Common Colloquialisms and Slang

Informal expressions and slang used in everyday Spanish conversation. Note: usage varies by region.

Everyday Slang

¿Qué onda? (What's up? - Mexico/Latin America) ¿Qué tal? (What's up? - Universal) Tío/tía (Dude/guy/girl - Spain) Güey/wey (Dude - Mexico) Pibe/a (Kid/guy/girl - Argentina) Chévere (Cool - Latin America) Guay (Cool - Spain) Mola (It's cool - Spain)

Reactions

¡Qué padre! (How cool! - Mexico) ¡Qué chido! (How cool! - Mexico) ¡Genial! (Great!) ¡Brutal! (Awesome! - Spain) ¡Flipante! (Amazing! - Spain)

Describing People

un/a crack (a pro, very skilled person) un/a pesado/a (annoying person) un/a rollo (boring person) un/a tío/a majo/a (nice person - Spain) piola (cool person - Argentina)

Activities

echar un rato (to hang out) ir de fiesta (to go party) pasarla bien (to have a good time) chambear (to work - Mexico) currar (to work - Spain) estar al pedo (to do nothing - Argentina)

Money

la plata (money - Latin America) la lana (money - Mexico) la pasta (money - Spain) sin un peso (broke - Latin America) sin blanca (broke - Spain)

Agreement/Disagreement

Vale (OK - Spain) Órale (OK/Wow - Mexico) Dale (OK - Argentina) Ni modo (Oh well/Too bad - Mexico) Qué va (No way - Spain)

Expressions

No hay bronca (No problem - Mexico) No pasa nada (No problem - Spain) Estar en onda (to be with it) Estar fuera de onda (to be out of touch) Ponerse las pilas (to get one's act together) Estar hasta las narices (to be fed up - Spain) Estar harto/a (to be fed up)

Warning About Slang

Regional variation is significant. What's acceptable in one country may be offensive in another. Use with caution until you understand local context.

Practice