There are quite a few religious Spanish slang phrases like this. After you’ve prepared how to introduce yourself and order at a restaurant, the next step is to learn some common Spanish slang. “chido” for Chilean Spanish speakers, “calidá” in Guatemala and “candela” in Venezuela. Someone stole my wallet.”. The below Spanish slang words … Chapín / Chapina. (Argentina) Awesome dude! (informal) ¿Cómo van las cosas? F*&king cool! Think of it as using ‘elbow grease’, except with more mental than physical exertion involved. 1. “You’re pissing me off. Read on to discover which ones are the most common in Spain. “What does “chichi” mean in Spanish slang?” Depends on the country and sometimes a region within a country. (F) You'll never catch me wearing a hoodie and trying to talk slang with teenagers. As you continue to expand your understanding, you’ll be better at knowing when and how to use slang words in your everyday conversations. Sometimes it’s used to show agreement, or say “okay” in response to a question instead of sí for “yes”. Note that it can be found and used either as “chichi” or “chichí “ in the latter case with the accent on the second syllable. “Blast! Spanish idioms and slang are two of the things that complicate the process of transitioning from staged speaking and listening exercises to speaking Spanish comfortably with native speakers.. I like that TV show, too. Tío and tía mean “uncle” and “aunt” in most Spanish-speaking countries. These Spanish slang terms are so common you’ll hear them all the time in everyday speech in Spain. This is the unofficial Spanish word for a person from Guatemala. a. Spain Expat's quick guide to everyday Spanish slang and informal vocabulary you may or may not find in your dictionary. Soy muy cabrearse. In other dialects it means “co-worker”. Because we use it when we’re interested in going into a bit more in detail about how things are going for this person in various aspects of their life: their studies, their job, etc. It definitely indicates that there is quite a bit of conversation and contact between you and the person. Who’s your favourite character?”. One way you can sound more like a native speaker and less like you’re reading from a guidebook is to master the local idioms and slang. Soy todo empanado. Only use this way to ask how are you in Spanish if you feel like chatting and aren’t too busy. If you stop to think about it, you can probably come up with a whole list of words in your native language that mean something other than the literal translation or have different meanings around the world. Joder is used exactly the same way as “fuck” in English. It’s a good question, and it’s one I’m going to answer, looking at some new research from linguist and psychologist Steven Pinker. Today, we’ll learn 20 Guatemalan words to expand your Spanish slang vocabulary. The main difference between chulo and guay is that, in Spain, chulo can only be used as a positive phrase when talking about inanimate objects. And. Use it and you’ll always make a good impression. ¡Está como una cabra! This literally means “nothing is happening.” It’s used to say “no worries” or “no problem”. { Take this quiz to test your Spanish texting IQ} Increasingly, most communication in our digital world is in a mash up of acronyms and shorthand. Slang is sometimes difficult to pick up because the phrases don’t always make sense when you first hear them. Bárbaro pibe! This phrase can be used if you have gone on a few dates. As you learn Spanish, have you ever worried that you sound a little too much like a textbook?. That’s cool (Mexico) That’s Cool. 25 Spanish Slang Words From Mexico, Spain, Argentina To help you get to what you came here for, we’ve divided our sections into the main countries. And some of them you may have already heard and didn’t know they originated from Japan! I almost never kept to the resolution. For instance, ve al tiro means “go right now.” Bacán. Take note! and some phrases express things your native language can’t. Baboso means “slimy”, but as slang, it means someone is an idiot or a dummy. If it is cool and you mean it here are the examples. And they do in Spain as well, but they’re more often used to call someone a “guy” and “girl”, or “dude” and “chick”. When traveling in Spanish speaking countries, one of the best ways to befriend a native Spanish speaker is to have some knowledge of their local slang, which is why today we’re going