Business is business, right?

Business is business, right?

But how do you go about translating this word into Spanish? It can have so many different meanings!

Below are some examples:

Set up a business = montar un negocio

Business is business = los negocios son los negocios

Business as usual = aquí no ha pasado nada

To get down to business = ir al grano, entrar en materia

To resume business activities = reiniciar actividades comerciales

To mean business = decir algo muy en serio

Mind your own business! = ¡no te metas en lo que no te importa!

None of your business = no es asunto tuyo, eso no te incumbe

The best designer in the business = la mejor diseñadora en el ramo/sector

You had no business doing that = no tenías derecho a hacerlo

To be back in business = reanudar actividades comerciales

To lose business = perder clientela

It is my business to tell him = yo me encargaré de decírselo.

A few suggestions for translating the term "patrimonio."

“Patrimonio” is sometimes translated literally as “patrimony,” but “patrimonio” often refers simply to one’s “property,” “assets” or “estate.”

Thus, for example, “delito contra el patrimonio público” may be rendered simply as “crime against national wealth,” and “delito contra el patrimonio y contra el orden socioeconómico” would be translated as “offenses against property and economic interests.” The term “patrimonio artístico” translates as “artistic heritage.”

In other respects, “patrimonio familiar” should be translated as “homestead,” and “patrimonio fideicomitido” denotes “property held in trust.”

In inheritance law, “patrimonio del causante” denotes the “deceased’s (or) decedent’s estate,” rather than his “patrimony.” And “impuesto sobre el patrimonio” is simply a “wealth tax.”

The term “patrimonio social” (in general, “business assets”) justifies a closer look, since its translation may vary according to the type of business entity to which the expression refers. In that regard, the “patrimonio social” of a “sociedad anónima” are “corporate assets.” But if, for example, the entity in question is a partnership (“sociedad colectiva or sociedad comanditaria”), “patrimonio social” would be better rendered as “partnership assets.”

Lastly, “patrimonio propio” means “equity capital,” while “incrementos y disminuciones de patrimonio” denotes “capital gains and losses,” and “patrimonio neto” suggests “shareholders’ equity.”