# media naranja



## avalon2004

Hi all,
When I was in Spain earlier on this year I kept seeing the phrase "_tu media naranja"_ everywhere! Could anyone tell me what this means?? Thanks.


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## pinkpanter

It means your "better half".


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## Tormenta

I think it just means your  " other half".


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## lauranazario

avalon2004 said:
			
		

> Hi all,
> When I was in Spain earlier on this year I kept seeing the phrase "_tu media naranja"_ everywhere! Could anyone tell me what this means?? Thanks.



In addition to "your better half", it can also be translated as "your significant other".

Hope this helps,
L.


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## esance

Hola,

Aquí en España se utiliza mucho para designar a tu pareja y si no la tienes, también se dice que estás buscando a "tu media naranja", es decir, aquel o aquella que se complementa contigo.

Saludos.


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## Philippa

Why 'naranja', please?!


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## Gabriela Beltrán

También tiene el significado de soulmate, aunque no siempre coincide que las medias naranjas sean soulmates a la vez. 
Espero que te ayude.


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## Philippa

Hola Gabriela
¡Bienvenida al foro!  
¿No sabes tú por qué es 'naranja'? 
Sigo preguntarme (intento decir 'I'm still wondering' *¿es correcto?* )
Philippa


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## Pantaruxada

Sobre el origen de la expresión:



> Media naranja: Equivale a la esposa (o novia) o al esposo (o novio), uno respecto del otro. El origen podría ser el hermoso mito de la aparición de los dos sexos humanos, según lo cuenta Platón, por el que al principio el ser humano era sólo uno, asexuado, que vivía en perfecta armonía. Pero, un día desobedeció a los dioses y éstos lo castigaron separándolo en dos mitades (como a una naranja): hombre y mujer, y los condenó a vagar eternamente buscando la otra mitad para recuperar su completa felicidad.


¿SABÍAS QUE... la expresión amorosa "la media naranja"tiene su origen en un mito que narra el poeta de comedias griego Aristófanes en la obra de Platón llamada El Banquete?


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## Gabriela Beltrán

Casi, se dice, sigo preguntándome.


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## pinkpanter

¡¡Qué interesante!! Muchas gracias por contarnos el origen, Pantaruxada.


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## Noel Acevedo

Your better half.  Refers to your wife, soulmate or whatever if you are in a relationship, under the assumption ,in jest, that you are the worst part of the duo.


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## Purrete

Pinkpanther says "your better half" while Tormenta says "your other half". Media naranja doesn't establish that "one half" is better than the other, just establishes that one has a MATCHING "half" (if any). Therefore I would go with Tormenta's association notwithstanding the fact that in the English language the other usage is popular and quite common (even if my better half is not better than me).

Happy Holidays !


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## pinkpanter

Purrete, hi

I interpreted "my better half" as if it is better than any other possible mate. 

Happy new year


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## lauranazario

Philippa said:
			
		

> Why 'naranja', please?!



"Mi media naranja" is a _coined phrase_ in Spanish. 
Regardless of its origin (thanks for that, P!), the fact is that to this day, it's the phrase used to refer to your romantic partner.

Saludos,
LN


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## Antartic

Tambien se puede decir _encontrar la horma de tu zapato_, i.e. the perfect match.


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## NavyBlue

En España *la horma de tu zapato * tiene un significado negativo.

"Déjalo. Algún día encontrará la horma de su zapato y le dará su merecido."

(Algún día se encontrará con alguien que sepa enfrentarse a él)


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## Philippa

NavyBlue said:
			
		

> En España *la horma de tu zapato * tiene un significado negativo.
> "Déjalo. Algún día encontrará la horma de su zapato y le dará su merecido."
> (Algún día se encontrará con alguien que sepa enfrentarse a él)



Belén, are you there?!!
My copy (ok the library's copy!) of the book says under the title on the front cover 'En el amor todos buscan la horma de su zapato' It doesn't sound very negative to me there. ¿Qué opinas?
Philippa 

Hi NavyBlue and welcome to the foro! This is all from Millás' book No mires debajo de la cama.
Philippa


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## belén

Yes, same feeling for me, "la horma de mi zapato" has never been negative for me.

