# What = ??



## Adam

Hello.
I was hoping to get some help on an easy translation question.

A friend and I have had a minor debate about translating "what" to spanish.  I was taught that the correct translation is "como" rather than "que" which is the direct translation.  My side is that this is just one of the differences in translating between languages ("de nada" is really "you're welcome" instead of "of nothing", etc etc) but he's holding onto his literal translation.  

Can anyone help me out?


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## Artrella

Hi Adam!!   "what" means "qué"

*How * means *cómo*


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## Adam

Yes I know...however we were always taught (both I and my wife who was a Spanish major) that when responding to something that you didn't hear or understand, the proper word was "como" and that "que" was sort of rude or improper.  Is that not true?

In other words, say you're watching television and your son comes into the room to ask you a question.  If you didn't hear what he said would you respond with "como" or "que?"  I was under the impression that "como" was the correct response.


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## belén

But if you want to say 
What is your name? 
You will use "¿Cómo te llamas? - that's probably the confussion between you and your friend.

Cheers,
Be


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## David

¿Qué?  is *What?*
Que is *that.*
Cómo replaces *what* in ¿Cómo te llamas? (lit., How do you call yourself?), *What´s * your name, but that's not a translation, it's the substitution of an equivalent idiom.
¿Cuál? sometimes replaces what?. ¿Cuál es tu segundo nombre? "What´s your middle name?" Some logical people will tell you in Spanish that there is no question about "what" a middle name is; it´s a name between first name and last name. The question is whether it is George or Murgatroyd that is, _which _ of the long list of possible middle names is yours.


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## Artrella

Adam said:
			
		

> Yes I know...however we were always taught (both I and my wife who was a Spanish major) that when responding to something that you didn't hear or understand, the proper word was "como" and that "que" was sort of rude or improper.  Is that not true?
> 
> In other words, say you're watching television and your son comes into the room to ask you a question.  If you didn't hear what he said would you respond with "como" or "que?"  I was under the impression that "como" was the correct response.





Ah, ok! But this is something different!  In English if you say "what" in the same situation it is also rude, you have to say "sorry?"

In Spanish it is the same thing.  You should say "cómo?" and not "qué?"
because maybe it sounds more polite or better, milder to say "cómo? /cómo dijiste?". 

But "cómo?" in this case would be the parallel to "sorry?", and not the same as "what".

I hope I've made myself clear!


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## christineglez

Isn't it more complicated than that though?  I think there are many uses of the word "what".  Here are some examples.  

 (en preguntas directas) ¿qué?, ¿cuál?, ¿cómo?, ¿cuánto?: what?, ¿qué?, ¿cómo?
     what did you say?, ¿qué has dicho?
     what does it cost, ¿cuánto cuesta?
     what is his name?, ¿cuál es su nombre?
     what is that?, ¿qué es eso?
     what's the matter?, ¿qué pasa?
     what is she like?, ¿cómo es?
     what about a coffee?, ¿qué te parece un café?


I think "what" is one of those words that you have to have the context because you can't always translate it the exact same way.  Most of the time is it "qué" like Art said...i totally agree, but sometimes within the context it can be something else...but not necesarily "como".


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## Adam

Sorry, I didn't mean to give the impression that I was asking the translation for "What?"...it's just for that particular usage - ie you didn't understand a question being asked to you.


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## christineglez

In Mexico people usually say  "Mande" instead of "como" or "que" when they are they want someone to repeat something.  At least that is what my husband's family always says.  If I say "que" or "como" he says it is kinda rude...that I should say "mande"...but that is probably a Mexico thing only.  I also learned "como" at school as the way to say you didn't understand someone.


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## Adam

christineglez said:
			
		

> In Mexico people usually say "Mande" instead of "como" or "que" when they are they want someone to repeat something. At least that is what my husband's family always says. If I say "que" or "como" he says it is kinda rude...that I should say "mande"...but that is probably a Mexico thing only. I also learned "como" at school as the way to say you didn't understand someone.


It's kind of ironic that you mention that, because my friend contends that the reason we have differing views on this is because he teaches hispanic kids (in Texas), and I was taught by a woman from Spain.


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## vic_us

Artrella said:
			
		

> Ah, ok! But this is something different! In English if you say "what" in the same situation it is also rude, you have to say "sorry?"
> 
> In Spanish it is the same thing.  You should say "cómo?" and not "qué?"
> because maybe it sounds more polite or better, milder to say "cómo? /cómo dijiste?".
> 
> But "cómo?" in this case would be the parallel to "sorry?", and not the same as "what".
> 
> I hope I've made myself clear!



