# Maruja



## rosenda

Hola a todos. Alguien sabe la traducción de <<maruja>> en inglés.- ¿Cómo se diría: tendencias marujas?


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## josama

rosenda said:
			
		

> Hola a todos. Alguien sabe la traducción de <<maruja>> en inglés.- ¿Cómo se diría: tendencias marujas?


 
I didn'te even know the word in Spanish...

PLEASE, NATIVE FOLKS, can you help us out with this??

The definition for maruja:

*maruja**.* 
(Hipocorístico del n. p. _María_).

*1.* f. despect. coloq. Ama de casa de bajo nivel cultural.


Maruja es una mujer que se preocupa sólo de su casa y es de poca cultura.


I found a word in English. It's very different, though. Is for men who won't ever accomplish anything. 

*flun·ky* also *flun·key* 

_n._ _pl._ *flun·kies*, also *flun·keys* 

A person of slavish or unquestioning obedience; a lackey.
One who does menial or trivial work; a drudge.
A liveried manservant.
Hope a native can give us a hand.


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## rosenda

Cuando he dixo maruja me refería en el sentido de cotilla, que se interesa por la vida de los demás, por los cotilleos. Me gustaría saber cómo se dice esta palabra en inglés

Gracias!


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## beatrizg

To gossip. He/she likes gossiping.


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## beatrizg

El diccionario de WordReference dice:

gossip ['gɒsɪp] 
I nombre 
1   (persona) cotilla, chismoso,-a: my neighbour is a gossip, mi vecino es un cotilla 
2   (rumor) chismes, cotilleo: got any juicy gossip?, ¿sabes algún cotilleo sabroso?

II verbo intransitivo cotillear, chismorrear [about, de]: she phoned me to gossip about Mary, llamó para contarme cotilleos sobre Mary


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## josama

beatrizg said:
			
		

> El diccionario de WordReference dice:
> 
> gossip ['gɒsɪp]
> I nombre
> 1 (persona) cotilla, chismoso,-a: my neighbour is a gossip, mi vecino es un cotilla
> 2 (rumor) chismes, cotilleo: got any juicy gossip?, ¿sabes algún cotilleo sabroso?
> 
> II verbo intransitivo cotillear, chismorrear [about, de]: she phoned me to gossip about Mary, llamó para contarme cotilleos sobre Mary


 
YES, In that case, definitely GOSSIP.

I've found this synonyms in a thesaurus:

*Main Entry:* GOSSIP
*Part of Speech:* _noun_ 2
*Definition:* rumormonger
*Synonyms:* babbler, backbiter, blabbermouth, blatherskite, busybody, chatterbox, chatterer, circulator, clack, flibbertigibbet, GOSSIPmonger, informer, long-nose, magpie, meddler, newsmonger, old hen, parrot, prattler, quidnunc, rumorer, scandalizer, scandalmonger, sieve, snoop, talebearer, tattler, telltale


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## jacinta

*Snoop * is another common word for gossip.

She's a real snoop!  She always wants to know about everybody!


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## rosenda

Gracias por toda vuestra ayuda! Ya sabía el verbo gossiping pero no sabía que se podía sustantivar. Pensaba que a lo mejor había otra palabra especifica...pero ya veo que no. Así k gracias!

saludos


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## abauhausboy

One approximate translation might be a "fishwife" - a woman with rough, unrefined manners who is prone to shouting


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## pax_petri

Hi guys! I'm a spanish girl and I have a question for this forum. Does anyone know how to say the spanish word MARUJA in English?? MARUJA is an argot term, that defines this kind of lady , house-wife (normally) who spends the hole day at home, criticizing the entire neighborhood, very gossip and also not very well... educated. Maybe it doesn't exist, maybe the "maruja" it's a spanish unique fenomenon! but I'll be waiting for your answers, thanks! xxx


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## xqby

The first word that comes to mind for me is "busybody" but that doesn't quite fit the definition perfectly.

