# arándano (berry)



## Joe Tamargo

I've just looked up the words *cranberry* and *huckleberry*, and found *arándano* listed for both.  So I looked up *arándano,* and found *bilberry* and *whortleberry*.  What is going on?  I'm reasonably sure that a cranberry and a huckleberry are two different berries, and I've never heard of a bilberry or a whortleberry.  I've looked in two large bilingual dictionaries, and I've searched the net.  Could someone please clear this up for me?

And by the way, what is a currant?

Thank you.


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## Tatzingo

Joe Tamargo said:


> I've just looked up the words *cranberry* and *huckleberry*, and found *arándano* listed for both.  So I looked up *arándano,* and found *bilberry* and *whortleberry*.  What is going on?  I'm reasonably sure that a cranberry and a huckleberry are two different berries, and I've never heard of a bilberry or a whortleberry.  I've looked in two large bilingual dictionaries, and I've searched the net.  Could someone please clear this up for me?
> 
> And by the way, what is a currant?
> 
> Thank you.



For me, a currant is a berry. eg. Blackcurrant.

I don't mean to confuse you further but I have always thought that Arandano was a "blueberry"!!

Again, if someone has an answer... please help!!

Tatz.


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## Tatzingo

Hi,

After further consultation with my trusty dictionary, i find that:

Bilberry = Blueberry = arandano (with accent)

Arandano colorado/agrio/encarnado = Cranberry

Perhaps huckleberry is another name for cranberry???

Tatz.

Ps. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huckleberry - sorry to have to resort to Wiki-P but it seems as thougjh these berries are all of the same family and are thus but different varieties if the same fruit...


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## Joe Tamargo

Well, now I find blueberry is mora azul. Can't these dictionaries get together?


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## M.mac

A currant is a kind of berry. Over here we drink black currant juice - delicious and full of vitamin C! Also, the dried currants get used in baking, they're like raisins but smaller. This search shows red, black (and white!) currants: http://images.google.co.nz/images?q=currant&hl=en


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## Tatzingo

Joe Tamargo said:


> Well, now I find blueberry is mora azul. Can't these dictionaries get together?



Good Idea! I am consulting with my beloved again and this is what she says of "Moras" - 

Mora = zarzamora = Blackberry
Mora del moro = Mulberry
Mora azul is not mentioned!! ;-p

All related, I'm sure. 

Shall we wait for a botanist or shall we write to RAE and ask for clarification?

Ps. Mine's the Collins Spanish Dictionary, what is your source?

Tatz.


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## Joe Tamargo

Huckleberry: Dark blue fruit related to the blueberry, genus *Gaylussacia*
 
*Cranberry:  Very tart red berry used for juice or sauce**,** genus Vaccinium.*
 
*I knew they weren’t the same thing.  Now what?*
 
*J*


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## Joe Tamargo

I have the New World English-Spanish dictionary, and the big Larousse.  And I've tried translation sites of the web.  Yahoo has a good dictionary: (http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/reference/dict_en_es/) and I went to the RAE site, but no luck.


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## Tatzingo

Joe Tamargo said:


> Huckleberry: Dark blue fruit related to the blueberry, genus *Gaylussacia*
> 
> *Cranberry:  Very tart red berry used for juice or sauce**,** genus Vaccinium.*
> 
> *I knew they weren’t the same thing.  Now what?*
> 
> *J*



That makes perfect sense. If we sum it all up, we have;

Bilberry = Blueberry = arandano = mora azul
Huckleberry* = A family of berries including the Blueberry - an Umbrella term.

Cranberry = Arandano colorado/agrio/encarnado 


*Wiki-pedia

Hmm... is that clearer or better?

Tatz.


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## cuchuflete

We covered the same ground in the Portuguese forum a while ago, replete with Latin names and pictures.  Try the Search function for any of the berry names in the PT forum.