Good example, Philippa!!

I even remember an anecdote on that, a guy I know was starting to date this girl and for the Christmas holiday she gave him a "horma" (the form of a shoe) as a present and we all interpreted this as a very good sign!!!


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## yuriandre

En busca de tu media naranja - i really cannot understand the meaning of this sentence. How would you logically translate this one to English? Thanks guys!


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## phantom2007

media naranja is, in some spanish speaking countries, your wife/husband. No idea why...


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## black_orchid

It's more or less like your soulmate


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## Irethtook

It's like looking for your other half; the woman/man that is for you, your soulmate, your other half.


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## Bilma

http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=naranja

Check this link..lots of information about this expresion.


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## Venezuelan_sweetie

Bilma said:


> http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=naranja
> 
> Check this link..lots of information about this expresion.


True, the dictionary helps a lot.

So does our search engine.  Look what I found among older threads: click!


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## fergy2005

yuriandre said:


> En busca de tu media naranja - i really cannot understand the meaning of this sentence. How would you logically translate this one to English? Thanks guys![/quoteThat is you are looking for you true love,the person that will be with you forever and will fill your life


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## JoseBon

Media naranja, por lo que ambas partes constituyen un todo.


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## yuriandre

i really appreciate your help! thanks!


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## Patariachi

¡Hola a todos! Me gustaría saber si la expresión “media naranja” es un apodo vulgar o dulce. Estoy escribiendo una carta a mi novio y quiero firmarla “Te quiere tu media naranja” pero si sea un apodito vulgarcito, ¡no aplicaría al tipo de carta que estoy escribiendo! Jaja…
Gracias amigos……


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## Filis Cañí

Puede usted firmar con tranquilidad, que no es vulgar (sólo peca de falta de originalidad).


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## Patariachi

Sí, ¿verdad? ¿Usted me podría recomendar algún apodo menos usado? Iba a firmar “chamaquita” pero eso nomás porque ¡así firmaba Frida Kahlo! En verdad soy demasiada alta para estar firmando mis cartas de esa forma…jajaja…

Pero bueno, me interesan las sugerencias…
Gracias otra vez…


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## Filis Cañí

I was just teasing, Pat. The expression might be overused, but that only makes it even more charming.


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## orangestreak

Puedes decir 

tu osita, tu gatita, tu adorado tormento, escoge... hay otros más "cursis"


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## Filis Cañí

Mmmmmh... Better stick with "tu media naranja".


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## Patariachi

Ha! Thanks Filis...I'm going with media naranja...


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## GatoCatMan

I called my American girlfriend my "media naranja" in an email yesterday, and she wrote a one sentence reply accusing me of calling her my "average orange".


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## Chevere33

I would say "better half", because we really don't mean "better"---we mean our "other half".  

And as to your other question, it's just the matching half of the orange---just a saying.

--------------
Oh, after I posted this, I saw the above explanation, which was stated much more eloquently.


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## felipeesta

I think of it being equivalent to "the apple of my eye".  My parents, from western Pennsylvania used to use this expression.  A native speaker told me 'naranja media' is like a sweet nectar.  Maybe in a 'little honey' sense.

I can't contribute much here, but I sure do appreciate this foro.

Mil gracias, Felipe


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## Arrius

_The other half_ is a second half-pint of beer to make the full pint in a pub, not a sexual partner. _My better half_ is always the wife (or equivalent) not the husband. (The Arabs say what translates as "the sweet half", also always the woman).  Whether the orange was chosen for the Spanish expression because of a Greek tale or not, the basic idea would seem to be that that a whole orange, a rather beautiful fruit, is perfect and a man without a woman is incomplete (yin and yang, as the Orientals say).


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## spacetraveller

esance said:


> Hola,
> 
> Aquí en España se utiliza mucho para designar a tu pareja y si no la tienes, también se dice que estás buscando a "tu media naranja" es decir, aquel o aquella que se complementa contigo.
> 
> Saludos



Hola amigos, hello my friends

the above is the answer you need but maybe you were not able to understand it. So here is the tanslation:

Here in Spain, [the phrase] is mainly used for describing your partner, or, if you don't have one, also for looking for your "half orange" which means, the person that makes yourself complete.


