Colloquial expressions from Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia. Sound natural, not textbook.
| Slang | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| mola / mola mucho | it's cool / awesome | Esa peli mola. |
| tío/a | dude / mate | ¡Oye, tío! |
| guay | cool | ¡Qué guay! |
| flipar | to be amazed | Estoy flipando. |
| currar | to work | Estoy currando mucho. |
| quedada | meetup / hangout | ¿Hacemos una quedada? |
| vale | OK / alright | Vale, nos vemos. |
| ¡Venga! | Come on! / Let's go! | ¡Venga, vámonos! |
| Slang | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| chido / padre | cool / awesome | ¡Está bien padre! |
| güey / wey | dude / bro | ¿Qué onda, güey? |
| neta | truth / for real | ¿Neta? (Really?) |
| chamba | job / work | Tengo mucha chamba. |
| ¿Qué onda? | What's up? | ¿Qué onda, cómo estás? |
| no manches | no way / you're kidding | ¡No manches! |
| órale | wow / OK / let's do it | ¡Órale! Vamos. |
| fresa | posh / preppy | Esa chava es muy fresa. |
| Slang | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| copado/a | cool / great | Está re copado. |
| che | hey / dude | Che, ¿vamos? |
| boludo/a | dude (friendly) / idiot | Dale, boludo. |
| re | very / really (intensifier) | Está re bueno. |
| laburar | to work | Estoy laburando. |
| posta | for real / seriously | ¿Posta? |
| dale | OK / go ahead / sure | Dale, nos vemos. |
| piola | cool / chill | Está piola. |
| Slang | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| bacano / chévere | cool / awesome | ¡Qué bacano! |
| parcero/a | buddy / friend | ¿Qué más, parcero? |
| ¡Qué pena! | How embarrassing! / Sorry! | ¡Qué pena! (excuse me) |
| marica | dude (friendly — Colombia) | Oye, marica. (informal) |
| rumba | party | Vamos de rumba. |
What's friendly in one country can be offensive in another. Boludo is casual in Argentina but rude elsewhere. Coger means "to grab" in Spain but is vulgar in Latin America (use tomar or agarrar). Always listen before using slang!
1. Cool in Spain = _____.
2. Dude in Mexico = _____.
3. Dude in Argentina = _____.
4. Cool in Colombia = _____.
5. "Vale" (OK) is used in _____.
6. "¿Qué onda?" is from _____.
7. "Re" as intensifier (re bueno) is from _____.
8. "Dale" (OK/sure) is from _____.
9. "Coger" is problematic in _____ (use tomar instead).
10. "Currar" (to work) is slang from _____.
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