# 1/2 pound ground beef/hamburger



## cambiandodetema

Hello, all.  I thought I would do something easy and would write my shopping list in Spanish.  Ha!  Already I am having fun with fractions.
     1. How would you translate and write "1/2 pound of ground beef" or "1/2 pound of hamburger"?
     2. How would you say it in Spanish?

Thanks.


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## Oldy Nuts

"1/2 libra de..."? Lo malo es que muy pocos hispanohablantes usan las libras, sino que los kilos (kilogramos) y los gramos.


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## Fernoweb

En España, le dirías al carnicero: "un cuarto (de kilo) de carne de ternera picada"


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## Agró

O también, _...de *picadillo *de ternera..._


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## Fernoweb

El picadillo en muchos lugares de España es el relleno del chorizo sin curar.


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## Oldy Nuts

Yo pensé que la pregunta era sobre la "media libra". En todo caso, aquí no es lo mismo carne _picada_ que _molida_.


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## Amapolas

Y aquí en la Argentina tenemos diversas formas de decirlo, dependiendo de la región. Carne picada, carne molida, pulpa molida...

Por otra parte, en este país tan carnívoro, ¿quién compra solo media libra de carne picada?  

If you're making your list on your computer, you can always look it up in google. For example, 'google-up' _conversión libras a kg_, and you'll get a weight converter - or many. Just remember to round it up; if you get something like 227 grammes, make it 200 or 250.


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## gengo

cambiandodetema said:


> Hello, all.  I thought I would do something easy and would write my shopping list in Spanish.  Ha!  Already I am having fun with fractions.
> 1. How would you translate and write "1/2 pound of ground beef" or "1/2 pound of hamburger"?
> 2. How would you say it in Spanish?



I agree with all of the comments already made, but will add that fractions in general tend to be used far less often in Spanish and other Romance languages than in English.  I once asked my French friend, upon noticing that my gas gauge was low, how to say "I'm down to an eighth of a tank" in French, and he was nearly stumped.  Of course, he could translate it, but he said that they just don't say it that way in French.  I've found the same in Spanish.  So my advice is not to use fractions other than half or quarter.

And, of course, only in the US (and Liberia and Myanmar) is the system so backwards as not to have adopted the metric system, so other people use the vastly more logical grams to weigh meat, and if you are learning Spanish, you should also learn the metric system, as it is an important part of the language.

By the way, here in California, ground beef in Spanish is always carne molida.


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## Oldy Nuts

I agree with gengo. Although one half and one quarter are used very extensively, people around here understand far more easily "20%" than "1/5".

As for the so called "metric" system ("decimal" would be more appropriate), I don't think it's any more logic than the British and US systems, but managing decimal multiples and submultiples in the decimal system of numbers we now use is certainly a lot easier than managing multiples and submultiples designed for a base six numerical system...


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## gengo

Oldy Nuts said:


> As for the so called "metric" system ("decimal" would be more appropriate), I don't think it's any more logical than the British and US systems



The British do use the metric system, although they still use the Imperial system for some things.  And as someone who has lived in the US and Japan, I can attest that the metric system is far easier to learn and to use.  Whenever an American disputes this, I ask him "Quick, how many ounces in a gallon, and how many yards in a mile?"  No one can answer without calculating.  With the metric system, you don't have to memorize silly numbers such as 5280 feet in a mile, or 128 ounces in a gallon.

But we are now off-topic.


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## SydLexia

Don't forget "cuarto y mitad" which is 375 grams and a popular order at delicatessen stalls in markets in Spain.

syd


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## Amapolas

Oldy Nuts said:


> As for the so called "metric" system ("decimal" would be more appropriate)


I've only ever heard 'metric system' in English and either 'sistema métrico' or 'sistema métrico decimal' in Spanish.


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## gato radioso

cambiandodetema said:


> Hello, all.  I thought I would do something easy and would write my shopping list in Spanish.  Ha!  Already I am having fun with fractions.
> 1. How would you translate and write "1/2 pound of ground beef" or "1/2 pound of hamburger"?
> 2. How would you say it in Spanish?
> 
> Thanks.



1/2 pound = 250 gramos = 1/4 de kilo.

You can order your butcher:

_Por favor, un cuarto de kilo de....
_
or you may as well omit "de kilo" as the context helps in this case

_Por favor, un cuarto de... y luego.....
_
As Syd said, we frequently use the _cuarto y mitad _(375gr) form

_Por favor, un cuarto de carne picada, y también cuarto y mitad de queso Roquefort..._


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## Amapolas

Just to make clear that 'un cuarto y mitad' is not used everywhere. Maybe only in Spain?


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## gato radioso

Amapolas said:


> Just to make clear that 'un cuarto y mitad' is not used everywhere. Maybe only in Spain?



Eso creo. Aunque aquí es una forma frecuente, creo que no la he oído nunca en hablantes de América.


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## Oldy Nuts

Primera vez que oigo lo del "cuarto y medio", y me demoré en darme cuenta que significa "tres octavos". Y entonces recordé que en mi infancia muy precoz, había algunas cosas que se compraban en octavos. Como el café entero, que mucha gente compraba diariamente y hacía moler inmediatamente antes de llevárselo.


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## gengo

gato radioso said:


> 1/2 pound = 250 gramos = 1/4 de kilo.



Actually, 1/2 pound = 227 grams.  Of course, no one is that precise in buying meat, so "un cuarto kilo de carne molida" would be fine.


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## gato radioso

gengo said:


> Actually, 1/2 pound = 227 grams.  Of course, no one is that precise in buying meat, so "un cuarto kilo de carne molida" would be fine.