In other words.......it's the love of your life....

Saludos


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## LanguageGeek08

¿Alguien puede decirme cómo decir, "They are soulmates" en español?  Ya sé que "media naranja" es el equivalente de "soulmate", pero al plural me suena raro decir "Son media naranjas"...


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## sayah

Hola:

Yo lo diría en singular. "Es su media naranja", refiriéndote sólo a uno de ellos, con respecto al otro. Otra forma de decirlo en plural sería "son almas gemelas"

Sayah


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## LanguageGeek08

¡Muchísimas gracias por tu respuesta tan rápida!


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## Arrius

I do not think that either _soulmate _or _media naranja_ can be used for any relationship other than an intimate, sexual one. A person with whom you are just "on the same wavelength" i.e. whose interests and opinions you share is _a kindred spirit._
The expression _media naranja_ may have derived from the Arabic expression _niSf alhilw_, the sweet half, which is still used in the same sense. And there is the same idea in the Buddhist symbols yin and yang (masculine and feminine) which join to form a perfect circle.


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## lagena

soulmate = people who feel close to each other in spirit and who understand each other deeply > John and Tom are true soulmates

media naranja ( the better half) husband & wife
Regards


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## Tinman39OZ

"media naranja" in simple terms in English, means "half an orange". lf you see an orange and you want "half (of that )an orange you say I want "half an orange". 

If you are thinking in Spanish of "mi media naranja", (or tu media naranja), and want to convey a relationship of special characteristics (in your eyes) in English, then it means "my wife", "my girl friend", "my significant other", "my special one", "my lover", "the one that fits Me perfectly", "the one I love", and many more creative ways to say -the one that I chose and the one that chose me-, or "my other half".  This meaning "YOU" (both of you) no longer consider yourselves separate from your partner. "together you make one, made up of 2 halves (dos mitades, de una naranja). Could also imply that together the sum of the values of both halves together, is much than the individual. "kind-of-like" half a brain. Although you can survive with only half, if you can find the other half, why survive when you can live.

So, "mi novia es mi media naranja", and yes, there are cases where someone may not consider their "novia" or significant other, as their "media naranja". This case is probably a good reason for the invention of the words "divorce" and "break up". 

tinman39oz 

-Life tastes much better when you can live it with you "media naranja".


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## Arrius

*lagena*_;6284156]soulmate = people who feel close to each other in spirit and who understand each other deeply > John and Tom are true soulmates_

*"Soulmate* is a term sometimes used to designate someone with whom one has a feeling of deep and natural affinity, love,intimacy, spirituality sexuality, and/or compatability. A related concept is that of the *twin flame* or *twin soul* – which is thought to be the ultimate soulmate, the one and only other half of one's soul, for which all souls are driven to find and join. However, *not everyone who uses these terms intends them to carry such mystical connotations*." (Wikipedia)

90% of people would assume that your John and Tom have the same kind of relationship as the cowboys in "Brokeback Montain"!


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## ORL

Se puede hablar de "almas gemelas". En el caso de pareja también se puede decir que son "tal para cual", que también se usa en el caso de amigos, sin que tenga necesariamente connotaciones homosexuales (en realidad eso está en la cabeza del interlocutor)


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## Blueeyedbat

So I found this thread because I was actually looking for the _romatic _version of "soul-mate" in Spanish. I want to start a letter to my lover (masc.) by essentially saying, "hola, my soul-mate." So to be sure, the most appropriate way of saying that would be "hola, mi media naranja," si? I really like the orange reference, es muy poetico! thank you!


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## Zodiamaster

I'll clear some of the learners doubts in here.

1-To find your half orange is to find the love of your life. Someone with whom you complement to be perfect(happy, a whole orange). And yea, it *only* applies to romantic relationships. Not necesarily a married couple though, neither it is limited to a heterosexual relationship.
*As to why an orange, I have no idea, the idiom is just like that, learn it*.

2-_"*En busca de tu media naranja* - i really cannot understand the meaning of this sentence. How would you logically translate this one to English? Thanks guys!_"
In search of the love of your life.

