- Quinessential Colombian
- Greeting & Salutations/Saludos
- Chatting Up/Coqueteando
- In the Bar
- That’s Cool
- Express Yourself/ Explicàte ve
- Roadside fruit vendors- in the Llanos
- Bogota
- preparation of arepa- a popular corn flour cake
- Anyone fancy some tasty ants. Yes that’s ants a la Santanderiana Yummy
- Wall fort wall of the colonial city of Cartagena
Colombian Spanish Slang
Street Talk Colombian Spanish- Colombia is Passion
The Spanish spoken in Colombia is a typical Latin American variety, which has a few dialects. The most noticeable are Bogotano which is considered one of the best spoken forms of Spanish in the world. The Paisa dialect from the extremely proud people of Medellin , and Caleño from Calí, which both use ‘vos’ for you, Costeño the relaxed dialect from the relaxed inhabitants of the Carribean coast, who often drop the letter ‘s’ from their words.
Colombian Spanish is generally very formal and won’t often swear when compared to other Spanish speakers. Men speaking to other men: If you don’t use vos when referring to a male colleague you should use ‘usted’ because it can have gay undertones, but to counterract tis one would use ‘marica’ as in ‘Qu’ubo marica?’
Quinessential Colombian
Some of the favourite words used by Colombians are the greeting Qu’ubo? (Que hubo?) which can translate to what’s up?
Other words are vaina (also used in Venezuela) which could be crap and can be used in various situations such as ‘Que vaina es eso?’, What’s this crap? or ‘Que vaina tan bueno!’, How good is that?
Sumerce is also an often used word. It translate literally to ‘your mercy’ and can be any person in general, it is used by women which can translate to ‘darl’. Every person to whom a woman is talking to can be ‘Sumerce,’ so you have to be careful to whom the speaker is actually directing their attention because the ‘Sumerce’ can change from moment to moment. “Sumerce le provoca una frutica?”
Also the dimunitives ‘ito, ita’ are very heavily used and you can often hear tintico-little coffee, frutica- little fruit, desayunito- little breakfast, aquicito-little (just) here.
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Greeting & Salutations/Saludos
A la orden (obsessively the most heard thing you’ll hear in Colombia)
At your order
Bien afortunadamente
Fortunately, well
Que más?
What’s up?
¿Cómo está? Regular, tres cuartos…
How are you? Normal, three quarters…?
¿Como le va? Como le ha ido? And one more
How are you?
¿Como le amenecio?
How did you wake up?
como fue que?
what up? what’s going on?
Con gusto
You’re welcome (with pleasure: as in willingly)
Encantadissimo para conocerle
Extremely delighted to meet you
Gracias muy amable
Thank you, that’s very kind
Hola mijo/a como esta?
Hi darling, how are you?
Muy buenas
Very good (day, afternoon, evening)
Feliz dia
Happy day
Picos
Kisses
¿Que es de tu vida?
How’s life?
¿Que hubo? ¿Qu,ubo?
What’s up?
¿Qué hubo mijita como va (usted)?
What’s up darling how are you?
¿Qué hubo marica, como va?
Careful not to tutear with your fellow male colleagues otherwise it can have gay undertones
¡Que dios lo bendiga!
May god bless you!
¿Que hubo parcero?
Hey mate/buddy
¡Que estes bien!
I hope you are well!
¡Que tengas un buen dia!
I hope you have a good day
Si Dios nos permite?
If god allows us?
Si eres tan amable
If you would be so kind
Sumerce(d) (sometimes also often heard a lot)
Darling (lit: Your mercy)
todo bien
all good
Chatting Up/Coqueteando
Arrozito en bajo- Consuelo sexual
Booty call
Ella le gustan los monos
She likes blonde guys
Ella esta llevando cucos rojos
She’s wearing red knickers
Es una nena mimada por su papi
That girl is spoiled by her Sugardaddy
¿Y eso quién pidió pollo?
& who ask for Chicken?
Hola Cosita/Cosito
Las manos largas
To have wandering hands
Marica, caele a esa vieja!
Go and get her dude!
Me veo muy culona con este pantalon
Does my butt look big in this?
¡Que vaina tan bella!
How hot is she!
Que viejota esa mujer!
What a hot chick!