No creo que haya mucha diferencia entre que y como al responderle a alguien._* Todo depende del lenguaje paraverbal.  *_Pero si uno dice, ¿Qué carajo dijiste? ... bueno hay tenés razón...


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## christineglez

Exactly!  Spanish varies somewhat from place to place.  It can get really confusing!!!!!!!!


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## Artrella

vic_us said:
			
		

> No creo que haya mucha diferencia entre que y como al responderle a alguien._* Todo depende del lenguaje paraverbal.  *_Pero si uno dice, ¿Qué carajo dijiste? ... bueno *hay*   tenés razón...





Bueno, *ahí* te equivocaste !!


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## Artrella

Adam said:
			
		

> Sorry, I didn't mean to give the impression that I was asking the translation for "What?"...it's just for that particular usage - ie *you didn't * *understand a question being asked to you*.





Nope! Maybe you have to be a little bit clearer  when you ask questions!!


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## jaykemin

Ya most of the Spanish uses "como" instead of "que". I can attest to that.


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## sergio11

christineglez said:
			
		

> Exactly! Spanish varies somewhat from place to place. It can get really confusing!!!!!!!!


 
No, it does not to the extent Americans think it does. What may vary is the street language of uneducated people and peasants. When I talk to educated people from Mexico City, Guadalajara, Madrid, Bogotá, Cali, Guatemala, etc., there is no difference between their language and that of Buenos Aires, Lima or Santiago. 

"Qué" means "what," like Artrella said earlier. There is no doubt about it. It can be an interrogative pronoun or what the RAE calls an "adverbio pronominal exclamativo" (¡Qué hermoso día!--equivalent to "cuán"). 

"Que" without the stress mark can be a conjunction or a relative pronoun. 

I think most of the confusion arises from English idiomatic expressions being translated into Spanish idiomatic expressions or vice versa, where the words don't have a one to one equivalence. If you look at the expressions given in the above examples, you will notice that they are different ways of expressing something, not literal translations. You cannot deduce meanings of words from that.


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## Maeron

I would second Christine's suggestion of "_¿Mande?_" Yes, that is how it is said in Mexico. The super-polite version would be "_¿Mande usted?_" _¿Cómo?_ is uncommon, and _¿Qué?_ would be rude. I don't think Spanish speakers from any other country say "_¿mande?_" in this way, do they?

Consider that in English, there are several different ways to express it, too. Some are more typical of certain regions or social classes than others. Some, too, are more polite and others less polite:
What?
Pardon?
I beg your pardon?
Come again?
Sorry?
Excuse me?


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## Edwin

Maeron said:
			
		

> I would second Christine's suggestion of "_¿Mande?_" Yes, that is how it is said in Mexico. The super-polite version would be "_¿Mande usted?_" _¿Cómo?_ is uncommon, and _¿Qué?_ would be rude. I don't think Spanish speakers from any other country say "_¿mande?_" in this way, do they?
> 
> Consider that in English, there are several different ways to express it, too. Some are more typical of certain regions or social classes than others. Some, too, are more polite and others less polite:
> What?
> Pardon?
> I beg your pardon?
> Come again?
> Sorry?
> Excuse me?



Huh?


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## mylam

Maeron said:
			
		

> I would second Christine's suggestion of "_¿Mande?_" Yes, that is how it is said in Mexico. The super-polite version would be "_¿Mande usted?_" _¿Cómo?_ is uncommon, and _¿Qué?_ would be rude. I don't think Spanish speakers from any other country say "_¿mande?_" in this way, do they?
> 
> Consider that in English, there are several different ways to express it, too. Some are more typical of certain regions or social classes than others. Some, too, are more polite and others less polite:
> What?
> Pardon?
> I beg your pardon?
> Come again?
> Sorry?
> Excuse me?


 Estoy de acuerdo con Christine tambien. Tengo muchos amigos mexicanos aqui y todos dicen "mande" cuando quieren que repites lo que acabas de decir. 

Entiendo bien todos los equivalentes en ingles que dio Maeron.

Gracias!
Myla

Escribo en espa~ol para que me corrigen!


