# ¿En qué barrio vives?



## BB1

"¿En qué barrio vives?" "En el centro / en la Parte Vieja / en Chamberí / en Iturrama"
Which would be the best translation for that question?
My attempt, "Which area do you live in?"
For some reason the word NEIGHBOURHOOD does not sound right to me in this context.


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## SuperScuffer

I think I would phrase it more specifically given the answer you are expecting (using London as an example):-

"Which part of London/town/the city do you live in?" or "Where in London/town/the city do you live?"

"Which area do you live in?" is fine if they have already told you that they live in the city.


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## BB1

Thank you very much SuperScuffer. That's very helpful.


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## nahamani

BB1 said:


> For some reason the word NEIGHBOURHOOD does not sound right to me in this context.


This is from a U.S. perspective.  And it is taking into account that I have lived just outside of downtown Los Angeles since Feb. '04.  I agree with what you say above.  It applies here as well.

barrio

_nombre masculino_

1.
Parte de una población de extensión relativamente grande, que contiene un agrupamiento social espontáneo y que tiene un carácter peculiar, físico, social, económico o étnico por el que se identifica.
"visitar el barrio histórico"
barrio bajo
Barrio donde viven las clases sociales más pobres.
España
barrio chino
Barrio donde se agrupan comunidades de origen chino.Barrio donde se centran la prostitución y la vida nocturna.
"el barrio chino de Nueva York"

2.
Parte de una población situada en su periferia y a menudo separada por un intervalo sin poblar.
We often use the word *district *for the above context.  In Los Angeles Little Tokyo would be a *district.  *And a smaller area within Little Tokyo would be a *neighborhood*.  There are clearly defined, district maps of Los Angeles.  I looked them up to find out the ACTUAL district that I live in.  But many Los Angelenos are not aware of this, nor do they necessarily adhere to district boundaries when saying what part of town they live in.  I am a reject, so I do.  Other people do as well but I'm NOT suggesting that they are rejects too!  

There are surely people who use the words *district *and *neighborhood *interchangeably and to me that's fine, but it is probably NOT semantically correct.



SuperScuffer said:


> "Which part of London/town/the city do you live in?" or "Where in London/town/the city do you live?"
> 
> "Which area do you live in?" is fine if they have already told you that they live in the city.



All of the above we could/would use as well.

Best wishes!


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## bigheadlouis

This is interesting because I think it greatly depends on 1. what you're hoping to find out and 2. how cities set up their subdivisions.

NYC is divided into five boroughs (different from boroughs in the UK): Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island. Within each one, there are a ton of _neighborhoods_. Ex: Chinatown and SoHo are in Manhattan, Williamsburg is in Brooklyn.

"¿En qué barrio vives?" "En el centro / en la Parte Vieja / en Chamberí / en Iturrama"
In New York, these are *neighborhoods, *and I could totally ask "What neighborhood do you live in?" Contrary to LA, we'd never use the term districts (here, those are numbered administrative divisions).

The suggestions by SuperScuffer are great and work–it's just they don't necessarily prompt for the same answer. If someone asked me one of these, I might respond with my borough. Then they might repeatedly ask "where" until I list my neighborhood. I could also respond with "I live near/around [landmark or neighborhood]."


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## nahamani

bigheadlouis said:


> This is interesting because I think it greatly depends on 1. what you're hoping to find out and 2. how cities set up their subdivisions.
> 
> NYC is divided into five boroughs (different from boroughs in the UK): Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island. Within each one, there are a ton of _neighborhoods_. Ex: Chinatown and SoHo are in Manhattan, Williamsburg is in Brooklyn.
> 
> "¿En qué barrio vives?" "En el centro / en la Parte Vieja / en Chamberí / en Iturrama"
> In New York, these are *neighborhoods, *and I could totally ask "What neighborhood do you live in?" Contrary to LA, we'd never use the term districts (here, those are numbered administrative divisions).
> 
> The suggestions by SuperScuffer are great and work–it's just they don't necessarily prompt for the same answer. If someone asked me one of these, I might respond with my borough. Then they might repeatedly ask "where" until I list my neighborhood. I could also respond with "I live near/around [landmark or neighborhood]."




Wow!  Fascinating!  You make such a great point!  Best!


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## gengo

SuperScuffer said:


> "Which part of London/town/the city do you live in?" or "Where in London/town/the city do you live?"



