Year: 2026

Legal Look-alikes: “delincuente” vs. delinquent

rebeccajowers False Friends

Delincuente and delinquent are certainly look-alike terms, but are only marginally related in certain contexts. For US audiences, perhaps the first expression that comes to mind is “juvenile delinquent.” Indeed, in the US this is the legal term for a convicted underage offender as per the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Code (18 US Code Chapter 403 Part IV). In Spain, for example, a convicted minor is a menor infractor.

In Spanish criminal law, delincuente denotes an adult offender (rather than a minor) as in presunto delincuente (“alleged offender”), delincuente primario (“first offender,” “first-time offender”), delincuente habitual (“habitual offender”), delincuente sin antecedentes penales (“offender with no prior criminal record”) and delincuente arrepentido (“reformed offender”).

And, unrelated to criminal law, “delinquent” may have the additional meaning of “default” or “in arrears.” As examples, a “delinquent debtor” (or “debtor in arrears”) is a deudor moroso, while “average days delinquent” is rendered as días de mora promedio. And “delinquent taxes” (also known as “back taxes,” “overdue taxes” and “taxes in arrears”) refers to impuestos vencidos y no pagados or impuestos no satisfechos.

Legal English for Spanish Speakers: Multiple Meanings of “Attorney”

rebeccajowers Legal English for Spanish-speakers, Multiple Meanings

In US usage the term “attorney” (from the expression “attorney-at-law”) is generally a synonym for “lawyer,” specifically denoting a “practicing lawyer” or “lawyer in practice” (abogado que ejerce la abogacía, abogado en ejercicio, abogado ejerciente or simply ejerciente).

But “attorney” may also designate any person who has been “granted power of attorney” (otorgado poder de representación) to act on behalf of a “grantor” (poderdante). In this case, the person granted or holding power of attorney (persona que ostenta poder de representación or representante) is known as an “attorney-in-fact” (apoderado). Power of attorney thus granted may be a “general power of attorney” (poder general) authorizing the attorney-in-fact to transact any business for the grantor, or a “special power of attorney” (poder especial), limiting that authority to a specific matter.

And, of course, an attorney-in-fact (apoderado) may actually be a practicing lawyer or attorney-at-law (abogado en ejercicio) or a nonlawyer who the grantor (poderdante) has entrusted to handle some or all of their affairs.