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/busybody


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## mariposita

We don't really have one word for a _maruja_. Something like this would convey the meaning:

A gossipy housewife


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## pax_petri

[thanks 4 the answer! xxx


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## Papa Tom

While living in Ecuador, I knew a older Ecuadorian lady who was very well respected.  She was a widow of a foreigner from the United States.  I needed to buy some fabric for a new suit. She told me where to shop and to tell the owner that she "La Maruja de Robinson had sent me.  Upon hearing this I received the best attention, fabric and price.  I never really looked up the meaning of "maruja" but from the respect I received, I feel there must be a different translation than busybody housewife.


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## fsabroso

pax_petri said:


> Hi guys! I'm a spanish girl and I have a question for this forum. Does anyone know how to say the spanish word MARUJA in English?? MARUJA is an argot term, that defines this kind of lady , house-wife (normally) who spends the hole day at home, criticizing the entire neighborhood, very gossip and also not very well... educated. Maybe it doesn't exist, maybe the "maruja" it's a spanish unique fenomenon! but I'll be waiting for your answers, thanks! xxx


I've never heard "maruja" with this meaning. I just know the meaning in Spanish:
Maruja, * 1.     * f. despect. coloq. Ama de casa de bajo nivel cultural. (DRAE)



Papa Tom said:


> While living in Ecuador, I knew a older Ecuadorian lady who was very well respected.  She was a widow of a foreigner from the United States.  I needed to buy some fabric for a new suit. She told me where to shop and to tell the owner that she "La Maruja de Robinson had sent me.  Upon hearing this I received the best attention, fabric and price.  I never really looked up the meaning of "maruja" but from the respect I received, I feel there must be a different translation than busybody housewife.


Maybe they just refer to "Maria", at least in Perú, next to Ecuador, "maruja" is a common form of the name "Maria".

Pax Petri:

Please, follow this previous thread *"Maruja*" I found it using the WR dictionary.

Fsabroso
Mod.


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## thetababy

Fishwife is good! I came on this site coz I wanted to call someone a fishwife and the word maruja was on the tip of my tongue! An old moany, nagging, gossipy woman who spends all day outside dusting the carpet and talking with neighbours in her slippers.


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## inib

"Maruja" is a rather sexist term that we use around here colloquially to refer to the "typical" housewife that supposedly is dedicated to her household chores, has no political or cultural concerns, and really prefers to spend her free time watching soap operas, realities and gossiping. Excuse the awful description, maybe this concept only exists in Spain? I would like to know the closest English equivalent, and don't even dare to offer my own suggestion!


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## Mirlo

Entoces es una "ama de casa"/housewife


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## inib

Yes, Mirlo. But I was looking for a despective term that includes all these nuances. As far as I'm concerned, a "housewife" is a perfectly admirable occupation


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## Pitxuflitos

Hi Inib,

I very much liked your definition of "maruja" and I am struggling to think of the English equivalent. The nearest I can come up with is "busybody" but a busybody needn't necessarily be a housewife.

Anyway, hope it helps. Regards!


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## inib

Thanks, Pitxuflitos, I tried the threads, but they were no longer available.  You're getting closer to my idea, but I'm looking for a word that combines the acceptance of an overworked, perfectionist housewife, with the contradiction that she has idle passtimes, (not just a nosey-parker, as I would have said in my times!) It really is quite complex


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## Alisterio

How about "hausfrau"? I don't know why translating it into German suddenly makes it a slightly disparaging description, but somehow it does...


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## inib

I see what you mean, and can't disagree altogether, without wanting to offend Germans. But it still won't help me to convince my Spanish students of English if I give them a foreign term. They really do ask the most peculiar questions! Thanks to everyone who keeps trying.


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## Singinswtt11

How about Houseslave? I read it in a story call A&P by John Updike

Now that I think about it, you could use Stepford wife but that really depends on if you have seen the movie or read Levin's novel.

Hi Mirlo!