I agree with all of those, and in colloquial language we also use "what," as in "What part of town do you live in?"  I often use that very phrase myself, when I meet someone who lives in my city and I want to know their specific area.


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## Circunflejo

Would _what's your nabe_ work?


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## gengo

Circunflejo said:


> Would _what's your nabe_ work?



It would work very well if your goal were to make people scratch their heads.    

Where I live, we usually don't use the word neighborhood when asking about which section of a city a person lives in.  We do, however, use it as follows.

-I live in San Francisco.
-What part of the city do you live in?
-Nob Hill.
-Do you like it?
-Yes, it's a really nice neighborhood.


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## Circunflejo

gengo said:


> It would work very well if your goal were to make people scratch their heads.


Well, I'll wait for answers from users from the East Coast, if you don't mind. Maybe they have a diferent point of view.

Edit: thanks @gengo for the corrections.


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## gengo

Circunflejo said:


> Well, I'll wait for answers from user*s* from the East Coast, if you don't bother *mind*. Maybe they have a diferent point of view.



Possibly, but in my 60 years of talking to people from the East Coast and watching TV and movies, I've never heard it.  Of course, that doesn't mean it isn't used, but I'm confident that it is not in widespread use.


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## bigheadlouis

gengo said:


> It would work very well if your goal were to make people scratch their heads.


Yeah, I had to look this up (_nabe_ is apparently the front end shortening of neighborhood) . You might hear someone ask "what hood do you live in?" but, even as an ardent user of NYC slang, I would never say this (it doesn't give the best impression).


gengo said:


> Where I live, we usually don't use the word neighborhood when asking about which section of a city a person lives in.


Yep, the use of the word neighborhood isn't necessarily used everywhere. Even in New York, it might not be my first instinct. But if I specifically wanted to know whether you lived in Hell's Kitchen, it would get me there faster than if you responded Manhattan > Midtown > Midtown West > Hell's Kitchen and sounds perfectly natural.


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## sombrillita_de_martini

Maybe also, *whereabouts* in London/city do you live?


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## gengo

sombrillita_de_martini said:


> Maybe also, whereabouts in London/*the* city do you live?



  That works in my English.


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## Circunflejo

bigheadlouis said:


> Yeah, I had to look this up (_nabe_ is apparently the front end shortening of neighborhood) .


So I learn one, let's say, non-formal world in English and nobody knows/uses it. What a success! I guess that I'll stick to the formal language that I learnt/learned. Thank you.


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## gengo

Circunflejo said:


> So I learn one, let's say, non-formal world in English and nobody knows/uses it. What a success! I guess that I'll stick to the formal language that I learnt/learned.



Jeje, no puedo decirte cuántas veces me ha pasado lo mismo, tanto en español como en japonés.


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## Graciela J

nahamani said:


> barrio
> 
> _nombre masculino_
> 
> 1.
> Parte de una población de extensión relativamente grande, que contiene un agrupamiento social espontáneo y que tiene un carácter peculiar, físico, social, económico o étnico por el que se identifica.
> "visitar el barrio histórico"
> barrio bajo
> Barrio donde viven las clases sociales más pobres.
> España
> barrio chino
> Barrio donde se agrupan comunidades de origen chino.Barrio donde se centran la prostitución y la vida nocturna.
> "el barrio chino de Nueva York"
> 
> 2.
> Parte de una población situada en su periferia y a menudo separada por un intervalo sin poblar.



¿De dónde es esa definición? ¿En qué país se usa con ese sentido? No tiene nada que ver con lo que yo entiendo como "barrio".


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## nahamani

Graciela J said:


> ¿De dónde es esa definición? ¿En qué país se usa con ese sentido? No tiene nada que ver con lo que yo entiendo como "barrio".


I quickly googled it     Also, I'm in the U.S.


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## BB1

Madrid and Barcelona are divided into districts and the districts are divided into neighborhoods.
https://www.madrid.es/UnidadesDesce...de dist y bar/Centro/Distrito 01 - Centro.pdf

In Spain, many Spanish speakers use the word NEIGHBOURHOOD, but it doesn't sound totally right to me and that is why I asked the question.
Which neighborhood do you live in?  Iturrama is a modern neighborhood.  The Old Town is the oldest neighbouthood.

I liked the first suggestions:
What part of Pamplona / of town do you live in?
And also, Whereabouts in the city do you live in?

