Spanish Colloquial Phrases and Expressions

121Spanish staff have collected some colloquial Spanish phrases used in some parts of the Spanish-speaking world, particularly in Guatemala. We hope you find these colloquialisms interesting and useful.

• Regalar: to give something
  Ex: ¿Me regala la cuenta? (Can you bring me the bill?)
• Chela: beer poporopos: popcorn
  Ex: Consumí una chela y unos poporopos (I had beer and popcorn.)
• Cachar: to understand. To get the hidden idea
  Ex: Perdone, no había cachado. (I am sorry, I didn`t get the idea.)
• Clavo: shame, embarrasment
  Ex: Qué clavo (Shame on me. How embarrassing!)
• La onda: the idea, the situation, the mood
  Ex: Se me fue la onda (I didn't pay attention, I was distracted.)
• Simón: to say Si, Yes
  Ex: -Me regalas un beso…? –Simón (-Would you kiss me?... -Yes)
• Casaca: a lie, loquacity
  Ex: Ese chico tiene mucha casaca. (That guy has the gift of the gab.)
• Bajar libros: remember about something that was long time ago.
  Ex: Cuando vi su cara empecé a bajar libros y recordé su nombre.
  (When I saw his face, I remembered his name.)
• Patojo, patoja: boy, girl
  Ex: Este patojo está muy malcriado. (This boy is too spoilt.)
• Güiro, güira: immature boy or girl
  Ex: Daniel se comporta como un güiro. (Daniel behaves like a baby.)
• Chilero: nice, beautiful, cool
  Ex: ¡Qué chilero! (That`s cool!) Qué chilero tu pantalón. (Your jeans are nice.)
• Chulo: beautiful, nice, pretty, cute
  Ex: ¡Qué chulo tu chucho! (Your dog is so cute!)
• Chuchos: dogs
  Ex: Mi chucho se enfermó. (My dog got sick.)
• Canche: blonde, blond
  Ex: Me gustan los canches. (I like blond guys.)
• Chirmol: a mix-up, disaster. To get yourself comfused.
  Ex: Nuestra charla se convirtió en un chirmol. (Our talk was a disaster.)
• Correr la bola: to spread gossip around.
  Ex: ¡Se corre la bola que te casas! (The gossip of you`re getting married is being spread!)
• Dos que tres: so-so, more or lesss
  Ex: Esto está dos que tres (This is so-so.)
• Cuajarse: to sleep like a log. A good nap.
  Nos cuajamos por la tarde. (We slept in the afternoon.)
• Ser bien sheca: to be a very intelligent and clever person. Bright, smart. Ex: Mi hermano es bien sheca para la manejar la computadora.
  (My brother is very clever with the computer.)
• Shola: head
  Ex: Me duele horrible la shola. (I have a terrible headache.)
• Shucos: hot-dogs
  Ex. Estos shucos están deliciosos. (These hot-dogs are delicious.)
• Gacho: bad things or situations, bad quality.
  Ex: Que gacho tu televisor que se arruinó. (Your TV that´s broken is poor quality.)

• Licas: movies
  Ex: Me gustan las licas de terror. (I like horror movies.)
• A puro tubo (a PT): something that you MUST do. It is an obligation.
  Ex: Mañana tengo que ir a puro tubo a la universidad. (I must go to college tomorrow.)
• Sholco: without teeth.
  Ex: Mi pobre chuco ya está tan ruco que está sholco. (My poor dog is so old that he has no teeth.)
• Ruco: old person
  Ex: Mi ruco me prestó su carro. (My old dad lent me his car.)
• Amishado: shy, timid, insecure
  Ex: Tu hermanito es amishado cuando te visito. (Your little brother is kind of timid when I visit you.)
• Shute: nosy, snoopy, curious
  Ex: Mis primos son shutes, siempre se meten en mi vida. (My cousins are nosy and they always get into my life.)
• Shuco: dirty, lousy
  Ex: Ese vagabundo es un shuco. (That beggar is such a lousy person.)
• Chiviado, chiviada: embarrased, blushing, shy person.
  Ex: Mi novio estaba chiviado frente a mis padres. (My boyfriend was kind of embarrassed in front of my parents.)

If you have suggestions for additional Spanish learning resources to be published here, please don't hesitate to contact 121Spanish.

 

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