nombre equivocado
/nombɾe ekibokado/from spelling rules
The English phrase "wrong name" is translated into Spanish as nombre equivocado.
Use nombre equivocado when referring to a name that is incorrect or does not belong to the person being discussed.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of nombre, meaning name and equivocado, meaning mistaken or wrong.
Which one should you use?
There is a subtle distinction between nombre equivocado and nombre incorrecto. While nombre equivocado implies that a mistake was made (such as calling someone by the wrong name), nombre incorrecto is more formal and simply denotes that the information provided is inaccurate.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because nombre is a masculine singular noun, the adjective equivocado must also be in the masculine singular form. If you want to say "the wrong name", add the masculine definite article el before the phrase to get el nombre equivocado.
Did you know?
- In spoken Spanish, nombre can be a phonetic contraction of ¡no, hombre!, which functions as an exclamation of surprise or disbelief.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, it is common to have two surnames, one from the father and one from the mother, which increases the chance of using a nombre equivocado when only one is listed.
- The word equivocado shares a linguistic root with the English word 'equivocal', which describes something ambiguous or open to multiple meanings.
Examples in context
- Ese es el nombre equivocado.That is the wrong name.
- Creo que anotaste el nombre equivocado.I think you wrote down the wrong name.
- Me diste el nombre equivocado en el correo.You gave me the wrong name in the email.
Example conversation
Mateo is checking a guest list at a party.
- Mateo¿Está Lucía en la lista?Is Lucía on the list?
- LucíaNo, aparece un nombre equivocado aquí.No, a wrong name appears here.
- MateoVaya, parece que hubo un error.Wow, it seems there was a mistake.
- LucíaSí, es el nombre equivocado.Yes, it is the wrong name.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries equivocado, nombre, CC BY-SA 4.0.