to teach you the very best Mexican slang.. Of course, it’s a good idea to first know some basic Spanish words, or even better, learn the most common Spanish phrases for traveling. It’s a short and widely used expression that we say in Spanish when we want to know how someone is doing. ¿Cómo estás? When you’re irritated, you can say ¡Jolín! ¡Ey tío! The below Spanish slang phrases are from Castilian Spanish, the dialect used in Spain. So, if you still don’t feel very comfortable holding a fluent conversation in Spanish, I suggest that you use one of the other questions. You’re travelling to Spain, trusty phrasebook in hand, but then you start to notice that, despite knowing lots of formal Spanish, you’re struggling to understand the slang. You can “crap in” anything in Spain to add injury to insult. you don't know how difficult it is no sabes lo difícil que es I didn't ... You can complete the translation of how are you given by the English-Spanish Collins dictionary with other dictionaries such as: Wikipedia, Lexilogos, Larousse dictionary, Le Robert, Oxford, Grévisse. Why? Spanish in Latin America and Spanish in Spain are about as different as apples and oranges. If you use it to talk about a person, it can mean they’re “cocky” or “conceited”. In fact, there is so much variation that entire books have been written on the subject trying to categorize the various terms from different countries.This can be tricky for Spanish learners as a word that you learn in one country might have a completely different meaning, or not even exist, in another. It makes sense [...], Sometimes, when you’re surrounded by a new language it can overwhelm your capacity to pick up new things. So this one means, “to be in balls”, or “to be buttnaked”. ¿Qué pasa? Here you will find some of the most well-known ones, from different Spanish speaking regions. Spanish Slang Words. But keep in mind, some are NSFW. The first time you hear “¡Hostia!” in Spain, you may think… “Why are they exclaiming, ‘The host of Christ’?”. Alguien robó mi cartera. You use it to say something doesn’t matter, or you don’t care. These Guatemalan words and slang will not only make you sound cool but also help you get around! & ¿Qué pasó? This slang word often replaces amigo when spoken in Spain. It literally means “flip flop mouth”, because someone keeps talking smack like flip flops smack the ground when you walk. ¿Qué pasa? Goats are pretty unpredictable, and have a crazy scream, so this saying makes sense when you think about it. means “I’m going to give you a beating!”, La Virgen María, or “the Virgin Mary”, is also sometimes used as an exclamation, like “Oh my God!”. “Wow! 10. It is also important to understand this kind of Spanish slang when someone speaks with you. THIS is how I learn a language in 3 months. ¿Cómo te va? This is a casual way to say “boring” in Chile. You’ll sound muy guay when you visit Spain and chat with your friends. “My ‘rents can be cool sometimes.”. Yes, Spaniards went there. Guay is another must-know slang word in Spanish. When you are learning Spanish, you may receive SMS texts, IMs, and WhatsApp messages from your Spanish-speaking friends and language exchange partners. Al tiro. Hola, colega. “She’s always so rude to me. “I couldn’t care less about the game. Ey, gracias por todo hoy. And it does… But it’s more natural to hear majo or maja in Spain. Learn to start a conversation in Spanish with just a few words that are easy to learn. Pelotas is like cojones, or “balls”. However, don’t worry! In your Spanish textbooks, you may have learned simpático means “nice” or “friendly”. Learn Learning Lounge. Certain colloquialisms are so common, it’s worth learning them alongside more standard expressions. ¡Esa fue una jugada increíble! A pretty vulgar (but amusing) Spanish slang phrase is Me cago en la leche. This one is a funny expression to me. This post contains affiliate links. How’s it going?”