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## inib

Thanks, Singinswtt11, Houseslave is getting closer still. I must admit to my ignorance about the novel and film


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## Singinswtt11

No problem, it's probably an American thing ; ). It's a movie/novel that depicts these supposedly "perfect" housewives from back in the 70's. They were typical beautiful, svelte women who were the perfect caregivers, cooks, and mothers... Of course it turns out they were all robotic. I'll let you know if something else occurs to me!


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## inib

A "Maruja" is almost all these things, except a stereotype of physical perfection. In fact, she's more likely to appear in a dressing gown and curlers on occasions, without going to the extremes of Hilda Ogden (a reference that British members of my generation might understand) And many thanks again.


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## Alisterio

In Scotland you'd call her a "wifey". Frump? I can't think of anything else...


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## inib

I really like "frump". Maybe it's because I heard it as a child, but I can really identify with that. Many thanks. My only doubt is that a frump doesn't have a total masochistic dedication to her household duties, but I doubt we can get any closer. That's what I'll tell my pupil. X X X


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## Singinswtt11

Hmm... frump here refers strictly to someone's style of dress/appearance. And wifey is what a lot of younger people use to refer to their female significant other. Interesting!

Cheers!


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## Mirlo

inib said:


> Yes, Mirlo. But I was looking for a despective term that includes all these nuances. As far as I'm concerned, a "housewife" is a perfectly admirable occupation


 
I don't think there is an expression fro what you want...If you want to call a housewife in a respectable manner usually the people use "homemaker" 
The only thing that I can think is "*a busybody housewife*".
Anyway I hope It helps,

Hi singinswtt11...


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## Franzi

inib said:


> "Maruja" is a rather sexist term that we use around here colloquially to refer to the "typical" housewife that supposedly is dedicated to her household chores, has no political or cultural concerns, and really prefers to spend her free time watching soap operas, realities and gossiping. Excuse the awful description, maybe this concept only exists in Spain? I would like to know the closest English equivalent, and don't even dare to offer my own suggestion!


 
I can't think of a slang term for this, perhaps because that's what I tend to assume about any housewife (no matter how unfair that might be in reality).  How about just "stereotypical housewife"?


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## Mirlo

Franzi said:


> I can't think of a slang term for this, perhaps because that's what I tend to assume about any housewife (no matter how unfair that might be in reality). How about just "stereotypical housewife"?


 
*That's exactly what I said!!!!!!*


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## elirlandes

I would go for "charlady" / "charwoman"... 

This describes perfectly the based-at-home, dressed-in-"house-clothes", cigarette-hanging-out-of-mouth, gossipy _*maruja*_ that we all know and love in Spain...

This is not as commonly used as maruja in Spain, but maybe we havel less women like that here... (I don't think!)
_*Busybody *_is pretty good too...

Last note... for me a maruja doesn't necessarily have to be a housewife. In fact it is even applied to the sort of men that we here in Ireland would call an "'ould woman".


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## Franzi

elirlandes said:


> I would go for "charlady" / "charwoman"...
> 
> This describes perfectly the based-at-home, dressed-in-"house-clothes", cigarette-hanging-out-of-mouth, gossipy _*maruja*_ that we all know and love in Spain...


 
I thought a 'charwoman' was a cleaner.  (But then I've only read it in books.  It's not a word I've heard used in AE.)


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## elirlandes

Franzi said:


> I thought a 'charwoman' was a cleaner.  (But then I've only read it in books.  It's not a word I've heard used in AE.)



That is its origin ("chore woman" - the woman who does the chores around a house) but it generally has the same connotations as a maruja.


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## Mirlo

elirlandes said:


> That is its origin ("chore woman" - the woman who does the chores around a house) but it generally has the same connotations as a maruja.


 
Not bad, but It's the same thing as a "housewife" that sometimes out of boredom becomes a busybody...

Saludos,


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## elirlandes

No. Charlady / charwoman is used for its connotation of maruja nowadays. Its usage for "cleaning lady" is now archaic.

Housewife is just a housewife.


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## Macseoin

Anybody like the word - Mrs. Homebody?  Can't be worse.


