Spanish term
United States
25 YEARS FRIENDLY, RELIABLE SERVICE
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English
se mostraron muy cortes
This appears in a social worker's evaluation ordered by the court in a child custody case, where the social worker is describing the attitudes of the parents in her report to be submitted to the court:
"Actitudes presentadas por las personas involucradas. Los senores XXXXXX y XXXXXX se mostraron muy cortes, aportando toda la informacion requerida en la entrevista."
| 3 +9 | they were very polite - they were very courteous |
JohnMcDove
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| 4 +4 | seemed very polite |
Robert Carter
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| 3 -1 | they were very attentive |
Juan Arturo Blackmore Zerón
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Jun 6, 2019 17:30: philgoddard changed "Field" from "Social Sciences" to "Other" , "Field (write-in)" from "Slang? Dominican Republic" to "(none)"
Non-PRO (1): Yvonne Gallagher
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Proposed translations
United States
they were very polite - they were very courteous
Saludos cordiales.
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Note added at 8 mins (2019-06-06 17:20:44 GMT)
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Even "very obliging" may work in this context.
| agree |
Robert Carter
: Yes, that's how I understand it (I didn't see your answer before I made mine). Saludos John!
7 mins
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Thank you very much, Robert. :-)
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| agree |
philgoddard
8 mins
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Thank you very much, Phil. :-)
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| agree |
franglish
1 hr
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Thank you very much, Franglish. :-)
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| agree |
Adolfo Fulco
1 hr
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Thank you very much, Adolfo. :-)
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| agree |
Helena Chavarria
2 hrs
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Thank you very much, Helena. :-)
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| agree |
Francois Boye
3 hrs
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Thank you very much, Francois. :-)
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| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: yes to "polite" (only)//courteous is a bit over-translation here imo and "obliging " or "attentive" would definitely be over-translations. There are nuances of meanings between the words. You can't assume they're fully synonymous from dictionary entries
16 hrs
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Thank you very much, Yvonne. :-) But (?) "courteous" means... Polite, respectful, or considerate in manner././Thank you, Yvonne, for your kind explanation. Looks like us, Spanish natives, are a bit dull in regards to these collocations and nuances... ;-)
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| agree |
AllegroTrans
1 day 1 hr
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Thank you very much, Allegro. :-)
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| agree |
Marita Ramirez Wilhelmsen
10 days
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Muchas gracias, Marita. :-)
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Mexico
Translating full-time since 1998
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: Spanish to English
seemed very polite
| agree |
Juan Jacob
: Eso pasa cuando se escribe con las patas... lo cortÉs no quita lo valiente.
42 mins
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Efectivamente, con acento. Gracias, Juan.
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| agree |
JohnMcDove
: Minute up, minute down. :-)
2 hrs
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Thanks, John :-)
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| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: and this fits best in the context
16 hrs
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Thanks, Yvonne.
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| agree |
AllegroTrans
1 day 3 hrs
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Thanks, Chris.
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Mexico
Confianza, certeza, creatividad.
Native in: Spanish (Variant: Mexican)
Works in: English to Spanish, Italian to Spanish, French to Spanish, and 6 more.
they were very attentive
| disagree |
AllegroTrans
: Polite and attentive are not synonyms
23 hrs
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| neutral |
JohnMcDove
: While "attentive" could have the sense of (Oxford) "1.1 Assiduously attending to the comfort or wishes of others; very polite or courteous." It may not be the best collocation.
1 day 1 hr
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Discussion