will get puzzled


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## ceirun

Hi Boreilly. I agree with what the others have already said, but I think you are really just looking for the literal translation, right?
If so, then it would be "tonto de abril"... if the person who you say it to is familiar with April Fools' Day then they'll know what you mean.


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## Riverdoc

How about "inocente en abril", a "combo" of cultures?

Riverdoc


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## garryknight

Cómo suena 'abrileño bobo'?


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## Chaucer

boreilly said:
			
		

> Yes, the person is very familiar with the anglo "April Fools Day" and the term "April Fool."  But "Inocente, incocente!" does not have the word "April" in it to connect it to the American holiday.  Is there a more direct way to say "April Fool" in Spanish?  Thank you for your input.



No. *¡Inocente!* is what you would use, since it has the same meaning, although on another date in the Spanish-speaking world, as *April Fool's* does on *April 1st.* When you say *April Fool's!*, it is another way of telling the person that was fooled, "You were *innocent* of the truth, you got taken!" That is why the word *Inocente* is used in Spanish.

If you say, *Día abrileño de los bobos*, a literal translation of *April Fool's Day!*, you are using Spanish; but it is not really Spanish because the concept does not exist in Spanish. It would be like you insisting that *Christmas* in Spanish (*Navidad*) somehow have the word *Christ* in it: *Misacristo*; that's Spanish but it makes no sense.

So if you try for a Spanish phrase with *April* in it, it wouldn't make sense. Trust that there is a cultural inequivalence that you are not familiar with here, and that it cannot be translated, no matter how much one wants to insist it should exist. Just leave it at *April Fool's* in English. The person you would want to tell it to in Spanish would think the same thing, but most likely would not mention it to you. You could try the suggested literal translations if you would want to go ahead anyway, though.


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## funnydeal

Decemeber 28  "Día de los Santos Inocentes", similar to April Fool's Day. 

On that day when we do a joke to a person  (usually we ask for money or something and it is supossed we will not return it back) we use to say a traditional sentence:

"Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar, sabiendo que en este día nada se debe prestar".


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## Riverdoc

funnydeal said:
			
		

> Decemeber 28  "Día de los Santos Inocentes", similar to April Fool's Day.
> 
> On that day when we do a joke to a person  (usually we ask for money or something and it is supossed we will not return it back) we use to say a traditional sentence:
> 
> "Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar, sabiendo que en ester día nada se debe prestar".



Hola Funnydeal,

En inglés, normalmente diríamos "play a joke on a person".

Riverdoc


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## funnydeal

Riverdoc said:
			
		

> Hola Funnydeal,
> 
> En inglés, normalmente diríamos "play a joke on a person".
> 
> Riverdoc




Thank you very much.  

I appreciate all corrections.


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## boreilly

I appreciate all of the suggestions.  The literal, "tonto de abril" or "abrileno bobo" sound the best to me, because, as I have said, the person that I will be playing a trick on is very familiar with the American April Fools' Day and the term "April Fool!" in English.  I want the person to make the connection to the American holiday because I play the trick on April 1, not on December 28.


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## sergio11

boreilly said:
			
		

> I appreciate all of the suggestions. The literal, "tonto de abril" or "abrileno bobo" sound the best to me, because, as I have said, the person that I will be playing a trick on is very familiar with the American April Fools' Day and the term "April Fool!" in English. I want the person to make the connection to the American holiday because I play the trick on April 1, not on December 28.


 
For what I understand, the person is familiar with the "April Fool" custom and probably even understands English, but you want to say it in Spanish just to be funny. If that is the case, the literal translation will work fine. Not only will it work fine, but it may probably be better, because it will not make him or her think that you got the dates wrong or that in any way you mixed up the holidays. With the data you have given us, my opinion is that you don't have to worry about "cultural equivalents."

If you are going to choose between "tonto (or bobo) de abril" and "abrileño tonto (or bobo)," I would choose "tonto (or bobo) de abril", which is more literal. 

"Abrileño tonto (or bobo)," is not the translation of "April Fool." If you want to use the word "abrileño" and want it to mean "April fool," you have to use it after tonto, not before (tonto abrileño), but I would prefer "de abril" rather than "abrileño."


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## boreilly

Thank you, Sergio11!!! Yes, you hit the nail on the head!  The person is fluent in English, and I want to "honor" them in Spanish on April 1 to be funny! I want them to know that they are an "April Fool," so "tonto de abril" it is!  Thank you so very much!


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## garryknight

sergio11 said:
			
		

> If you want to use the word "abrileño" and want it to mean "April fool," you have to use it after tonto, not before



Is that because 'abrileño' is _always_ used after a noun it qualifies, or is there some other rule about this? I only ask because that would mean that my dictionary has it backward. It says:

*abrileño* ADJ April _antes de s_

(where 's' means 'sustantivo'.)