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## elirlandes

Macseoin said:


> Anybody like the word - Mrs. Homebody?  Can't be worse.



This doesn't do it for me...


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## Mirlo

Macseoin said:


> Anybody like the word - Mrs. Homebody? Can't be worse.


 
Like it!!!!!



elirlandes said:


> No. Charlady / charwoman is used for its connotation of maruja nowadays. Its usage for "cleaning lady" is now archaic.
> 
> Housewife is just a housewife.


 
*charwoman*

_noun_ (_char, women_) 
A woman employed to do housework.


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## inib

Lots of thanks to everyone who has helped me. I reckon I'll go for "frumpy housewife"!


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## Mirlo

inib said:


> Lots of thanks to everyone who has helped me. I reckon I'll go for "frumpy housewife"!


You are welcome, good choice!!!!


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## Singinswtt11

Sounds perfect to me!


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## elirlandes

inib said:


> Lots of thanks to everyone who has helped me. I reckon I'll go for "frumpy housewife"!



I think that this does not capture the idea that maruja is often used to portray a sense of being nosey and/or a gossip.


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## JB

There is a Yiddish term "yenta" which is in common use in the U.S.

You can find several definitions here
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=yenta&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=


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## tulipán

Hi, what about "*old hen*" or possibly "*old hag*". Some women might laugh, others would take offense (especially if they ARE older and don't find it very funny to be categorized as so).

Another word that comes to mind could be (maybe, possibly) "*white trash*". The image that comes to mind is someone who doesn't work, rude, dirty, etc. Otherwise, you could say "*townie*", which is less harsh, but still kind of a funny word with negative connotation, also "*hillbilly*" or "*hick*", but these words mostly refer to being "uncultured" but not necessarily a housewife, but yes with the connotation of staying at home ie: no job. 

All in all, I think "*old hen*" is the closest _American _term for maruja...


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## elirlandes

tulipán said:


> Hi, what about "*old hen*" or possibly "*old hag*". Some women might laugh, others would take offense (especially if they ARE older and don't find it very funny to be categorized as so).
> 
> Another word that comes to mind could be (maybe, possibly) "*white trash*". The image that comes to mind is someone who doesn't work, rude, dirty, etc. Otherwise, you could say "*townie*", which is less harsh, but still kind of a funny word with negative connotation, also "*hillbilly*" or "*hick*", but these words mostly refer to being "uncultured" but not necessarily a housewife, but yes with the connotation of staying at home ie: no job.
> 
> All in all, I think "*old hen*" is the closest _American _term for maruja...



Old Hen is a term I am not familiar with and may work. The others you mention do not match with "maruja".


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## inib

Thanks for trying, tulipan, but I can't say any of them convince me. They all have negative connotations, but in different ways. A HAG, apart from ugly is essentially unpleasant, spiteful, or perhaps even cruel, a HILLBILLY, as I understand it is rather like the British "country bumpkin", or the unfairly stereotyped Spanish "pueblerino". I wouldn't dare to use "yenta", because, although I've heard it, I'm not sure of all its connotations, and I don't want a foreign word anyway. That's why I rejected "hausfrau". I am grateful, though, for everybody's opinions.


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## inib

elirlandes said:


> I would go for "charlady" / "charwoman"...
> 
> This describes perfectly the based-at-home, dressed-in-"house-clothes", cigarette-hanging-out-of-mouth, gossipy _*maruja*_ that we all know and love in Spain...
> 
> This is not as commonly used as maruja in Spain, but maybe we havel less women like that here... (I don't think!)
> _*Busybody *_is pretty good too...
> 
> Last note... for me a maruja doesn't necessarily have to be a housewife. In fact it is even applied to the sort of men that we here in Ireland would call an "'ould woman".


 HI, elirlandes, still going on about the same thing as I received new replies today. I wasn't keen on "charlady/woman" either, but I can see that you know what I mean. I would swear that you are even acquainted with Mrs. Harrison, who is a real "maruja", and British!!