. These Japanese proverbs are called ことわざ (kotowaza). And yes, it’s a common insult. Everything from the toothpaste to the billboards to the TV is filled by the unrecognizable. It implies the person’s blowing off other people, or what they’re doing isn’t rational. These are for your friends, and some may be okay with family, but don’t use them with strangers. It’s almost too much newness, and you just draw a line. Literally, this would be something like “How are you going?” When someone asks you this, are they asking how you’re going to work, the supermarket or the beach? “He thinks he’s all that. (informal) Spanish nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la mujer or la luna) or masculine (like el hombre or el sol). Slang can make you sound like a native you aren’t (as long as you know how and when to use it!) As you can see, there are many aspects of the language that you don’t learn from grammar textbooks, but that require some time living in a Spanish-speaking country to really master them or help from a Spanish teacher who can explain them to you and guide you in using them correctly. If someone thanks you for doing them a favour, you can reply with this. Que chingón! “I’m so pissed off. If you can’t find what you’re looking for on this article you can always check out these translation apps as well. Ella es tan pija. Share your favourites in the comments below! This means “right away”, and you’ll hear it quite often. It means “the elderly”, so it’s not the best thing you could call your parents. For that reason, I’ll be focusing on Castilian Spanish slang. Empanado means something is breaded, and empanada is a pastry. And when it comes to the time of hearing conversations among Spanish speakers, you may feel like you are listening to a new language! Hostia literally refers to the eucharist in a Catholic mass, la eucaristía. In fact, Spaniards love to us me cago en… for… many things. “Hey, friend. 5 Spanish Slang Words You’ll Hear in Chile Fome. It can be an awesome experience, fantastic food, or a cool person. That was an incredible play!”. One of the most common slang expressions which comes from Spain’s Catholic heritage. These Spanish slang terms are so common you’ll hear them all the time in everyday speech in Spain. Learning Spanish slang words can be a fun challenge. For instance, you could say dar una hostia, which means “to give a host”. Your email address will not be published. Okay maybe I’m exaggerating, we’ll say more like lemons and limes. Prefiero ver una película.” They can come in straight-forward sayings or be as philosophical as one of Uncle Iroh’s from Avatar: The Last Airbender. “Don’t be an idiot.”. This could be a situation, person, movie… anything. Me cago en la leche. Olvidé comprar la leche. Go, go, go!”, This one is not quite as strong as some of the other expressions on the list. salir con alguien - to go out with someone, to date. PRODUCTS • ABOUT BENNY • MEET BENNY • CONTACT • SPEAK IN A WEEK • LANGUAGE HACKING BOOKS • PRIVACY POLICY, Fun-loving Irish guy, full-time globe trotter and international bestselling author. “Fuck! You can call your friends this, or even refer to strangers as tío and tía. Olvidé mis llaves, otra vez. She’s such a snob.”. This is used to say you’ll slap someone across the face. It is a bit strong, so watch who you say it to. “He’s crazy! It literally means “I crap in the milk”. ¡Vaya! It can replace sí to acknowledge someone or agree, and it’s an exclamation, too, like “Yes!”. ¡Qué guay! ¡Qué guay! This phrase is similar to calling your parents your “‘rents” in English, or your dad your “old man”. Maybe you have already made the experience: you thought your Spanish is quite well and then you start a conversation with some local people at a party – and you’re getting lost in translation! No seas baboso. Castilian Spanish slang phrases will have you dreaming of adventures in sunny Spain. This phrase literally translates as “go to your ball”, but it means “to do your own thing”. “Hey, thanks for everything today.” This way of asking “how are you” in Spanish is used when it’s been a long time since you’ve seen that person, so much time that they seem to have “hidden away somewhere and not wanted to come out”, hence the expression dónde te metes “(where do you put yourself)” which essentially means “Where have you been?”. However, if you’re feeling brave and want to get more comfortable putting your Spanish in practice, qué es de tu vida is the phrase for you! The answer is no, because obviously you wouldn’t use it to greet your boss or the branch manager at a bank when you’re trying to open an account. It’s like calling someone una fresa (“a strawberry”) in Mexican Spanish slang. Colega is fine for both men and women. I forgot my keys again.”. Chulo or chula means “cool” and can be used to say something is “pretty” or “attractive”. For example: Estuvo chido. “How cool! 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