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## sergio11

garryknight said:
			
		

> Is that because 'abrileño' is _always_ used after a noun it qualifies, or is there some other rule about this? I only ask because that would mean that my dictionary has it backward. It says:
> 
> *abrileño* ADJ April _antes de s_
> 
> (where 's' means 'sustantivo'.)


 
Garryknight, if one of the words were an adjective and the other a noun, there would be no problem of interpretation. Even if you used a word order which in Spanish sounded odd, no one would get confused regarding the meaning. However, in this case both words can be used as adjectives and both words can be used as nouns. Therefore, you have to rely on the word order to figure out which one is being used as a noun and which one as an adjective. Since in Spanish usually the adjectives are used after the noun, except in certain cases for emphasis of a particular quality, the first word will be interpreted as the noun and the second as the adjective.

This is my interpretation. We'll see what other people have to say.


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## garryknight

sergio11 said:
			
		

> in this case both words can be used as adjectives and both words can be used as nouns


Ah! I didn't know that abrileño could be used as a noun, and my dictionary doesn't mention it. How would it be used as a noun? Let me guess, and then tell me I'm wrong. 

- ¿Tienes la factura?
- Cuál factura?
- La abrileña.



			
				sergio11 said:
			
		

> the first word will be interpreted as the noun and the second as the adjective.


So it would mean something like 'Foolish April'. I can see why that could be confusing to a Spanish speaker who wasn't familiar with our April Fool's day customs. But I bet boreilly's friend would have an idea what was meant by 'abrileño bobo', although he might reply with 'Es que *tú* eres bobo!'.

Anyway, thanks for your helpful and detailed explanation.


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## Narda

April Fools = Día de Los Inocentes...

Many pranks, even the newspapers participate in LatAm.  Sometimes it can be very, very funny


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## sergio11

garryknight said:
			
		

> Ah! I didn't know that abrileño could be used as a noun, and my dictionary doesn't mention it. How would it be used as a noun? Let me guess, and then tell me I'm wrong.
> 
> - ¿Tienes la factura?
> - Cuál factura?
> - La abrileña.
> 
> So it would mean something like 'Foolish April'. I can see why that could be confusing to a Spanish speaker who wasn't familiar with our April Fool's day customs. But I bet boreilly's friend would have an idea what was meant by 'abrileño bobo', although he might reply with 'Es que *tú* eres bobo!'.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for your helpful and detailed explanation.


 
No, it would not be like that. I will try to explain, but beware: it is somewhat of a far-fetched explanation, because "abrileño" is normally an adjective, not a noun, as you well found out from your dictionary. My explanation is based on the fact that sometimes adjectives can be used substantively, that is, can be substantivized. This is very common in English, but it is also possible in Spanish (1974 Grammar of the RAE, 3.9.2)

"Abrileño" means "proper of the month of April." It would be something like "Aprilian," if that word existed in English, although I guess you can always make a word by adding a suffix such as -an or -ian to an existing word. So, if you are talking about people who had birthdays in April, you could call them "Aprilians" in English or "abrileños" in Spanish. Then, if you say "abrileño tonto," it would be interpreted as "fool Aprilian," while "tonto abrileño" would be interpreted as "Aprilian fool" or "April fool." As I said earlier, this is a very far-fetched use of the word, and probably many will even deny that it can be used in that sense. So I will accept all the criticism this may generate. 

By the way, not all the months have adjectives that relate to them in Spanish. There is abrileño, agosteño, septembrino and decembrino. Other months do not seem to have an adjective, or at least, not one that I could find. There is a word "octubrino," which does not mean "related to the month of October," but some kind of strong drink (aguardiente de caña, I have no idea of how to say it in English).

In your example about the invoice, you would not say "la abrileña," but "la de abril."


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## beatrizg

Hola!
Simplemente quiero dejar constancia, a nivel personal claro esta, de no recordar haber leido u oido el termino "abrile•o". 
Con esto no quiero decir que no existe, sino que su uso es muy limitado. 
En cuanto a la creacion de adjetivos a partir de los meses, el termino mas comun es "decembrino".


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## garryknight

sergio11 said:
			
		

> I will try to explain


Thanks for a nice, clear explanation.



			
				beatrizg said:
			
		

> de no recordar haber leido u oido el termino "abrile•o"


Yo tampoco antes de encontrarlo en mi diccionario de más que 2100 páginas y que pesa más que dos elefantes (aunque cueste menos dar de comer...). Puedo creer que no es común.


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## sergio11

I am surprised that people have not heard or read the word "abrileño," because it is relatively common, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, where April is a symbol of Spring, and in that context I have seen it utilized most often.


