{"id":36590,"date":"2024-09-27T14:18:42","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T12:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/?p=36590"},"modified":"2024-10-23T12:38:45","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T10:38:45","slug":"spanish-slang-phrases-and-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/en\/blog\/spanish-slang-phrases-and-words","title":{"rendered":"Slang words and phrases in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are many different elements to learning a new language and one of the most important ones is to sound natural. In the case of Spanish, just as with any language, an excellent way to achieve a natural tone is to understand and throw in some Spanish slang phrases and slang words.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this <\/span>guide to Spanish slang phrases and Spanish slang words<\/b>, we\u2019ll outline some simple ways to navigate casual conversations like a native speaker. So, let\u2019s get started and dive into the world of Spanish slang!<\/span><\/p>\n

Spanish slang in Spain vs the rest of the world<\/b><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s important to understand that Spanish slang can be quite different depending on which part of the world you are in. <\/span>If you decide to <\/b>study Spanish in Madrid<\/b><\/a>, you\u2019ll hear quite different Spanish colloquialisms on the street compared to what you\u2019d hear in, for example, Mexico<\/b>, which in itself would be different to those of, for another example, Argentina.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When you think about it, that makes complete sense. In whatever your native language is, there are also likely to be differences between slang used in one region or country versus another. English slang isn\u2019t the same in the USA as it is in the UK, while there are regional differences too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since you might be studying the language through <\/span>online Spanish courses<\/b><\/a> from any corner of the world, in this guide we\u2019ll start off by outlining some universal Spanish slang. We\u2019ll also delve into a few basic Spanish slang phrases and words which are primarily used by people living\u00a0 in Spain.<\/span><\/p>\n

List of colloquial Spanish words to know<\/b><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start off with the translations for <\/span>some common Spanish slang words used in almost all the Spanish-speaking world<\/b>. A few are found in the list below:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Chico = Guy<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Chica = Girl<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Currar = Work<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Cari\u00f1o = Dear (as a term of endearment)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Compi = Colleague\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Mono = Cute (man)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Mona = Cute (women)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Ojo! = Watch out!<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Pasta = Money<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Majo = Friendly person (man)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Maja = Friendly person (women)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Cabrear = Get angry<\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u00a1Joder! = Damn!<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Cutre =\u00a0 Bad quality\/cheap\/dirty<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Finde = Weekend (a shortening of \u201cfin de semana\u201d)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Chao = Goodbye\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Now, we\u2019ll move on to <\/span>a list of translations for slang words mostly used just in Spain<\/b>:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Vale = Okay<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Venga = Let\u2019s do it<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Guay = Cool<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Chulo = Cool<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Majo = Kind<\/span><\/li>\n
    • T\u00edo = Friend (slang for Spanish man friend)<\/span><\/li>\n
    • T\u00eda = Friend (slang for Spanish woman friend)<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Chavales = Teens<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Tapear = To go for tapas<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Puente = Long weekend<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      List of colloquial Spanish phrases to know<\/b><\/h2>\n

      Knowing a few words of slang is all well and good, but you\u2019ll also want to be able to use complete Spanish slang phrases or sentences to sound even more fluent and natural. Here, then, comes <\/span>a list of colloquial Spanish phrases to know<\/b>, again starting off with some used all around the Spanish-speaking world:<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      • \u00bfQu\u00e9 pasa? = What\u2019s up?<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Me parece estupendo = That sounds great<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Est\u00e1 s\u00faper bien = That\u2019s really good<\/span><\/li>\n
      • No hay color = There\u2019s no comparison<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Estar con un humor de perros = To be in a bad mood<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Moving on to a few <\/span>Spanish Spain slang phrases<\/b>, this list of Spanish colloquialisms will help you fit right in next time you\u2019re out and about in Spain:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Es la leche = That\u2019s sick<\/span><\/li>\n
        • En un abrir y cerrar de ojos =\u00a0 in the blink of an eye, such a fast thing to do, it\u2019s almost unnoticeable<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Qu\u00e9 pasada = That\u2019s amazing\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Qu\u00e9 fuerte = That\u2019s crazy<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Estar como una cabra = refers to someone who\u2019s a bit crazy<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Echar una mano = To help someone out<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Estoy flipando = I\u2019m freaking out<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Date prisa = Hurry up<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Ser un crack = To be the best at something<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Me importa un pimiento = I couldn\u2019t care less\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Me mola este XXX = I like this XXX<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Me li\u00e9 con XXX = I messed up with XXX<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Va a su bola = He\/she does their own thing<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Tiene mala pata = He\/she has such bad luck<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

           <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          There are many different elements to learning a new language and one of the most important ones is to sound natural. In the case of Spanish, just as with any language, an excellent way to achieve a natural tone is to understand and throw in some Spanish slang phrases and slang words.\u00a0 In this guide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1080,"featured_media":36597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[973],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spanish-courses-in-madrid"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1080"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36590"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36596,"href":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36590\/revisions\/36596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ihmadrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}