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## CrazyforIdioms

It's called a nosy parker


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## Södertjej

I'm not sure there's an English expression for maruja, the Spanish term implies:
Low class
Low cultural level
Normally in her forties or older.
Housewife who's only concerned about her home and has no other interests in life, except probably tabloids and where to buy bargains.
Cheap clothing. No idea about what's in, but very strong ideas about what she should wear. Same applies for hair, normally they don't use make up daily.
Bad taste for decoration which she obviously is not aware of. Any piece with glitter or golden will immediately become a favourite. Or those awful plates that say "Souvenir from..."


Now if there's an English word that conveys all that, please let us know.


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## SDLX Master

I agree with the meaning our forum members refer, but none mentioned the word is also used as a female name, at least here.


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## Franzi

Södertjej said:


> I'm not sure there's an English expression for maruja, the Spanish term implies:
> Low class
> Low cultural level
> Housewife who's only concerned about her home and has no other interests in life, except probably tabloids and where to buy bargains.
> Cheap clothing. No idea about what's in, but very strong ideas about what she should wear.
> Bad taste for decoration which she obviously is not aware of. Any piece with glitter or golden will immediately become a favourite. Or those awful plates that say "Souvenir from..."
> 
> Now if there's an English word that conveys all that, please let us know.


 
There are words that have a similar set of nuances, but they are region-specific and usually describe specific cultural and ethnic groups (sometimes both men and women).

This Urban Dictionary entry covers 'guidette', 'jewish American princess', and 'white trash' as they apply to stereotypes about New Jersey: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jersey girl&defid=3856686

I suspect native speakers of different ages or from different regions will disagree, but to me, the term 'housewife' carries all of the negative connotations you've listed.


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## Södertjej

As you probably know, maruja as a noun is only used in Spain. 

Regarding housewife, women like those in Desperate housewives wouldn't be considered marujas, they have jobs, some of them are very successful, and they're not lower class. I think they can be called housewives but I don't think housewife necessarily implies "white trash".


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## Franzi

Södertjej said:


> As you probably know, maruja as a noun is only used in Spain.
> 
> Regarding housewife, women like those in Desperate housewives wouldn't be considered marujas, they have jobs, some of them are very successful, and they're not lower class. I think they can be called housewives but I don't think housewife necessarily implies "white trash".


 
Yes, but what I'm saying is that unless someone says something like "society housewife", if I hear the word 'housewife', my image is of a tacky lower class woman who likes soap operas.

I haven't seen Desperate Housewives, but I think the title is mostly just supposed to be catchy.  Women who have jobs are not housewives _by definition!_  Even if these characters do appear on the show, this is _not _what that word means.  In addition, rich women often don't get called "housewives".  If they're high society enough, they're "socialites".


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## Södertjej

Well, they're more upper middleclass, and some of them work, some of them don't. What I meant is that maybe housewife doesn't always imply "tacky lower class woman" but maruja does.


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## Franzi

Södertjej said:


> Well, they're more upper middleclass, and some of them work, some of them don't. What I meant is that maybe housewife doesn't always imply "tacky lower class woman" but maruja does.


 
I think it would very much depend on what native speaker you asked--how old they were, what country they lived in, what class they were, etc.


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## inib

Södertjej said:


> I'm not sure there's an English expression for maruja, the Spanish term implies:
> Low class
> Low cultural level
> Normally in her forties or older.
> Housewife who's only concerned about her home and has no other interests in life, except probably tabloids and where to buy bargains.
> Cheap clothing. No idea about what's in, but very strong ideas about what she should wear. Same applies for hair, normally they don't use make up daily.
> Bad taste for decoration which she obviously is not aware of. Any piece with glitter or golden will immediately become a favourite. Or those awful plates that say "Souvenir from..
> 
> Now if there's an English word that conveys all that, please let us know.