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## cirrus

Tatzingo said:


> That makes perfect sense. If we sum it all up, we have;
> 
> Bilberry = Blueberry = arandano = mora azul
> Huckleberry* = A family of berries including the Blueberry - an Umbrella term.
> 
> Cranberry = Arandano colorado/agrio/encarnado
> 
> 
> *Wiki-pedia
> 
> Hmm... is that clearer or better?
> 
> Tatz.


Hate to say it Tatz but for me bilberry and blueberry aren't the same. Admittedly they are similar but not identical.  Blueberries are bigger.


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## ORL

Arándano is a blueberry

Blackcurrant is "grosella negra"

"mora" is another type of fruit, it is a tree, not a bush, it has nothing to do with arándano.

Some of these berries grow only in the Northern hemisphere, and they are not known in the Southern hemisphere. In the southwest of Argentina, the so called "berry region", you can find "boysenberry plantations", and the word you use is precisely "boysenberry", because it was not a species known to the region. So, some of these plants are called exactly like in their countries of origin, it is OK to use some of the English terms.


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## Tatzingo

cirrus said:


> Hate to say it Tatz but for me bilberry and blueberry aren't the same. Admittedly they are similar but not identical.  Blueberries are bigger.



Makes me think. Maybe those who wrote the dictionaries weren't botanists after all ;-)

Tatz,


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## Lizajoy

Here in Spain I've seen the following on jars of preserves (Carrefour):
bilberry _arándano_
blueberry _arándano_
A year or so ago I translated an advertising campaign into Spanish for a well-known cranberrry drink and the term for cranberry as given me by the company was _arándano rojo._

"Berries" are _bayas._

Un saludo,

L


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## cirrus

Ha! ha! I think I have stumbled on why there is so much confusion.  Bilberry (which in parts of the UK also goes by the name of whinberry) is called vaccinium myrtillus. If you google images of this you get the same plant also being called whortleberry or huckleberry although neither of these are ways I refer to this plant.  I wonder whether these names are more common in American English.

Blueberries are also a sort of vaccinium - there are a variety of strains.  Both the plant and its fruit are larger. Vaccinum angustifolium,  v latifolium, myrtilloides, corymbosum being just four of these.  I have  vaccinium  corymbosum in  my garden. 

Blackberries are from a different species altogether. The sort growing in the UK is mostly                          Rubus fruticosus.  

In each case if you click on the link you will see images of the plant.


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## mariposita

In Spain, they don't have *blueberries* as we know them in the US, instead they have bilberries. These are called *arándanos*.

*Cranberries* are, theoretically, called *arándano agrio/rojo*, but they don't really exist here except for a very brief time around Thanksgiving when a handful of cans/jars are imported by American shops for expats. Cranberry juice is very rare. 

Incidentally, I have asked dozens of *fruteros* in Madrid if they could get me fresh cranberries and only one or two even knew what they were (and still couldn't get them). So it makes sense that the terminology for them would be vague.


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## Joe Tamargo

Thanks gang,Now I understand!


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## fenixpollo

A forum search for "arándano" showed me these *related threads*:

*Blueberry & Cranberry*

*blueberry/cranberry*

*wild blueberry*

Saludos.


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## kergel

Ok, esta titulo se puso bueno ya tambien me puse a investigar y encontre esto para una sola de todas las palabras

*Bilberry*:  Arándano (castellano)
             Bilberry (inglés)
             Black whortleberry    (inglés)
             Burren myrtle (inglés)
             Dwarf bilberry (inglés)
             Dyeberry (inglés)
             Huckleberry (inglés)
             Hurtleberry (inglés)
             Whinberry (inglés)
             Whortle-berry (inglés)
             Wineberry (inglés)

Ademas de esta nota interesante en la wikipedia:

*Note that there is much confusion in naming of berries in American English.*

Asi que buscando mas se diferencían por lo general, por las regiones y por los países donde se cultiven estas frutas, ya por lo general ya tiene establecidos sus nombres como ejemplo:

*Red Huckleberry (*Especie de mora que crece en arbustos un poco mas grandes, no encontre la palabra exacta en español*) *en Europa se le conoce como *Bilberry.