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## carmen37

christineglez said:
			
		

> In Mexico people usually say "Mande" instead of "como" or "que" when they are they want someone to repeat something. At least that is what my husband's family always says. If I say "que" or "como" he says it is kinda rude...that I should say "mande"...but that is probably a Mexico thing only. I also learned "como" at school as the way to say you didn't understand someone.


 
In Spain, "mande" is only used by old women in little villages. It sounds as if they were deaf.  It sounds very uneducated. And the literal translation would be something like "what do you want me to do?" "mándeme hacer algo: mandeeeeeee (usted)! 
I think that What means simply Qué, but some expresions are different in english and spanish and that can be the reasonof confussion. If I had to translate "What's your name? I would say ¿cómo te llamas? but that's the meaning of the complete sentence. However, the literal translation would be ¿Qué es tu nombre? that we don't use, but it doesn't mean that What is not Qué. Uffff, sorry if my english is too tough. Please correct me.


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## jmx

This my own version of the facts :
In my linguistic environment, if you're talking to a close friend, family, etc. you could perfectly say :

qué ?
qué dices ?
qué has dicho ?
etc.

But if it's someone less close, you would rather say :

cómo ?
cómo dice ?
perdone, que decía ?
etc.

and finally, yes, "mande ?" sounds very rural and old-fashioned in Spain, but it is NOT uneducated or unpolite, it simply has become unusual.


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## sergio11

carmen37 said:
			
		

> In Spain, "mande" is only used by old women in little villages. It sounds as if they were deaf. It sounds very uneducated. And the literal translation would be something like "what do you want me to do?" "mándeme hacer algo: mandeeeeeee (usted)!


 
This is exactly the situation in Argentina. I wanted to say the same thing as carmen37, almost word by word, but didn't, for fear to offend someone.  Since carmen37 took the lead, I will come out and agree with her.


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## carmen37

jmartins said:
			
		

> This my own version of the facts :
> In my linguistic environment, if you're talking to a close friend, family, etc. you could perfectly say :
> 
> qué ?
> qué dices ?
> qué has dicho ?
> etc.
> 
> But if it's someone less close, you would rather say :
> 
> cómo ?
> cómo dice ?
> perdone, que decía ?
> etc.
> 
> and finally, yes, "mande ?" sounds very rural and old-fashioned in Spain, but it is NOT uneducated or unpolite, it simply has become unusual.


 
jmartins, por supuesto, mi intención no es, en absoluto, ofender a nadie, pero pienso que de lo que se trata en este foro es de, no tanto si algo es correcto, sino de si, además de ser correcto, se usa o no. O que indica si lo usas. Hay muchas frases correctas, pero que AQUÍ denotan tu grupo social. Y, sinceramente, imaginas que estas en una disco, en España, te acercas a una chica, le dices : "Hola, ¿como te llamas?" y ella te responde "¿mande?". 

Por supuesto, creo que no tengo ni que comentar que si la chica es, por ejemplo, mejicana, entonces no tendría la misma consideración. Lo mismo que si un amigo español empieza a decir vos sos o tenés, o es argentino quién lo dice. Siento haber tenido que recurrir al español para matizar, pero es que mi ingles no es tan fluent y a veces corro el riesgo de que se malinterprete mi intención. 

Saludos a todos


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## sergio11

Se entiende perfectamente, carmen37. En ningún momento se nos ocurrió que tu intención era ofender a alguien, y no creo que lo hayas hecho.  Lo que pasa es que si un argentino dice que algo parece como de campesinos, tiene un efecto mucho más ofensivo, por la fama que tenemos los argentinos de ser engreídos y arrogantes. Recuerda que el 80 % de los chistes de argentinos se alimentan de eso. Hay cosas que las puede decir un español, pero no un argentino.


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## beatrizg

En Colombia el "mande" no se dice. Sin embargo a mi me parece divertido cuando se lo oigo a un mexicano. 
Yo creo que cuando hablamos con una persona, que por su acento se entiende que es de otro pais, debemos tener la mente abierta. Intarcambiar palabras, expresiones, aprender y dejar de lado los prejuicios.


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## ~PiCHi~

jmartins said:
			
		

> and finally, yes, "mande ?" sounds very rural and old-fashioned in Spain, but it is NOT uneducated or unpolite, it simply has become unusual.