As you can see. sodertejej, this dicussion has been going on for a long time, and I've received a lot of helpful suggestions, but none of them seem to cover the whole range of concepts that we understand by "maruja". Nevertheless, even I am wondering if you haven't stereotyped a little too much. A "maruja" can have a nice house, certainly pristine, but not necessarily "gaudy". 
Just an opinion, and I'm very pleased to see that you've answered after all this time. Un saludo cordial....


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## Södertjej

inib said:


> Nevertheless, even I am wondering if you haven't stereotyped a little too much. A "maruja" can have a nice house, certainly pristine, but not necessarily "gaudy".


Well, I think that's exactly what maruja is, a stereotype and I wouldn't expect them to decorate their homes in a minimalistic designer style rather the same lack of elegance in their homes as in their clothes, but I give you it may be a question of "perspective", like Franzi says about the usage in English.


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## fenixpollo

Södertjej said:


> Well, I think that's exactly what maruja is, a stereotype and I wouldn't expect them to decorate their homes in a minimalistic designer style rather the same lack of elegance in their homes as in their clothes, but I give you it may be a question of "perspective", like Franzi says about the usage in English.


 What Franzi says about the usage in English is stereotypical and biased, and most likely offensive to any housewife, home-maker or stay-at-home mom, regardless of their socio-economic status.  





Franzi said:


> ... if I hear the word 'housewife', my image is of a tacky lower class woman who likes soap operas.


 If we follow this connection, then "maruja" in Spanish is an insult that is based on cultural biases. I agree with both inib and elirlandes:





			
				inib said:
			
		

> ...I've received a lot of helpful suggestions, but none of them seem to cover the whole range of concepts that we understand by "maruja".





			
				elirlandes said:
			
		

> _Housewife_ is just a housewife.


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## Södertjej

fenixpollo said:


> If we follow this connection, then "maruja" in Spanish is an insult that is based on cultural biases.


It is offensive! that's why I said I didn't think it was the same as "housewife". There's nothing pejorative about ama de casa (the usual translation for housewife), but maruja is not something you'd ever say to someone to her face.


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## Feralga921

Hola,
En Ecuador, es verdad, que a las María, se les dice Maruja, pero también un viejo cacho o chiste o dicho que dice: LA BRUJA MARUJA, muy comunmente utilizado antes para referirse a las esposas como brujas.


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## inib

Södertjej said:


> Well, I think that's exactly what maruja is, a stereotype and I wouldn't expect them to decorate their homes in a minimalistic designer style rather the same lack of elegance in their homes as in their clothes, but I give you it may be a question of "perspective", like Franzi says about the usage in English.


 *You're right*. In fact, I started off this thread (though it has since been merged with others) giving a description of a stereotype. If you read back, there are perfect words for one or other aspect of the "Maruja", but none of us have agreed that we've found the word to cover all its connotations. We just have to accept that sometimes a language has a word unequalled by other languages. I discovered this when I first came to Spain nearly 30 years ago and heard gems like "tener ganas" or "ligar". Of course there are translations, but none that suit all interpretations, and never seem quite so rotund and "quaint".
Thanks again to everyone who has contributed.


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## acaritj

Papa Tom said:


> While living in Ecuador, I knew a older Ecuadorian lady who was very well respected.  She was a widow of a foreigner from the United States.  I needed to buy some fabric for a new suit. She told me where to shop and to tell the owner that she "La Maruja de Robinson had sent me.  Upon hearing this I received the best attention, fabric and price.  I never really looked up the meaning of "maruja" but from the respect I received, I feel there must be a different translation than busybody housewife.



I've also encountered this term in a less derogatory context--specifically in Huaraz, Perú I stayed in a hostel called "La Casa Maruja." I'm assuming here it takes on a more colloquial and endearing connotation but can't put my finger on exactly what the translation would be. Can anyone help me out? Thanks!


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## inib

acaritj said:


> I've also encountered this term in a less derogatory context--specifically in Huaraz, Perú I stayed in a hostel called "La Casa Maruja." I'm assuming here it takes on a more colloquial and endearing connotation but can't put my finger on exactly what the translation would be. Can anyone help me out? Thanks!