*Bueno es todo lo que pude encontrar, espero sirva de algo.


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## brook1

Ok, even though has been almost a year from this last reply, the following link may bring some light to the confusion  or ad more to it. ... It has pictures, names and descriptions  _(sorry, only in Spanish)_ 
*arandanosargentinos.com.ar/otros_berries.htm*


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## Lizajoy

Dear brook1,

This reference is fantastic...thank you very much! The only thing I'd like to add that in most Spanish speaking countries, the strawberry is known as "fresa" instead of "frutilla".

The pictures certainly help to clarify things.

Liz

P.S I have three bags of frozen cranberries in the freezer...


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## FVP

Blueberry 'n Cranberry there's no spanish word. just use Blueberry and Cranberry.
Arandano ( fruit that comes from brush or bush ) it could mean 
blueberry, cranberry, huckleberry, wildberry, billberry, gooseberry, blackberry, 
strawberries, watermelon, grapes, olives, persimmons ( hawaiin guava )
Give Me A Break no such thing just call it Guanabana, Guava etc. certain things don't have translation 'cause they're not
from that part of the world.

Melocoton / peach. we say Durazno.
Orange we say Naranja. puerto rican's call it China.
China / chinese girl
Pineapple
we say Pina ~ in puerto rico, israel, france it's Anana 
Pomegranite / Granada same as grenade.
used this word when asked what are you bringing over the border.

Wordreference is just that a reference a Great tool but not everything can be explained 
Nopal it's edible also used to make insulin but it's a cactus and I beleive there no translation. Lost in translation... Nopal is also used for derogatory 
purposes.


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## cirrus

FVP said:


> ( fruit that comes from brush or bush ) it could mean
> blueberry, cranberry, huckleberry, wildberry, billberry, gooseberry, blackberry,
> strawberries, watermelon, grapes, olives, persimmons ( hawaiin guava )
> Give Me A Break no such thing just call it Guanabana, Guava etc. certain things don't have translation 'cause they're not
> from that part of the world.


Which part of the world do you mean?  Spanish is a world language and is used by native speakers in environments that go from nigh on arctic to tropical, the rainiest to utter desert, with pretty much everything in between.


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## ORL

En esta región del mundo donde vivo y donde hay grandes plantaciones de lo que en general se llama "fruta fina" o "frutos del bosque", lo que los angloparlantes llamarían "berries", existen el arándano, la zarzamora, otra variedad e zarzamora que por aquí se llama murra, la frambuesa, la cereza, la guinda (estas dos últimas son árboles), la frutilla (nombre que se da en Argentina a lo que los angloparlantes llaman strawberry) y las "boysenberries", que se denominan de esa manera porque son frutos de otras regiones del continente.
El arándano es una fruta pequeña, oval, de color azulado y con una pequeña coronita en su tope. La zarzamora es de un azul casi negro, crece en una planta trepadora invasiva (es plaga), y es un conjunto de pequeños frutitos con una semilla en su interior cada uno, que a su vez forman lo que llamamos el fruto de la zarzamora. La zarzamora es una planta espinosa. La murra es practicamente idéntica, aunque algunos llaman zarzamora a la que no tiene espinas y murra a la que sí las itene. La frambuesa es el fruto de arbusto sin espinas, también fruto compuesto pero de un color rosa oscuro fuerte. Mucho más dulce que la zarzamora y de sabor menos "salvaje".
Espero que esto sirva de algo.
Saludos


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## FVP

Excellente Explicacion. Te aventastes ORL !!!