In the Bar
The Aguila beer girls are a national icon of Colombia. Men drool just as much over the beautiful girls as the taste of a cold beer on a hot day
Polas- cerveza- beer
The most popular beers (polas) found in Colombia are Aguila, Club Colombia, Poker, and Costeña
Aguardiente
Aniseed liquor that resembles rocket fuel
bolqueta
drunk
¿Dónde esta la rumba?
Where’s the party happening?
¿Dónde estufiste? (play on words? Donde estuviste? Where have you been?)
Where have you been drinking? (because you have alcohol breath)
Esta noche vamos a jartar
Tonight we’re going to drink like fish
Estas jincha?
Are you drunk?
Jincho pero contento
Drunk but happy
prendido
tipsy
Tengo un guayabo
I have a hangover
Tienes tufo
You have alcohol breath
Polas
Beer
That’s Cool
Que chévere! (quintessential Colombian Word, also used in Venezuela, Cuba & Puerto Rico)
That’s great!
Esta del carajo!
That’s damn good
Berraquera
Excellent
Que Bacano!
How cool!
Que vaina tan buena!
How good is that!
Tienes la cara de ponke
You have a happy face on
Express Yourself/ Explicàte ve
Cogela suave!
Take it easy
Deje de hablar paja
Stop talking crap
Ella chilla más que un camionado de pollos
She whines more than a truck full of chickens
Eso te pasa por ser calabaza
That happened to you for being a pumpkin head
Estoy mamado {this might get other Spanish speakers laughing, as mamar is to give fellatio}
I’m finished (fatigued)
Eres una garapata en el trasero
You’re a pain(a tick) in the arse
Guacale/ Fuchile
Yucky
Hijue pucha!
Son of a ____ motherless goat. Colombians are very polite and don’t often swear so this is the closest they will go to Spanish’s greatest curse
Hola cucho ¿Dónde esta tu baston?
Hey old man. Where’s your walking stick?
Miercoles!
Wednesday! (polite way of saying Mierda!)
No tengo plata
I don’t have any money
No seas sapo!
Mind your own business! (don’t be a toad!)
No pero tengo un tio que infla costales en el aeropuerto
I had one of those but the wheels fell off (no but I have an uncle who inflates potato sacks at the airport, what you say when you haven’t heard of something before)
¡Que cansón!
What a pain in the arse!
!Parame bolas!
Listen to me
¿Qué te provoca?
What do you feel like? (food,drink)
¿Sabes que? Me cayes gordo
You know what? You rub me the wrong way
Tu novio te pone los cachos
Your boyfriend is cheating on you
Estoy con mi parche
I’m with my crew/gang
No me coja de destrabe
Don’t mess me around
No me paras bolas!
You never listen to me!
Vaina
Vaina the quintessential Colombian word, here are some of it’s many uses:
Echan más vainas que una mata de frijol
They create more problems than a mata of beans
Estan llenas de vainas
They are full of idiosynchrasies
¿Qué vaina es esa?
What’s this crap?
Una vaina seria
A good opportunity or thing
Es una vaina maravillosa
A really good thing
Vamos, que la vaina va a estar muy buena
Let’s go to the party, it’ll be great
Esa vaina es feisima
That girl is so ugly
Que vaina
What crap/ What a bummer! What a pain in the arse
!Ni de vainas!
Not in your life!
!Pilas!
Careful!
¿Que diablo es eso?
What the hell is this?
¡Pailas!
Damn it!(Frying pan!)
Deje de mamar gallo!
stop fooling around
¿Me regalas una mano?
Can you give me a hand?
Perdoname pero disculpame!
Excuuuse you!
Que camello
What a bummer!
Que mamera
Tomar el pelo
Take the mickey
Te conozco patas de mosco
I know your game
Tuqui tuqui Lulu
Bad luck
Uy! ¿Que quieres pan y pedazo debajo del braso?
Don’t push the envelope
Vale huevo
It’s worthless or not important
Y no se que
Whatever/ this & that
Having a Laugh/Haciendo Payasadas
Hoy tienes 50 años cucho. Ten tu bastón!
Your 50 years old today old fart. Go grab your walking stick!
Sayings/ Dichos
De malas como una piraña mueca
Bad luck like a gap toothed pirana
Ni aun eso
Not even that/one of those