 Yes, in this context we're supposed to be at the supermarket, not at maths class.


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## JeSuisSnob

In Mexico City we would say something like this





gengo said:


> "un cuarto [_de_ kilo] de carne molida"


Regards.


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## gengo

gato radioso said:


> Yes, in this context we're supposed to be at the supermarket, not at maths class.



But it was you who used the mathematical equal sign (=)!


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## swift

Buenas tardes:

En Costa Rica igual que en México (con la salvedad de que por acá es usual, coloquialmente, omitir _carne_): _un cuarto (*de* kilo) de (carne) molida_.

Y aquí sí se habla de medios, cuartos y octavos de tanque para la gasolina.  También hubo una época en la que era común comprar por libras, medias libras y cuartos de libras (mis abuelos, por ejemplo).

Acerca de la omisión de la preposición ‘de’ en “un cuarto kilo”, aunque no se trata exactamente del mismo sintagma, quizá les interese este otro hilo del _Sólo Español_: un cuarto de litro de vino.

Saludos.


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## gato radioso

JeSuisSnob said:


> In Mexico City we would say something like thisRegards.



In Spain we also omit "de kilo" on a daily basis, as the context is perfectly clear.


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## Amapolas

Acá en la Argentina, lo usual es decir un cuarto litro o un cuarto kilo, sin la preposición. Entiendo que desde un punto de vista sintáctico, decir un cuarto _de_ es lo correcto, pero por acá no sonaría natural. Modismos regionales. 

También es habitual pedir "un cuarto [kilo de carne] de picada", omitiendo las palabras entre corchetes. Tanto carne como kilo se sobreentienden.


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## gato radioso

Amapolas said:


> Acá en la Argentina, lo usual es decir un cuarto litro o un cuarto kilo, sin la preposición. Entiendo que desde un punto de vista sintáctico, decir un cuarto _de_ es lo correcto, pero por acá no sonaría natural. Modismos regionales.
> 
> También es habitual pedir "un cuarto [kilo de carne] de picada", omitiendo las palabras entre corchetes. Tanto carne como kilo se sobreentienden.



Hacemos exactamente igual en España, al menos en el sur.


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## cambiandodetema

SydLexia said:


> Don't forget "cuarto y mitad" which is 375 grams and a popular order at delicatessen stalls in markets in Spain.
> 
> *How do you get 375 out of "1/4 and 1/2"?  I get metric, but not the math of this.*
> 
> *Thanks.*
> *
> *


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## cambiandodetema

I agree with all of the comments already made, but will add that fractions in general tend to be used far less often in Spanish and other Romance languages than in English.  I once asked my French friend, upon noticing that my gas gauge was low, how to say "I'm down to an eighth of a tank" in French, and he was nearly stumped.  Of course, he could translate it, but he said that they just don't say it that way in French.  I've found the same in Spanish.  So my advice is not to use fractions other than half or quarter.

And, of course, only in the US (and Liberia and Myanmar) is the system so backwards as not to have adopted the metric system, so other people use the vastly more logical grams to weigh meat, and if you are learning Spanish, you should also learn the metric system, as it is an important part of the language.

By the way, here in California, ground beef in Spanish is always carne molida.

*I will need fractions in a hardware store.  In one US chain of hardware stores, the names of many things are posted in English and Spanish.  I can now say "threaded bushing/buje roscado," but if I need a 5/16 inch bushing, I'd like to have that fraction in my repertoire.

And I  love the information on how different cultures sometimes do everyday things in ways so different from my own.*


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## Aguas Claras

gato radioso said:


> As Syd said, we frequently use the _cuarto y mitad _(375gr) form


Y "mitad de cuarto".

Pero lo más fácil para alguien que no esté acostumbrado a estas formas de medir es decir 100 gramos, 200 gramos, 250 gramos (cuarto), etc.


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## franzjekill

cambiandodetema said:


> only in the US (and Liberia and Myanmar) is the system so backwards as not to have adopted the metric system


No sé a ciencia cierta en qué países de América Latina, pero sé que en algunos se utiliza la libra como medida de peso. Panamá, Colombia, Costa Rica ¿? Necesita confirmación lo que estoy diciendo, pero seguro que algunos hay.


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## cambiandodetema

Aguas Claras said:


> Y "mitad de cuarto".
> 
> Pero lo más fácil para alguien que no esté acostumbrado a estas formas de medir es decir 100 gramos, 200 gramos, 250 gramos (cuarto), etc.



*Oh, I see.  A quarter of a kilogram (250) and half of that (125) is 375. Got it! *


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## gengo

franzjekill said:


> No sé a ciencia cierta en qué países de América Latina, pero sé que en algunos se utiliza la libra como medida de peso. Panamá, Colombia, Costa Rica ¿? Necesita confirmación lo que estoy diciendo, pero seguro que algunos hay.



Only three countries in the world, the US, Myanmar, and Liberia, have not officially adopted the metric system.  You can read about it here.  Of course, there are many countries (if not most of them) in which certain things are still measured in older units (such as yards for golf), and certain things are measured in the metric system in the US (illegal drugs, for example).


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## franzjekill

gengo said:


> Only three countries in the world, the US, Myanmar, and Liberia, have not officially adopted the metric system


 No sabía qué países oficialmente tienen adoptado el sistema métrico. Me comentario iba por el lado de lo que la gente realmente utiliza en su comunicación diaria, no al aspecto oficial. Qué es lo que uno se puede encontrar en una receta de cocina, o cómo piden las cosas en un supermercado, por ejemplo. Hay países de América Latina en que en la vida cotidiana la gente utiliza la libra como unidad de peso.


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