Would you say, "Chamberí is a wonderful part / area of Madrid"?

I also wonder if there's a difference between American English and British English.

Thank you all.


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## sound shift

BB1 said:


> And also, Whereabouts in the city do you live in?


There should only be one "in" here: "Whereabouts in the city do you live?"


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## BB1

Yes, indeed. Thank you.


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## bigheadlouis

From your example: "_Iturrama is a modern neighborhood. The Old Town is the oldest neighbourhood." _Here, neighborhood is used in a way reminiscent of gengo's example below, and sounds perfectly natural to me. You could also use "area."


gengo said:


> -I live in San Francisco.
> -What part of the city do you live in?
> -Nob Hill.
> -Do you like it?
> -Yes, it's a really nice neighborhood.


In the US, it's natural to use this word because often neighborhoods have fixed limits and we recognize them as such. Neighborhoods are more restrictive than areas, which might encompass one or more neighborhoods. For example, Tenderloin is a popular neighborhood in San Francisco that borders Nob Hill. If someone asked "what part of the city do you live in?" I could say "in the Nob Hill/Tenderloin" area, but _not_ neighborhood.


BB1 said:


> Would you say, "Chamberí is a wonderful part / area of Madrid"?


Yes, these sound fine (I prefer area).


BB1 said:


> I also wonder if there's a difference between American English and British English.


In my experience, "neighborhood" and "area" are both mostly fine in the US, but in the UK, "area." I'll let a Brit chime in, though.


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## Aviador

Graciela J said:


> ¿De dónde es esa definición? ¿En qué país se usa con ese sentido? No tiene nada que ver con lo que yo entiendo como "barrio".


En Chile, por ejemplo. Barrio es una parte de una ciudad que no constituye una división administrativa oficial (aunque sus límites pueden coincidir con una) y que los habitantes de esa ciudad y del propio barrio identifican por ciertas características que la hacen diferente de otras por motivos históricos, arquitectónicos, de uso del suelo, socioculturales, etc. y que tiene usualmente fronteras no muy precisamente definidas, determinadas espontáneamente por la población. En este sentido, _barrio_ se entiende de forma diferente en Buenos Aires.


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## elroy

BB1 said:


> "¿En qué barrio vives?" "En el centro / en la Parte Vieja / en Chamberí / en Iturrama"
> Which would be the best translation for that question?
> My attempt, "Which area do you live in?"
> For some reason the word NEIGHBOURHOOD does not sound right to me in this context.


In Chicago, “neighborhood” is exactly the word that’s used.  Chicago is divided into clearly demarcated *neighborhoods*: https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam...tywide_Maps/City_Neighborhoods_1978_11x17.pdf

So it may depend on the city.  As a general translation, I would say “What *part of town* do you live in?”


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## BB1

Thank you!


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## OtroLencho

BB1 said:


> In Spain, many Spanish speakers use the word NEIGHBOURHOOD, but it doesn't sound totally right to me



They use the English word "neighborhood" when speaking Spanish?  That _does_ seem strange (considering the wealth of options available in Spanish).


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## elroy

I’m pretty sure she meant in English.


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## Lamarimba

elroy said:


> I’m pretty sure she meant in English.


Sí. La desaparición del español llevará todavía algún tiempo.   

Nuestra_ barrio_ es otra palabra más que proviene del árabe. Y cualquiera que sea su etimología, no remite tanto a los vecinos (nosotros diríamos en ese caso _vecindario_) como al lugar físico, con las características diferenciales que  han dicho más arriba, por ejemplo Aviador en #23.

El plano de Chicago que trajo @elroy me resulta muy exótico. Mi ciudad es un laberinto medieval, y cada esquina tiene su personalidad.
Estaríamos perdidos si no.


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## gengo

For the archive, I'll just add that "barrio" is often used in English in the way mentioned by Nahamani (#4), that is, an urban area where many low-income people of Hispanic descent live.  This is especially true in the Los Angeles area.  The word is used similarly to how "ghetto" is used for African-Americans.  However, I have noticed that these two words have been on the decline in the past few decades.  Hood has probably taken over for both words now.


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## Rocko!

Graciela J said:


> No tiene nada que ver con lo que yo entiendo como "barrio".





Aviador said:


> ... _barrio_ se entiende de forma diferente en Buenos Aires.


