Craig Hall
Yerba or Hierba
I am a Spanish teacher and I introduced song lyrics that read,
"Pinto la yerba verde como la esperanza."
I introduced the word 'yerba' to mean 'grass' but I was corrected by a student from Spain who said that it is "herb" and grass is translated as 'hierba.'
Technically, I think she might be correct but I'm thinking that the lyrics were meant to colloquially say 'grass.' I'm not sure. Can 'yerba' be used to mean 'grass?" Some Spanish-English dictionaries seem to indicate that.
So is there a difference between Spain and Latin America with this word usage? Thank you for your help. I'm confused.
2019년 3월 27일 오후 2:23
답변 · 2
3
I would say that "hierba" is the formal/educated form. The RAE dictionary has an entry for "yerba" with its first meaning being "hierba". There is no indication of a regional use, therefore, it seems "yerba" is an accepted variant for "hierba". https://dle.rae.es/?id=cAkoSeM
Some words have the "yerba" root and are quite common in certain areas: yerbabuena (spearmint), even though, the form hierbabuena also exists.
2019년 3월 27일
Just like Antonio mentioned " hierba" would be considered standard. although "yerba" is accepted. Educated professionals would never write it as "yerba."
2019년 3월 27일
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