 In this case, it could just simply be a diminutive of María. I mean, the owner's  real name.


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## Mike Roberts

This thread is old, but I was looking for this same word my grandmother's family used: maruja. Thanks kindly for this discussion. I might add that in the States, if one refers to someone (male or female) in a facetious and campy way as "Gladys Kravitz," most persons will understand the meaning. Gladys Kravitz was a character on the TV show "Bewitched" during the late 1960's and early 1970's. Mrs. Kravitz was the nosy neighbor who was always peeking out her window to check on the latest display of her next-door neighbors and to gossip about them. The epithet "You're such a Mrs. Kravtiz/Gladys Kravitz" is an amusing but pointed way to tell someone that you feel they need to stop being so nosy into your own/someone else's business. I remember my great-aunts using this word in the same way about some old lady/man busybody. Very old-fashioned and, yes, sexist...like my grandmother's generation!


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## aloofsocialite

I don't think I've ever heard Gladys Kravitz's name turned into a colloquial term, but I must say I love it and would understand it if it were used in context.  I'm also not a kid so I have the cultural cache to understand the reference, people much younger than me would probably be clueless, however.  Let them learn, I say.  Welcome Mike Roberts.


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## EddieZumac

Vengo a defender a todas las Marujas. En España, y en la colonia española en México, Maruca es un diminutivo de María. Nada más, sin un sentido despectivo. He conocido a varias Mariás que le dicen Maruja o Maruca en forma diminutiva y cariñosa. No sé porque algunos de ustedes le quieren aplicar un sentido despectivo y bastante dañino.

Una traducción de Maruca al inglés sería Marie.


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## aloofsocialite

EddieZumac:
Es loable que quieras defender a las Marujas, pero no es el caso que algunos de nosotros le queramos dar un sentido despectivo, sino así figura en los diccionarios y ya lleva tiempo que se usa con ese significado.  Ahora bien, no disputo que no sea algo muy bonito decir referido a una mujer, pero lo de darle un sentido despectivo, lamento que ya está arraigado en muchos lugares.  Dudo mucho que los foreros lo digamos para ofender, sino para comentar el uso, ya que este es un foro de lenguas.  
Gracias por ampliar el uso de la palabra.  Tal vez las Marujas reivindicarán el uso de la palabra. 

Maruja


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## cucio

EddieZumac, Maruja is used here as a placeholder name, like this Gladys Kravitz character cited before. María is the most common name for women in Spain (maybe in Catholic countries in general) and Maruja a common pet-name for it, so it is a logical choice for the name of the stereotypical housewife.

Maruja's name is heard across the patio when her fellow marujas want to get her attention for a bit of mid-morning gossip: "Marujaaaaaaaa!!!"

There is a rather funny short film which ironizes about this stereotype (warning: strong Andalusian accent with English subtitles). I am not allowed to post links, so search YouTube for a 3:30 video called "Hablando en plata", its id is 09YSNOsVebM


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## EddieZumac

aloofsocialite said:


> EddieZumac:
> Es loable que quieras defender a las Marujas, pero no es el caso que algunos de nosotros le queramos dar un sentido despectivo, sino así figura en los diccionarios y ya lleva tiempo que se usa con ese significado.  Ahora bien, no disputo que no sea algo muy bonito decir referido a una mujer, pero lo de darle un sentido despectivo, lamento que ya está arraigado en muchos lugares.  Dudo mucho que los foreros lo digamos para ofender, sino para comentar el uso, ya que este es un foro de lenguas.
> Gracias por ampliar el uso de la palabra.  Tal vez las Marujas reivindicarán el uso de la palabra.
> 
> Maruja


A lo que voy es que no es lo mismo
 Maruja como diminutivo de María
que
Maruja como un término despectivo encontrado en los diccionarios.

La primera es un NOMBRE y la segunda es un TËRMINO.

Tampoco es lo mismo
Adelita como diminutivo de Adela
que
Adelita como término para las mujeres que seguian los campamentos y batallas de los revolucionarios mexicanos, c. 1910.


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