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## mariposita

En España:
fresa es _strawberry_
grosella es _gooseberry/red currant_
grosella blanca es _white currant_
grosella negra es _black currant_ (cassis)
arándano es _bilberry/blueberry/lingonberry/cranberry_
zarzamora/mora es _blackberry_
mora es _mulberry_
frambuesa es _raspberry_
endrina es _sloe berry_
baya del saúco es _elderberry_
madroño es ??
bayas/frutas del bosque son _berries_, en general




> strawberries, watermelon, grapes, olives, persimmons


 
fresas, sandía, uvas, aceitunas, caquis

Que yo sepa guanabana y guava no crecen aquí...


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## mirx

mariposita said:


> En España:
> fresa es _strawberry_
> grosella es _gooseberry/red currant_
> grosella blanca es _white currant_
> grosella negra es _black currant_ (cassis)
> arándano es _bilberry/blueberry/lingonberry/cranberry_
> zarzamora/mora es _blackberry_
> mora es _mulberry_
> frambuesa es _raspberry_
> endrina es _sloe berry_
> baya del saúco es _elderberry_
> madroño es ??
> bayas/frutas del bosque son _berries_, en general
> 
> 
> 
> 
> fresas, sandía, uvas, aceitunas, caquis
> 
> Que yo sepa guanabana y guava no crecen aquí...


 

Todo es igual que en México excepto por blueberry a la que llamamos _mora azul._

Guava _ing_.= guayaba. Muy común y comida en México.
Guanábana, esta sí que no sé como se dice en inglés.


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## antoniost

mirx said:


> Guanábana, esta sí que no sé como se dice en inglés.



In English it's called *soursop*.


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## elmelenas

A huckleberry looks exactly the same as a blueberry but grows on a slightly taller bush than a blueberry.  It's seeds are larger and it is not as sweet.  I learned this probably 30 years ago from a couple of little old ladies when I was picking what I thought were blueberries.  They showed me where to find the blueberry bushes.  They were right, the blueberries were sweeter!
    En cuanto a la definición de arándano, les sugiero que consulten el diccionario de la Real Academia o un Larousse.  No usen un Larousse Inlgés / Español, usen un Larousse monoligüe.  Fíjense que ambos diccionarios describen el fruto del arándano  como un fruto negruzco.  El Larousse también tiene un dibujo de la planta y de la fruta.  El "cranberry" es rojo.  No se parece en lo más mínimo a un blueberry.


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## Seica

Also: cloudberries = moras árticas (my uncle used to grow them in his garden in the north of Spain, which is kind of far from the Artic ; gooseberries = grosellas espinosas; wolfberries = bayas koji


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## Julesy

Does anyone know the official word for bluebery. I have read the discussions and it seems like no one really knows.  Aradano and mora azul both seem like words that were invented to make sense of something that exists in the english language (also blueberries dont exist in Latin America).  Can anyone shed some light on this subject for me?


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## fenixpollo

Hello, Julesy, and welcome to the forum.

If you're looking for a governmental decree that designates one specific word as the "official" translation for _blueberry_ that is used in all of the more than 20 Spanish-speaking countries, I'm afraid that you'll be disappointed. 

However, if you look up "arándano" in the dictionary of the Real Academia Española (www.rae.es), you'll find that word appears there. It doesn't seem to be a "made-up word" at all, and the RAE is the closest thing to an "official" agency that you'll find.


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## elmelenas

Estoy de acuerdo con Fenixpollo.  La definición de arándano de la Real Academia es muy clara.  Describe un arándano y de ninguna manera describe un cranberry. Además el Larousse tiene un dibujo de un arbusto de arándanos en el cual se ve claramente lo que es un arándano. Se me hace que la confusión proviene del hecho de que en México se ha hecho muy popular el Cranberry Juice (se vende en Walmart y Sams) que ahí se ha traducido como Jugo de Arándano.  Así es que los mexicanos piensan que el cranberry es un arándano y que el blueberry es una mora azul (traducción básicamente literal de blueberry que aparece en los botes de yogur).  A mi parecer el problema en México es uno de una mala traducción que se ha convertido en parte del idioma.  Es interesante que en México las cajas de los "ventiladores de cielo raso"? / ventiladores de techo (ceiling fans) se ve la traducción "Abanicos de Techo".  Sé que hay quienes usan abanico como sinónimo de ventilador pero para mí y creo para la gran mayoría de los hispanohablantes un abanico se usa manualmente y el ventilador es un aparato mecánico.  ¿Otra mala traducción? O estoy mal informado.