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## beatrizg

sergio11 said:
			
		

> I am surprised that people have not heard or read the word "abrile?o," because it is relatively common, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, where April is a symbol of Spring, and in that context I have seen it utilized most often.



Supongo que una de las razones es que el termino "de abril" suena mucho mejor que "abrile•o".  
El cielo de abril / El cielo abrile•o
Las lluvias de abril / Las lluvias abrile•as

Por otra parte te refieres al uso que se le da hemisferio del norte y bueno, como sabes, no vivimos todos alli.


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## grivera

Que significa "April's fool" en espanol


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## Miguel Antonio

grivera said:


> Que significa "April's fool" en espanol


El día 1 de abril es el día en que en el mundo anglosajón se celebra lo que en España corresponde a los Santos Inocentes del 28 de diciembre, pero en su aspecto lúdico y no religioso. O sea, que viene a ser "inocente, inocente".

Saludos

MA


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## grivera

Muchas gracias MA


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## Vale_yaya

"Día de los inocentes" (sin embargo en Ecuador es otra fecha)


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## Blas Ramos

Hola a todos! ¿Alguien me puede decir que quiere decir la expresión "April Fool"?


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## Scy

April's Fool se celebra el 1 de Abril y es el equivalente al 28 de diciembre, Día de los Inocentes, solamente que sin la parte ritualística. Suelen hacerse bromas prácticas.


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## Blas Ramos

Gracias Scy!


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## nlandetta

Aqui en Ecuador también es el 28 de diciembre.


Un abrazo,
Norma


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## Jobani

Recuerdo que cuando chiquito (en la República Dominicana) le decían a la persona que engañaban, "*inocente mariposa*".


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## Aserolf

Miguel Antonio said:


> El día 1 de abril es el día en que en el mundo anglosajón se celebra lo que en España corresponde a los *Santos Inocentes del 28 de diciembre*, pero en su aspecto lúdico y no religioso. O sea, que viene a ser "inocente, inocente".
> 
> Saludos
> 
> MA


 Lo mismo en México!

Se acostumbra decir (luego de la broma):
"Inocente palomita 
que te dejaste engañar,
sabiendo que en este día
en nadie debes confiar"

Sds;o)


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## Miguel Antonio

Aserolf said:


> Lo mismo en México!
> 
> Se acostumbra decir (luego de la broma):
> "Inocente palomita
> que te dejaste engañar,
> sabiendo que en este día
> en nadie debes confiar"
> 
> Sds;o)


Esto me hace recordar una canción interpretada por Pablo Abraira, cuyo estribillo reza:
Amiga/o, hay que ver como es el amor.
Que vuelve a quien lo toma: gavilán o paloma.
Pobre tonto, ingenuo charlatán.
Que fui paloma, por querer ser gavilán.

No sé que ha pasado hoy en el foro, pero creo que las tonterías de abril andan sueltas, y sus señorías moderatricias no dan abasto.

Y, si lo/la presente es _off-topic_, hágase la voluntad oportunamente cualificada.

Feliz año nuevo en Marte (o Venus, no me acuerdo bien) 

MA


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## la_machy

...tienes razon...porque hoy me ha tocado leer cada cosa que, definitivamente creo que todo se debe a April´s fool


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## Miguel Antonio

Miguel Antonio said:


> Esto me hace recordar una canción interpretada por Pablo Abraira, cuyo estribillo reza:
> Amiga/o, hay que ver como es el amor.
> Que vuelve a quien lo toma: gavilán o paloma.
> Pobre tonto, ingenuo charlatán.
> Que fui paloma, por querer ser gavilán.
> 
> No sé que ha pasado hoy en el foro, pero creo que las tonterías de abril andan sueltas, y sus señorías moderatricias no dan abasto.
> 
> Y, si lo/la presente es _off-topic_, hágase la voluntad oportunamente cualificada.
> 
> Feliz año nuevo en Marte (o Venus, no me acuerdo bien)
> 
> MA





la_machy said:


> ...tienes razon...porque hoy me ha tocado leer cada cosa que, definitivamente creo que todo se debe a April´s fool


¿Quién tiene razón? 

¿Kant? ¿Pura?



Y, respondiendo a la pregunta original:
¿Es: _April's fool _o _April fools'_?

El primer inocente que levante la mano.


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## Manuel G. Rey

Miguel Antonio said:


> El día 1 de abril es el día en que en el mundo anglosajón se celebra lo que en España corresponde a los Santos Inocentes del 28 de diciembre, pero en su aspecto lúdico y no religioso. O sea, que viene a ser "inocente, inocente".
> Saludos
> 
> MA



No solo en el mundo anglosajón. En el francófono es 'le poisson d'avril' y al 'inocente' se le cuelga de la espalda un papel recortado en forma de pez.


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