 
Una vez estaba en el centro con unas amigas y se nos acercaron unos turistas españoles, bastante simpáticos por cierto, y nos preguntaron por una dirección.
Mi amiga no entendió y le dijo al señor "mande?" y éste estaba fascinado con la forma en la que le habló.
Y nos contó que no se usaba ya en españa, pero que le encantaba cómo nos escuchábamos al decirlo. Muy simpático el español. Y su hijo no estaba mal


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## carmen37

sergio11 said:
			
		

> Se entiende perfectamente, carmen37. En ningún momento se nos ocurrió que tu intención era ofender a alguien, y no creo que lo hayas hecho. Lo que pasa es que si un argentino dice que algo parece como de campesinos, tiene un efecto mucho más ofensivo, por la fama que tenemos los argentinos de ser engreídos y arrogantes. Recuerda que el 80 % de los chistes de argentinos se alimentan de eso. Hay cosas que las puede decir un español, pero no un argentino.


 
Creo que campesino para un argentino sería lo mismo que "paleto" para un español. De campo pero con connotaciones peyorativas. 

Y, a propósito, ahora que lo dices, el par de chistes que conozco de argentinos hacen referencia a eso. Ni siquiera me había fijado. Por aquí creo que lo cualquiera te dirá si le preguntas que opina sobre los argentinos, no será que son engreidos, sino "fantasmas" (es mucho mas light que engreidos)  y muuuuy melosos, con ese acento tan suave (Eso les fastidia especialmente a los chicos españoles, envidia supongo)
Saludos


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## ecaldero

Hello Adam,

In Spanish
What means "Que' 
How means "Como"
of nothing means "de nada" but we use it like: For nothing I would do that
you're welcome means "de nada"

Hope these can help you
Have a great day!



			
				Adam said:
			
		

> Hello.
> I was hoping to get some help on an easy translation question.
> 
> A friend and I have had a minor debate about translating "what" to spanish. I was taught that the correct translation is "como" rather than "que" which is the direct translation. My side is that this is just one of the differences in translating between languages ("de nada" is really "you're welcome" instead of "of nothing", etc etc) but he's holding onto his literal translation.
> 
> Can anyone help me out?


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## maqu(i)ta

Adam:
The translation to "what" is "qué". In spanish we have two kind uses to word "que". 1: Qué, with the accent, is used to make a question. "what are you doing here?: Qué estas haciendo aquí?.
2: que, without accent, used in sentences as "that", example: I said that i´ll go.


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## mickroberts

christineglez said:
			
		

> In Mexico people usually say "Mande" instead of "como" or "que" when they are they want someone to repeat something. At least that is what my husband's family always says. If I say "que" or "como" he says it is kinda rude...that I should say "mande"...but that is probably a Mexico thing only. I also learned "como" at school as the way to say you didn't understand someone.



I got nailed as someone who first learned street spanish in Mexico when in Costa Rica some asked where I had picked up my limited knowledge of the idiom.  I didn't exactly understand what was asked and replied, "mande?"  His reply was: "Ah, si ... Mexico."


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## sergio11

mickroberts said:
			
		

> I got nailed as someone who first learned street spanish in Mexico when in Costa Rica some asked where I had picked up my limited knowledge of the idiom. I didn't exactly understand what was asked and replied, "mande?" His reply was: "Ah, si ... Mexico."


 
Great story, mickroberts! It says it all.


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## Maeron

mickroberts said:
			
		

> I got nailed as someone who first learned street spanish in Mexico when in Costa Rica some asked where I had picked up my limited knowledge of the idiom. I didn't exactly understand what was asked and replied, "mande?" His reply was: "Ah, si ... Mexico."





			
				sergio11 said:
			
		

> Great story, mickroberts! It says it all.



It reminds me of the movie El Norte. The film is generally rather grim, but there is a scene with some comic relief in which the Guatemalan protagonist is going to try to pass for a Mexican, so some companions are teaching him how to talk like a Mexican (which mostly involves the liberal use of variations of _ch*ng*r_).


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## sergio11

Maeron said:
			
		

> It reminds me of the movie El Norte. The film is generally rather grim, but there is a scene with some comic relief in which the Guatemalan protagonist is going to try to pass for a Mexican, so some companions are teaching him how to talk like a Mexican (which mostly involves the liberal use of variations of _ch*ng*r_).


 
Again, in Argentina, the word "chingar" means merely to err, to fail, to miss and, when talking about a cut of a cloth or a haircut, to be uneven, and has no bad meaning at all.  I was very surprised to hear it with a different meaning when used by Mexicans.


