Habla Marlboro?

September 25, 2006 5:45 PM

Quick Idiomatic Spanish Translation - help me make my point.

The people who live in the apartment below me like to sit out on the stairs and smoke. Unfortunately, they grind out their cigarette butts on the stairs and leave them there. They also sometimes leave empty cigarette packs.

This is the stairway up to my apartment, which means I have to walk through this stuff every day. I'd like to leave them a note, asking them to clean up after themselves, but none of them speak English (we've met).

Can somebody help me compose a note in idiomatic Spanish that I can put on the stairway wall? I experimented with Babelfish, but I suspect that what I'm getting is not very idiomatic... or even readable. And I'd prefer not be laughed at.

I'm looking for something along the lines of "If you smoke here, please clean up after yourselves. No cigarette butts, please!"

posted by Mr. Blint to society & culture (8 comments total)

"Si fuma aqui, porfavor recoja. Porfavor no deje los reciduos en las escaleras. Gracias. "

i would add the gracias just to be nice.
posted by octomato at 6:02 PM on September 25, 2006

Probably just a typo on octomato's part, but "por favor" is two words.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 6:15 PM on September 25, 2006

And it's residuos. And it's in the singular. Mr. Blint said yourselves, which implies plural so it should be Si fuman aqui, por favor recojan. Por favor no dejen los residuos en las escaleras. Gracias. And it translates to If you smoke here, please pick up. Please don't leave trash on the stairs.. Perhaps ... por favor recojan sus colillas...
posted by TheRaven at 7:21 PM on September 25, 2006

I'd like to be specific about not leaving the cigarette butts, which some people don't consider to be trash. Can we specify that? Gracias to all.
posted by Mr. Blint at 7:48 PM on September 25, 2006

TheRaven already included 'colillas', that's cigarette butts in spanish.
posted by Memo at 9:04 PM on September 25, 2006

Native Spanish speaker here. TheRaven's version is the best one. A simpler one:

Si fuman aquí, por favor recojan su basura y colillas de cigarro.

If you (plural) smoke here, please pick up your garbage and cigarette butts.
posted by clearlydemon at 9:43 PM on September 25, 2006

Agreed. TheRaven's translation will do the trick nicely.
posted by doctorpiorno at 2:54 AM on September 26, 2006

Gracias to all. clearlydemon's version of TheRaven's submission looks like a winner - short and sweet. I'll add a "gracias", as octomato suggested.
posted by Mr. Blint at 3:12 AM on September 26, 2006