Free Spanish Lesson #26 – The Spanish John and Jane Doe

In English, when we’re writing a letter that will be used as an example in business or in a textbook, we usually address it with something like, “Dear John” or “Dear Jane”. And, we usually sign it, “Sincerely, John Doe” or “Sincerely, Jane Doe”.

John and Jane Doe, who are obviously married and model citizens, also have their names on government and employment forms as they show us, by their perfect examples, the correct way to fill out those difficult forms. Some of us tend to get frustrated as “John” and “Jane” seem to be the epitome of perfection in our society, and we are just the “average Joe” never able to reach their level of perfection.

By the way, “John and Jane Doe” have a less than perfect son named “The Average Joe”. Joe hates filling out forms and got “b’s” and “c’s” in school. Like his parents, however, “The Average Joe” also seems to be everywhere.

Whenever we give examples to people about things that happen in life, we refer to “the average Joe”. We say things like “Let’s consider ‘the average Joe’ in this situation”, and so on. Like his parents “John” and “Jane”, he is also very popular in our American culture.

When I was living in my first Latin American city, I always heard about a guy named “Fulano” [foo-lawn-oh]. Everyone seemed to know him, but I never had the opportunity to meet him. After a while, I learned that his full name was “Fulano de Tal” (Fulano of Such).

As time went on, and I lived in a few more cities, everyone still talked this “Fulano” guy. After a while of being immersed in my new language, I finally realized that “Fulano de tal” was the long lost relative of “John and Jane Doe” and their son “The Average Joe”.

I think he was their second Latin American cousin twice removed whose parents fled from America in the late 1800s after the Gold Rush. He has since traveled throughout Central and South America and seems to have the genetic makeup of all three of his American counterparts.

I also found out that “Fulano” has two brothers named “Mengano” and “Zutano“. They just happen to be first cousins with “Tom”, “Dick”, and “Harry” in the United States. So, when people refer to any “Tom, Dick, and Harry” in the U.S., they can also refer to their cousins “Fulano, Mengano, and Zutano” in Latin America.

It was fun for me to find out that “John and Jane Doe” and “The Average Joe”, exist in Latin America in the form of “Fulano“.

Moral of the Story: Next time you are talking to someone in Spanish and they mention “Fulano“, you’ll know that they are talking about “The Average Joe”, “John or Jane Doe”, or just “so and so”.

¡Qué le vaya bien! (May everything go well for you!)

[custom_script adID=97]

If you want to learn Spanish please Try your Free Spanish Lesson here.

Copyright © 1999-2007 US Institute of Languages All rights reserved.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.