Not too terribly long ago I wrote about
El Caló Mexicano, or Mexican slang. Rather than write yet another top 10 list, I decided to write about some very common Mexican slang that your average gringo probably isn't aware of. Today I'm going to fulfill the promise I made about writing a part two.
Let's cover a few greetings first.
You've probably heard of the expression
Qué onda, which means what's up, but here's a couple that might have escaped you.
¿Qué tranza?¿Qué show?¿Qué pex?I don't know that any of these have a direct translation, they're just additional ways to say what's up. These are very slangy and will most likely shock your Mexican friends when they hear you say this.
¡Que oso!Literally speaking, this means what a bear. But if you're not having a conversation about bears then this means how embarrassing.
That's embarrassing. I don't know you.
We know these as a Volkswagon. But in Mexican Spanish you'll probably hear it referred to as a
vocho.
You'll hear people talk about
dinero (money) all the time, but they may be doing it with words you aren't familiar with.
Feria and
varo.
No traigo varo weyI don't have any money dude
Prestame una feria weyLoan me some money dude
While not uniquely Mexican, there are other ways to talk about money. I blogged about this a while back -
Más minutos menos lana.
Let's keep going.
In standard Spanish to say you don't like someone you can use
caer bien or
caer mal. But in Mexican Spanish you say....
Ese wey me cae gordoI don't like that guy
If you really like someone then you can say...
Tu amiga me cae a todo madreI really like your friend
And keep in mind with the expression
caer bien we're talking about if you like someone, not if you like like them. For that you need
gustar.
If you find yourself flipping a coin, you can say
Águila o sol - Heads or tails
Here's a good one. The next time someone asks you
cómo van las cosas (How are things going), you can reply....
Atole con lo mismo The same as always
And finally, when your friends ask how you know all of this , you can tell them...
Porque soy más mexicano que el chileBecause I'm more Mexican than the chile
And that's it for today. Make sure you subscribe via email or follow the blog and keep reading for more Mexican slang and other great posts!
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