novio = boyfriend; novio = fiance
So - I am currently writing a letter that my host familiy would see, so they would know if they wanted to chose me as a person to live with. I am telling them that I have a boyfriend, and the word for boyfriend is novio. But novio also means fiance. There is no distinction in the Spanish language between boyfriend and fiance, but in English there is definitely a difference.
Perhaps in the roots of Spanish there is some indication that if you are calling someone your boyfriend, there is a serious intent there that one day you may marry.
Another thought comes from German. In German, the word for friend and boyfriend is the same - Freund. There is no way to say the difference, except by explaining or through implication.
I think it is interesting that in Spanish the term for boyfriend makes a boyfriend sound very serious, and that in German the term for boyfriend is very unserious.
Perhaps in the roots of Spanish there is some indication that if you are calling someone your boyfriend, there is a serious intent there that one day you may marry.
Another thought comes from German. In German, the word for friend and boyfriend is the same - Freund. There is no way to say the difference, except by explaining or through implication.
I think it is interesting that in Spanish the term for boyfriend makes a boyfriend sound very serious, and that in German the term for boyfriend is very unserious.