Facing up to things

A Spanish face is una cara but in popular speech this is also a person who is cheeky or has a lot of nerve – and not of the type that accompanies bravery.  In this context it is interchangeable with cara dura, which translated word-for-word means hard-faced  although an English speaker’s hard or stony face requires a preposition and becomes cara de duro.

Buena cara and mala cara speak volumes, so when told tienes buena cara you know you look good (literally you’ve a good face) but if you hear tienes mala cara then you look bad or as though you’re in a bad mood.

Poner buena cara means to put a good or even brave face on things while you do the opposite with poner mala cara.  Meanwhile there is nothing worse than being down in the dumps and being told alegra esa cara – cheer up.

Echar en la cara is to throw in someone’s face – possibly custard pie but probably an insult.  Partir la cara a alguien is not particularly nice in Spanish and nor is its English translation of to smash someone’s face in (ouch).

Dar la cara means to face in the sense of to take the consequences and is as far as it gets from passing the buck. De cara can mean forthcoming: de cara a las elecciones – the forthcoming elections but in a phrase like tener el viento de cara it means to be going against (or into) the wind. 

Dar de cara is a summer hazard: el sol me está dando de cara – the sun’s in my face but the nearest-to-hand translation to face or face up to a situation or problem is encarar.

The reflexive encararse usually means to face up to or stand up to a person and something similar happens with enfrentar so a reflexive enfrentarse, conveys to confront, to clash with or even to fight: mañana Barça se enfrenta al Real Madrid – Barça faces/clashes with/fights Real Madrid tomorrow (we’re talking about football, after all).

Jasper faces up to things

Afrontar is another way to face or face up to, although this usually entails danger, a problem or something that requires tackling. 

There is also confrontar whose most usual translation is to compare although this, too, can be used when facing up to something abstract or intangible. 

There must be a reason, doubtless psychological, as to why Spanish-speakers have so many ways of facing things, and here’s one more: hacerle frente a algo or if it’s a person hacerle frente a alguien.  And yet another: plantarle cara a algo (or alguien). 

When referring to something to the way that something faces, use estar orientado: la casa está orientada al sur – the house faces south or estar enfrente de: la casa está enfrente del mar – the house is in front of the sea.   You can use dar, too: el apartamento da al jardín  – the apartment faces the garden.

 

Catalina face down



There are alternatives to cara – semblante and rostro for instance but occasionally face disappears in translation and to save face is salvar las apariencias while a cliff or mountain face is una pared (also wall). 

Then there is faz ­ - pretty close to face but a little poetic for everyday use, and it’s easy to detect its closeness to façade, which in Spanish becomes fachada.     





Flora face up

Shorten fachada to facha and you’re talking about the look of something, so ¡vaya facha tienes! is an uncomplimentary what do you look like!  Facha is also an abbreviation and slang for fascista, still an insult and still slung at very far-right politicians.

  

Face down is boca abajo and face up is boca arriba  and in this connection it is not your face that is up or down but your mouth, although this isn’t remotely connected with down in the mouth which is alicaído. 

This really means with lowered wings but there is better description for that feeling when you just can’t face up to things – hacer cara a las cosas.