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## Latino

YO como Mexicano tambien uso la palabra mando aunque ya no igual que antes ya que cada ves que decia mande mis amigos latinos que son de otras partes me decias que no hablaban de monday por ejemplo que vas a hacer este fin de semana? mande? no que vas a hacer on the weekend not monday, pero  de lo que se trata aqui es de descubrir nuestras formas de expresion aprender y estar mas familiarisados y no decir lo que mucha gente dice al oir hablar a gente con otro acento "escuchaste como hablan ,bien raro,es por falta de educacion" yo creo que la falta de educacion es creer que la forma de hablar de nuestro pais o ciudad es la correcta y que todos los demas son raros o mal educados por  hablar diferente o diferente hacento.


"por cierto me encanta escuchar los acentos de otras personas" 




disculpen la ortografia y falta de puntiacion


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## funnydeal

Latino said:
			
		

> YO como Mexicano tambien uso la palabra mando aunque ya no igual que antes ya que cada ves que decia mande mis amigos latinos que son de otras partes me decias que no hablaban de monday por ejemplo que vas a hacer este fin de semana? mande? no que vas a hacer on the weekend not monday, pero de lo que se trata aqui es de descubrir nuestras formas de expresion aprender y estar mas familiarisados y no decir lo que mucha gente dice al oir hablar a gente con otro acento "escuchaste como hablan ,bien raro,es por falta de educacion" yo creo que la falta de educacion es creer que la forma de hablar de nuestro pais o ciudad es la correcta y que todos los demas son raros o mal educados por hablar diferente o diferente hacento.
> 
> "*por cierto me encanta escuchar los acentos de otras personas*"
> 
> disculpen la ortografia y falta de puntiacion[/QUOTE ]
> 
> 
> Un forero ggdrew ha intentado recabar grabaciones de hispano parlantes y las ha colocado en un sitio en Internet para que todos podamos oir los diferentes acentos, de hecho necesita más, puedes checarlo en esta liga
> 
> http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1946


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## Pobresito

In the south Texas city I live in it's very impolite _not_ to say "mande", even to your best friend. I found this out by getting chewed out by a waitress. I think she was having a bad day.


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## Paty

I would like to add this:
in Mexico City I was taught by my grand father (A doctor) to always say "Mande Usted " instead of , "que?" , "como?" or "mande?"
Paty


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## ~PiCHi~

Latino said:
			
		

> YO como Mexicano tambien uso la palabra mando aunque ya no igual que antes ya que cada ves que decia mande mis amigos latinos que son de otras partes me decias que no hablaban de monday por ejemplo que vas a hacer este fin de semana? mande? no que vas a hacer on the weekend not monday, pero de lo que se trata aqui es de descubrir nuestras formas de expresion aprender y estar mas familiarisados y no decir lo que mucha gente dice al oir hablar a gente con otro acento "escuchaste como hablan ,bien raro,es por falta de educacion" yo creo que la falta de educacion es creer que la forma de hablar de nuestro pais o ciudad es la correcta y que todos los demas son raros o mal educados por hablar diferente o diferente hacento.
> 
> 
> "por cierto me encanta escuchar los acentos de otras personas"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> disculpen la ortografia y falta de puntiacion


 
Pues compatriota, yo no sé por qué suene mal educado, al contrario, el que dice "mande" suena mucho más educado que el que dice "qué", "eh", etc...


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## ~PiCHi~

Paty said:
			
		

> I would like to add this:
> in Mexico City I was taught by my grand father (A doctor) to always say "Mande Usted " instead of , "que?" , "como?" or "mande?"
> Paty


 
Well, _"mande usted"_ is very formal, like when you talk to your mother, or your boss, or a persona older than you.
_"mande"_ is still formal, but not that much.


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## smile784

jaja!!

This is a very funny thread we have going here.  Honestly, here is what i have gathered, and in my humble opinion:

in mexico:  they use "mande" to ask, "what?"  as in, "I didn't catch/hear that" or

however, most other places...if you wanted to ask, "what?" as in, someone asked you a question and you didn't hear them, you would respond:
"como" (as in the english, "what?")
-----OR-----
"que" (as in the english, "huh?")

so...I THINK that "que" is a little more rough where as "como" would be a little more polite.



thoughts anyone...??


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