Hay que subsanar el desconchón.

Hay que + infinitive is an impersonal way to express obligation or necessity. It means something like:

• it is necessary to...
• one has to...
• we need to...

So Hay que subsanar el desconchón means that the repair needs to be done, without saying exactly who must do it.

Because after hay que, Spanish uses the infinitive form of the verb:

• Hay que comer
• Hay que salir
• Hay que subsanar el desconchón

This structure does not conjugate the second verb. The only conjugated part is hay.

Subsanar means to remedy, correct, make good, fix. It often sounds a bit more formal or technical than everyday verbs like:

• arreglar = to fix
• reparar = to repair

In this sentence, subsanar suggests putting right the problem caused by the damaged area.

In everyday speech, many people might more naturally say:

• Hay que arreglar el desconchón
• Hay que reparar el desconchón

A desconchón is a chip, flaked area, or patch where paint/plaster has come off, especially on a wall, ceiling, or painted surface.

It comes from the idea of something desconchado: chipped, peeling, or flaking.

So in practical terms, el desconchón is the damaged spot that needs repairing.

Using el suggests a specific chip or damaged patch that both speaker and listener already know about.

• Hay que subsanar un desconchón = a chip / some chip needs fixing
• Hay que subsanar el desconchón = the chip / that damaged patch needs fixing

So el points to a known, identifiable defect.

Yes. Hay is from the verb haber.

In this expression, hay que is a fixed impersonal structure meaning it is necessary to.

Even though haber often appears in perfect tenses like he comido, it also has this separate impersonal use:

• Hay un problema = There is a problem
• Hay que salir = We have to leave / It is necessary to leave

So here, hay does not mean there is literally in English; it is part of the obligation structure hay que.

They both express necessity, but they are used differently.

• Hay que subsanar el desconchón = The chip needs to be fixed / Someone needs to fix the chip
• Tengo que subsanar el desconchón = I have to fix the chip
• Tienes que subsanar el desconchón = You have to fix the chip

So:

• hay que = impersonal, no specific subject
• tener que = personal, attached to a specific person

It is understandable and correct, but it sounds somewhat formal because of subsanar.

In everyday conversation in Spain, people might more often say:

• Hay que arreglar el desconchón
• Hay que reparar ese desconchón
• Hay que tapar el desconchón
  if the idea is specifically to fill it in

So the original sentence is fine, but subsanar is less casual than arreglar.

Not only to paint. It can refer to a damaged area where paint, plaster, enamel, or a surface layer has chipped or flaked off.

For example, it can be used for:

• a wall
• a ceiling
• a painted door
• sometimes other coated surfaces

The exact English translation depends on context: chip, flake, peeling patch, damaged spot, etc.

Roughly: dess-kon-CHON

A few points:

• ch is like English ch in church
• the stress falls on the last syllable: -chón
• the written accent on ó shows that final stress

So the stressed part is chón.

Yes. Although hay que is very common in the present, the structure can appear in other tenses too:

• Hay que subsanarlo = It needs to be fixed
• Había que subsanarlo = It had to be fixed / It was necessary to fix it
• Hubo que subsanarlo = It had to be fixed
• Habrá que subsanarlo = It will have to be fixed

So the pattern stays the same: a form of haber + que + infinitive.

Yes, if the context is already clear.

• Hay que subsanar el desconchón
• Hay que subsanarlo

In subsanarlo, the ending -lo replaces el desconchón.

This is very common in Spanish once the object has already been mentioned.