Al final no nos enteramos qué es “barrio” por allá.

También existe la palabra *barriada*.


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## Aviador

Rocko! said:


> Aviador said:
> 
> 
> 
> ... _barrio_ se entiende de forma diferente en Buenos Aires.
> 
> 
> 
> Al final no nos enteramos qué es “barrio” por allá.
> ...
Click to expand...

La Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires o Capital está dividida en _comunas_ y éstas en _barrios_. Es decir, allí el término _barrio_ corresponde a una división administrativa oficial con límites claramente definidos por la ley. Por ejemplo, la comuna 5 está formada por los barrios de Almagro, al norte, y Boedo, al sur. El barrio de Boedo tiene como límites oficiales la Avenida Independencia por el norte, la Avenida Sánchez de Loria por el este, la Avenida Caseros por el sur y la Avenida La Plata por el oeste.
¿Correcto, compañeros porteños?


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## Rocko!

Aviador said:


> La Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires o Capital está dividida en _comunas_ y éstas en _barrios_. Es decir, allí el término _barrio_ corresponde a una división administrativa oficial con límites claramente definidos por la ley. Por ejemplo, la comuna 5 está formada por los barrios de Almagro, al norte, y Boedo, al sur. El barrio de Boedo tiene como límites oficiales la Avenida Independencia por el norte, la Avenida Sánchez de Loria por el este, la Avenida Caseros por el sur y la Avenida La Plata por el oeste.


Gracias, @Aviador


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## Mister Draken

Aviador said:


> La Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires o Capital está dividida en _comunas_ y éstas en _barrios_. Es decir, allí el término _barrio_ corresponde a una división administrativa oficial con límites claramente definidos por la ley. Por ejemplo, la comuna 5 está formada por los barrios de Almagro, al norte, y Boedo, al sur. El barrio de Boedo tiene como límites oficiales la Avenida Independencia por el norte, la Avenida Sánchez de Loria por el este, la Avenida Caseros por el sur y la Avenida La Plata por el oeste.
> ¿Correcto, compañeros porteños?


Correctísimo, compañero santiaguino.
Sólo una aclaración: "Capital (Federal)" es un término administrativo y no el nombre oficial (o alternativo) de la ciudad. Muchas veces se usa de forma despectiva por personas de las provincias. Y a pesar de ser porteño (pero habiendo vivido en una provincia y con muchos antepasados en provincias del norte), entiendo las razones de ese uso despectivo.


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## Aguas Claras

If I were talking about Madrid in UK English, I would say:
What/Which part of Madrid do you live in?
What area do you live in?
Whereabouts in Madrid do you live?


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## sound shift

Circunflejo said:


> Would _what's your nabe_ work?


I've never heard this, so I doubt it would work in the UK.


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## BB1

OtroLencho said:


> They use the English word "neighborhood" when speaking Spanish?  That _does_ seem strange (considering the wealth of options available in Spanish).


Sorry, I didn't explain that properly. I meant Spaniards speaking in English. I was their teacher. I wasn't sure about the use of the word "neighbourhood".


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## BB1

Aguas Claras said:


> If I were talking about Madrid in UK English, I would say:
> What/Which part of Madrid do you live in?
> What area do you live in?
> Whereabouts in Madrid do you live?


Thank you, I am used to British English and I notice that you don't use neighbourhood in this context.


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## Aguas Claras

BB1 said:


> Thank you, I am used to British English and I notice that you don't use neighbourhood in this context.


Well, you could say "Chamberi is a nice neighbourhood", meaning it's a good place to live. But you could also use "neighbourhood" to refer to a specific part of Chamberi. It refers more to the characteristics of the immediately surrounding area than to an area that is clearly delimited. If you say, "There are four Chinese restaurants in the neighbourhood", you just mean there are four Chinese restaurants nearby.


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## BB1

Thank you Aguas Claras, a clear explanation.


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## FromPA

Circunflejo said:


> Well, I'll wait for answers from users from the East Coast, if you don't mind. Maybe they have a diferent point of view.
> 
> Edit: thanks @gengo for the corrections.


It seems to vary by city, so not every east coast city will be the same. The most generic options, which also work here in Philadelphia, seems to be “What part of the city are you from? Or “Whereabouts in the city are you from.”  If you start with that, the person responding will use whatever terminology is usual for their own city.


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