3-_I think of it being equivalent to "the apple of my eye". My parents, from western Pennsylvania used to use this expression. A native speaker told me 'naranja media' is like a sweet nectar._
No, if a native speaker did say that then he has no idea about the meaning of the idiom, and adjectives go before nouns. 
Perhaps he said something else they misunderstood/misheard it?

4-As for "soulmate", "Ser tal para cual" sounds like it.



GatoCatMan said:


> I called my American girlfriend my "media naranja" in an email yesterday, and she wrote a one sentence reply accusing me of calling her my "average orange".


lmfao


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## TravelinTom

GatoCatMan said:


> I called my American girlfriend my "media naranja" in an email yesterday, and she wrote a one sentence reply accusing me of calling her my "average orange".


 
Better than "my orange sock".


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## ORL

> accusing me of calling her my "average orange".



Well, she can´t speak Spanish it seems. "Average orange" would be "naranja promedio", "naranja término medio", "naranja medio pelo", but never "media naranja" in that sense.

"Media naranja" es una frase muy popular en Argentina.



> 2-_"*En busca de tu media naranja* - i really cannot understand the meaning of this sentence._



It comes from the concept that as human beings we are incomplete, only halves. So, if you consider that concept and you take a fruit like an orange to describe it, then you are not complete, you still need your "half orange".
By the way, speaking about a half orange, no one would say in Spanish "una naranja media", the natural way is to say "una media naranja", which has nothing to do with an orange sock, since that would be "una media *anaranjada*".
Probably "the apple of my eye" is the closest phrase available in English.


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## lagena

ORL is right. 
In Argentina we say > Ella /Él es mi media naranja 
Could we say > she/He is after my own heart ?


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## LanguageGeek08

No, "she is after my own heart" does not work as an equivalent of "Es mi media naranja."  "Oh, a girl after my own heart!" is an expression you might say upon learning that the girl in question likes something that you like, or shares the same opinion as you about something.  For ex:

Boy invites girl to dinner.  Boy is crazy about red wine, but does not know anything about the girl's tastes.  Girl shows up, boy asks her what she would like to drink and gives her various options (red wine, white wine, scotch, whiskey, Coca-cola, tea...) and she says, "I would love some red wine actually.  It's my favorite thing to drink."  Boy is delighted to learn that they share this in common and so exclaims happily, "Oh, a girl after my own heart! I love red wine too."

Hope this clarifies things!


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## lagena

languageGeek, thanks a lot for your explanation. I´ve learnt a new thing.
Regards


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## pedritohola

Hola, mi profesora me dice que en cada lugar en América del Sur usa la palabra "media naranja" de otra manera. ¿Quiero saber cómo se dice "media naranja" en Argentina? muchas gracias por adelantado


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## Martoo

Acá se dice media naranja jaja también se dice alma gemela o la frase hecha: "son el uno para el otro".
Saludos.


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## gatordeb

Could anyone shed light as to why it's an orange and not an apple or a pomegranate?

I met mine this Sept and whenever someone tells me I met mi media naranja I tell them, el no es mi media naranja, el es la ensalada de fruta completa


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## DooWopMop

gatordeb said:


> Could anyone shed light as to why it's an orange and not an apple or a pomegranate?
> 
> I met mine this Sept and whenever someone tells me I met mi media naranja I tell them, el no es mi media naranja, el es la ensalada de fruta completa


My best advise to EVERYONE on here that cannot understand the *why* of it being an orange vs any other fruit is this...
#1) Go buy an orange.
#2) After peeling your orange, split it into 2 halves by pulling it apart-DO NOT CUT IT
#3) If you look at each half you will notice that it would be (most likely) impossible to match your halves up to ANY other orange ever, because they are all different from the rest...EXCEPT when it comes to their own "media naranja"😄 
   It is so beautifully simple in it's perfection. 
   I realize I am a few years late with this. I still hope it helps somebody out there.


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## jilar

"Media naranja" sin más contexto, en español puede significar tres cosas:
1. Pareja sentimental.
2. La mitad de una naranja.
3. Prenda femenina, llamada media, y que es de color naranja.


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