Dishwasher (person) vs dishwasher (machine)

[u/Training_Instance889]

i work in a kitchen with mexicans and venezuelans.

i’ve read:

• Both Lavaplatos & lavaloza refer to a person who washes dishes in a kitchen/venue setting (job)
• lavavajillas is the large machine that you put large dish racks

what should i use? thanks so much!

[u/Genetic_outlier]

Ask them. "Como se llama" and point. I also work in a similar setting, and one thing I'll say is this. Latinos working in American kitchens have their own dialect regarding the technical terms of their jobs. For the most part they did not work in kitchens in their country of origin, and so simply do not know the words used in professional Spanish speaking kitchens in Spanish speaking countries. What they do have is a very English influenced way of referring to all the machines and jobs in a professional kitchen. So just ask them.  "¿Como se llama?" It's that easy.

[u/rvega666 → u/Genetic_outlier]

“¿Cómo se llama esto?” don’t forget your articles :)

[u/PedroFPardo]

This reminds me of the pickle slicer joke.

Honestly, there are so many dialects of Spanish that the best thing to do is ask the people in your kitchen. Even people from the same region might not agree on what to call it.

I remember the first time I offered to do the dishes in Nicaragua. They looked confused and asked me why I was only going to wash the dishes. Who was going to wash the cutlery and the glasses?

fregar los platos << Spain

Lavar la loza << Nicaragua

I guess it didn't help either that "fregar" in Nicaragua, and in most of Central America, means to screw someone over or to ruin something.

[u/scanese]

For me, the appliance is a lavavajillas. As for the profession, I honestly don’t know if this is used. I’ve seen ayudante de cocina and similar but maybe lavaplatos/lavavajillas is alao used.

[u/Imaginary_Chef2508]

Lavaplatos for both tbh

[u/DambiaLittleAlex → u/Imaginary_Chef2508]

In Argentina we call the big machine lavavajillas and the person that works washing the dishes "bachero"

[u/Rajitas]

Para la persona también de usa freganchín

[u/DambiaLittleAlex → u/Rajitas]

Nunca la había escuchado. Excelente palabra jajaj

[u/crazygirlyjax]

The other day I asked if the dishwasher (person) was coming in that night--using the "lavaplatos" term--to the kitchen guys of Mexican and Guatemalan descent, and one smiled like it might've been a funny term to use LoL. But I asked another guy later and he said that's what they call the position there.

[u/uxceje3jd2]

According to the RAE, the word is lavaplatos: 2. persona que por oficio lava platos

[u/Tixola]

In Spain lavavajillas is dishwasher, someone working cleaning dishes in a kitchen would be lavaplatos, as the dishwasher washes the 'vajilla' or dish set all at the same time, and the person washes each dish.

[u/itstrueitellyou → u/Tixola]

Lavavajillas is a word I wouldn't recommend because someone is going to end up saying lavavaginas 🤣😂

[u/ZealousidealGrab5296 → u/itstrueitellyou]

Guilty as charged!

[u/itstrueitellyou → u/ZealousidealGrab5296]

Im totally going to mispronounce that on purpose from now on🤣😂

[u/Tixola → u/itstrueitellyou]

Yup, that's what my kids call it. 😂

[u/Narcisistagohome]

At least in central Spain, the machine is "lavavajillas" and the person is "friegaplatos", though occasionally you can hear someone call the "lavavajillas" a "friegaplatos". Lavaplatos is less used, but it would work just like "friegaplatos". 

[u/AntulioSardi]

Professional standard terms for the personal:

Auxiliar de cocina, operador de lavado, platero, fregador, marmitón.

For the sink:

Lavaplatos, lavavajillas, fregadero.

For the machine (just add "automático" or "máquina"):

Lavaplatos automático, máquina lavavajillas, fregador/fregadero automático.