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## zumac

During this thread I have learned more about cranberries than in any other time in my life. Sad to say, I also encountered some misleading information.

As an American from Northeastern USA, I always assumed that cranberries were only produced there. Reading the following Wikipedia article, I discovered that cranberries also grow in other places like Northern Europe, which accounts for some variations in the name for cranberries.

But hey, take a good look at the following article. You're sure to learn something like I did.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranberry

Saludos.


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## goodytwoshoes

I might add that that here in Mexico, cranberry juice is sold as jugo de arándano and it is the same thing as what I know to be cranberry juice in the United States.  However, only the larger international stores sell it, and the majority of the natives that I have asked do not recognize the fruit.


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## zumac

goodytwoshoes said:


> I might add that that here in Mexico, cranberry juice is sold as jugo de arándano and it is the same thing as what I know to be cranberry juice in the United States. However, only the larger international stores sell it, and the majority of the natives that I have asked do not recognize the fruit.


I assume that you are referring to the Ocean Spray brand of cranberry juice (or cocktail). Here in Mexico, the term "jugo de arándano" was changed to "bebida de arándano" a few years ago. It is sold in most supermarkets, at least in Mexico City. There are two variations of the "juice" being sold:
1. A Tetra Pak version made in Mexico and licensed by Ocean Spray USA.
2. A large plastic version made in USA and exported by Ocean Spray International.

You're right, most Mexicans are not familiar with cranberries, and are not used to drinking the juice, except if recommended by a doctor for urinary problems.

Saludos.


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## Whistle britches

Joe Tamargo said:


> I've just looked up the words *cranberry* and *huckleberry*, and found *arándano* listed for both.  So I looked up *arándano,* and found *bilberry* and *whortleberry*.  What is going on?  I'm reasonably sure that a cranberry and a huckleberry are two different berries, and I've never heard of a bilberry or a whortleberry.  I've looked in two large bilingual dictionaries, and I've searched the net.  Could someone please clear this up for me?
> 
> And by the way, what is a currant?
> 
> Thank you.


You may have the answer already but the only currants that I have seen are the wild variety.  They make a little berry about the size of a bluebery, not at all similar, The plant looks like a weed and the fruit is usually amber to orange in color, the fruit may be eaten raw or it makes delicious jelly.  As far as I know they grow most anywhere.  I have been loking for the same iinterpretation for Ar'andano, pronounced arAndano, both a letters have the "ah" sound.  Also I have determined that this fruit may be Cranberries.  Not sure.


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## Mexico RV'er

I am sitting here in Mexico and just checked out the kitchen. I have a jar of *mermelada de mora azul*, a bag of *arándanos con sabor de fresa* (strawberry flavored dried cranberries, un coctel de *arándano *(cranberry juice drink). However, the local Wal-Marts also sells dried *arándanos azules.* I have concluded that these berries are simply not part of the culture and words have been created in an effort to put a label on them. I just accept them for what they are. From what I understand, they are just now beginning to cultivate "blueberries" in Mexico. Once they become a part of the culture, perhaps the vocabulary related to them will be crystallized.


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## Whistle britches

Thank you, I believe the "Ar'anadanos de Azul" would definitely be "Blue Berries."  
We love the cranberries and blue berries as well, perhaps the cultivation of blue berries in Mexico will be very prosperous, at least I hope so.


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