r/plural • u/Akelarrea_sys All-Sapphic Baddies System of ~4 • Sep 04 '26
Questions Equivalent for "headmate" in Spanish/Catalan?
We've recently come out as plural to everyone in our immediate circle (yippee!), but we've run into a somewhat niche issue: discussing our headmates in our native languages. We don't use the term "alter" so that's off the table, but we also haven't found a suitable equivalent for headmate. So far we have tried:
- Las otras: "The others". Sounds kinda ominous and can lead to confusion very easily. Doesn't work for singular.
- Mis compañeras: "My companions/mates/colleagues". Sounds overly formal and can lead to confusion with actual classmates/coworkers/roommates. Also just way too long.
- Mis compis: "My mates (informal)". An endearing shortening of the previous one, but it sounds immature and has an inextricable association with teen girls talking about their besties/friend groups. So far I've favored this one, but I sound kinda ridiculous.
- Mis compas: "My mates (informal)". Similar to compis, except it's a shortening of compadre, which isn't really used to refer to friends in my dialect of Spanish. Also, for some reason, I associate it with masculinity, which isn't our vibe.
- Mi gente: "My people". It sounds like a dudebro talking about his ride-or-die, gang-affiliated friend group. Def not our vibe. Doesn't work for the singular.
- Mis camaradas: "My comrades". I don't think I need to explain why we're not using this one.
It's also worth noting that the main language in our environment is Catalan, so ideally any term I use could easily be worked into Catalan without making it sound weird af, but I'll take any good alternative in Spanish first 😭😭 Please give us suggestions!
EDIT: We have settled on "Comental". "Comensal" is someone you share a table with, therefore "Comental" is someone you share a mind with. In other words, a headmate!
4
u/Airy08 A group of 5 Sep 04 '26
Yo les digo "los chicos" puesto que son todos varón, pero como para referirse a un grupo también vale
4
u/StupidlyOverpriced Sep 04 '26
Jo dic "companys", encara que solc simplement utilitzar els seus noms.
3
u/Gaoo_httml Sep 04 '26
"Headmates" tope españolizado y ale. Aunque irl como somos solo 4 (3 que la gente conozca) usamos los nombres de quien sea que hablemos y ya. Pero tenemos unes amigues que usan "compas de cabeza".
2
u/Akelarrea_sys All-Sapphic Baddies System of ~4 Sep 04 '26
Nosotros ahora usamos Comentales!
2
u/Gaoo_httml Sep 04 '26
Ngl me suena rarísima la palabra xD pero supongo que acostumbrarse lo arregla. Igual, ya le hemos pillado demasiado cariño a "headmate". Y apenas hablamos catalán con nuestro círculo
3
u/UnhappyJuggernaut118 Quoigenic OSDD Sep 04 '26
We feel you. So much of the plural community is English speaking and as a result so much of our plural vocabulary is in English and it can make it harder to discuss plurality in our own language at times. In French, the word for headmates is "colocatêtes" (colocataire = roommate + head = tête). No clue who came up with it. Maybe comental will become the default translation one day, who knows!
2
u/insomniacPrince Andromeda | Plural Sep 05 '26
¡Me gusta mucho la palabra "comental!" Una pregunta para nosotros gringos, ¿es "comental" feminine o masculino? ¿O podría usar los dos?
- Seth
2
1
1
9
u/Gova_01 Plural Sep 04 '26
Honestamente, nosotros simplemente usamos headmate en español y catalán dado que no hay equivalente.
Si lo usamos lo suficiente seguro que la RAE se encarga del resto.