Spanish Slang

Spain Expat's quick guide to everyday Spanish slang and informal vocabulary you may or may not find in your dictionary. As with most slang, these Spanish slang words are largely the province of informal situations.

Botellón = (bo-tay-YOWN) Outdoor drinking party or gathering in a square, street, park, or other public place with alcohol purchased cheaply at supermarkets or corner shops.

Buenas = (buey-NAS) A greeting used at any time of the day. Similar to Hello / Hola, but more informal.

Cabezota = (ka-bay-though-ta) Stubborn, when used as an adjective, and a stubborn person, when used as a noun.

Caray = (KA-wry) God, oh my God, darn, darn it!

Casero = (ka-sayr-Oh) Landlord. Note: Casera, apart from a female landlord, is a soda that, mixed into red wine, makes tinto de verano, a light summer drink. And as an adjective, casero means home-made.

Chalado = (cha-la-doe) Crazy or nuts. Estar chalado = To be crazy or nuts.

Chapuza = (cha-poo-the) Shoddy work.

Chaval / chavala = (cha-ball / cha-ball-ah) Guy, boy, kid, lad / girl.

Chino = (chi-no) Corner shop, convenience store. When all the other supermarkets and stores in Spain are closed, you can usually find a chino open. Chino also refers to the Chinese language, a Chinese person, and a Chinese restaurant.

Chiringuito = (chi-riin-gEE-to) Beach bar or seaside restaurant.

Chorrada = (cho-rA-da) Nonsense. ¡Qué chorrada! = What a bit of nonsense!

Chulo = (chew-low) When used as an adjective, chulo can mean: 1) nice, cool, etc. 2) cute, good-looking, 3) arrogant, insolent, cocky. ¡Qué chulo! = How cute! How cool! However, used as a noun, chulo means a pimp.

Currar = (coo-rAr) To work (a verb). Your workplace or job is your curro.

Cutre = (coo-tray) Cheap, seedy, shabby, tacky, kitschy, cheesy.

De puta madre = (day poo-ta ma-dray) Bloody awesome, really kickass.

Enchufe = (en-choo-fay) A connection, a contact, someone who has some kind of power or influence and can help you. An enchufe could get you a job interview, for example. Enchufe literally means a plug or a socket though.

Entender = (en-ten-dare) To be gay. However, the primary definition of the Spanish word entender is to understand, so keep in mind that if someone at a bar asks you “¿Entiendes?” it could just as likely be a reflection on your Spanish skills as an attempt to find out your sexual preferences.

Estar como una cabra = (es-tar ko-mo Oon-a ka-bra) To be completely crazy, nuts, bonkers.

Finde = Weekend. Shortened version of fin de semana.

Friki = (free-key) Nerd, geek, freak. For example, a friki de ordenadores is a computer nerd and a friki de ciencia ficción is a sci-fi geek.

Guarro = (gwa-Ro) Filthy, disgusting.

Guay = (gwhy) Cool. ¡Qué guay!  = How cool! How cool is that!

Guiri = (gEE-ree) Foreigner in Spain, especially an Anglo-Saxon or northern European foreigner. This word can be as affectionate or as disparaging as the speaker intends to make it.

Heavy = Fan of heavy metal music, metalhead.

Hortera = (or-ter-ah) Tacky, in bad taste.

Ir a su bola = (ear ah sue bowl-a) To do one’s own thing. For example, “No asistí a la fiesta, fui a mi bola” means “I didn’t go to the party, I did my own thing.”

Ligar = (lee-gar) To pull or to pick someone up.

Locutorio = (low-coo-tore-e-yo) Internet café where you can also make telephone calls (especially long-distance ones) in private booths, top up your mobile phone credit, buy phone cards, send faxes, etc. Locutorios largely cater to the non-Spanish market and can be found anywhere there’s a significant immigrant population in Spain.

Marcha = (mar-chuh) Nightlife. Salir de marcha = To go out, to go party.

Mileurista = (mill-lure-ista) Someone who earns approximately 1,000 euros per month. This relatively recent social phenomenon is a person in Spain who is often imagined as a twentysomething or thirtysomething with a low-paying job, who may or may not live with their parents, may or may not have a university degree, but has low prospects for improving their economic outlook.

Mono = (mo-no) Cute, when used as an adjective. ¡Qué mono! = How cute! Used as a noun, mono means monkey.

Nene / nena = (nay-nay / nay-nah) Baby / baby, chick, as in, “Hey, baby!” (Hola, nene [for a male] or Hola, nena [for a female]) or “I like that chick!” / “A mí me gusta esa nena.”

…Continue reading PART 2 of
Spanish Slang, Spanish Slang

---

Last updated 23 01 2009