Category: Words and phrases

Colombian Slang

By Simon

This is a guest post by Nate Alger

Have you ever been to Colombia?

If not, you are missing out on one of the best kept secrets in Latin America. It is a country filled with life, lots of culture, and great food to eat!

Bogotá, Colombia

It’s the place that I have called home for the past 4 months and the country that my wife Andrea grew up in. She has given me some inside information and provided me with some fun Colombian slang words to show you.

We based this article off a YouTube video that we produced featuring actual Colombians speaking the 10 Colombian Slang Expressions. If you want to hear these phrases spoken by actual Colombians than check out the video.

10 Popular Colombian Slang Expressions

1) Quiubo

It’s like saying, “What’s up” in English. Or another way of saying it is, “How’s it going?”

It’s a very common phrase used among family, friends, and co-workers. Basically, it’s great in any informal setting. So don’t try this one on your serious Colombian boss.

Here’s an example in a normal Colombian dialogue:

A: Quiubo, ¿Que mas?
B: Bien, gracias a Dios.

Translation:

A: Hows is going, what’s going on? B: Everything is good, thank the Lord.

2. ¡Que bacano! or ¡Tan bacano!

Both these phrases are extremely popular in Colombia.

It’s the equivalent of saying, “That’s awesome” or “that’s great.” If you think something is really awesome make sure to say, “¡Que bacano!”

Here are a couple examples in daily conversation:

A: Compre un nuevo celular——–B: ¡Que bacano!
A: Si, mi mama me dio la plata—–B: ¿Enserio? ¡Tan bacano!

Translation:

A: I just bought a new cell phone. B: That’s awesome!
A: My mom just gave me money. B: Really? That’s great!

3. Que Pereza

Here’s another one that I hear all the time in Colombia. It essentially means, “What a pain.”

You can also use it if something is really boring. So next time you have a boring project at work or one you really don’t want to do, take a look over at your co-worker and say, “¡Que pereza!”

Here’s a couple examples:

A: Tengo que limpiar mi cuarto, ¡Que pereza!

Translation:

I have to clean my room. What a bore!

A: Debo estudiar cálculo. ———–B: ¿Enserio? ¡Que pereza!

Translation:

A: I have to study calculus. ———-B: Really? That’s so boring!

4. Hacer Una Vaca

Are you about to watch a sports game with friends and you need people to chip in for pizza?

It’s time to “hacer una vaca.” This one is only used in the plural form though.

For instance: “Hagamos una vaca” or “Por qué no hacemos una vaca” means “Let’s all put money together for…”

Let’s take a look at this phrase in action:

A: ¡Tengo mucha sed!——B: Hagamos una vaca para la gaseosa.

Translation:

I’m so thirsty. Let’s chip in to buy a soda.

5. Que Boleta

This phrase means, “That’s not fair!” or “That’s not nice!”

Basically, you can use this phrase when you are in a bad situation or something bad happened when someone treated you poorly.
My Colombian wife uses this one a lot whenever I do something she doesn’t like or is upset about.

Here’s an example:

A: Juan no tiene trabajo, su jefe lo despidió.
B: ¿Enserio? ¡Que boleta!, Él es un muy buen trabajador.

Translation:

A: Juan doesn’t have a job because his boss fired him. B: Really? That’s terrible, he is a great worker.

Medellín, Colombia

6. Por Si Las Moscas

This is one I am trying to use more and more. It means, “Just in case.”

It’s very common in Colombia where I live. If you think it is going to rain, you could make sure to bring an umbrella, “Por si las moscas.”

Here’s an example from a dialogue:

A: Piensas que debo traer repelente?
B: Si, tráelo por si las moscas, quizás hay muchos mosquitos.

Translation:

A: Do you think I should bring insect repellant?
B: Yes, bring it just in case as there might be lots of mosquitos.

7. Parar Bolas

You can use this one to signify, “Pay attention!” A common conjugation for most Colombians here is “¡Páreme bolas!”

This signifies someone telling them to pay attention already. My wife uses this one a lot when she tells me to pay attention to what she has to say.

Here’s an example in conversation:

A: ¿Usted hizo la tarea?—–B:(no contesta nada)—–A: Oiga, páreme bolas!

Translation:

A: Did you do your homework? (no response) B: Hey, pay attention to me!

8. Dar Papaya

“Dar papaya” means to make yourself an easy target. You can say, “No de papaya” o “no hay que dar papaya” when you are telling someone to be careful around others.

Parents can use this one to tell their kids to be careful and not make themselves an easy target.Here’s an example in conversation:

Here’s a conversational example:

A: ¿Por qué utiliza el celular aquí? ¡Estamos en el centro, no de papaya!

Translation:

A: Why are you using your phone here. We are downtown, don’t make yourself an easy target [to get robbed]!

9. Que Embarrada o Embarrarla

Here’s another very common Colombian slang expression. I hear this one said all the time.

“Que embarrada” can be used when something bad happens and to express that you are sorry about it.

You can also say, “La embarre” (embarrarla) when you make an error.

Here’s and example in conversation:

A: la abuela de Alex murió——-B: ¿Si? ¡Qué embarrada!
A: La embarré en el examen, tuve 7 errores.

Translation:

A: Alex’s grandma passed away. B: Really? I’m so sorry to hear that!
A: I really screwed up on the test, I had 7 mistakes.

10. Mamar Gallo

We have now reached our 10th and final popular Colombian slang expression.

“Mamar gallo” means to “mess around” or to “joke around.” You can use this phrase to tell someone to stop messing around. I like this phrase a lot as I like to “Mamar gallo” at times.

Example in conversation:

A: ¡Deje de mamar gallo y limpie la habitación!

Translation:

Stop messing around and clean your room!

Other Colombian Slang Words to Learn (and sound like a native)

Here’s a few more Colombian phrases or words you can learn.

They are all quite common and will be universally understood by just about any Colombian and probably by most Latinos.
Try a few out on a Colombian friend or language partner.

  • Que oso = How embarrassing!
  • Tengo un filo = I am super hungry
  • Me estoy asando = It’s boiling hot in here
  • Tiene huevo = What nerves!
  • Que chevere = That’s great/ Cool
  • Que jartera = What a pain (as well)
  • Mentiras = I am joking!
  • Arruncharse = to cuddle
  • Camellar = trabajar

Wrapping It Up

As a quick reminder if you want to check out these Colombian Slang Expressions spoken by Colombian natives check out this short dramatic video.

Better yet, download Andrea’s cheat sheet and get the 1 page PDF with the important phrases and how to use them. It’s in both English and Spanish to help you learn something new.

I hope you have learned something new or a new phrase you can try out with a Colombian friend.

My recommendation is to travel to Colombia and use a couple of these phrases on locals. They would be happy to play along with your slang words and you will be sure to sound like a native.

Colombia is a fantastic place to visit with crystal clear beaches, tropical beaches, and happy people to meet. It’s nothing like the dangerous, drug-infested reports that are often portrayed in the government or media (although it does have dangerous parts).

Rosario Islands, Colombia

I enjoyed Colombia so much that I even started a relationship with my wife here (met her in Peru).

Finally, whatever your reason is for learning Colombian expressions, my one hope is that you actually use them!

About the writer
Nate and his wife Podcast and teach Spanish to Intermediate and Advanced language learners over at SpanishlandSchool.com. He loves to travel (particularly in South America) and writes on his hikes at LiveOutdoorsy.com. If you have any Colombian questions please feel free to reach out!

Shelfies

By Simon

I came across a new word on Instagram today – shelfie, a portmanteau of shelf and selfie meaning, according to Wiktionary, “a photograph of a bookshelf/bookcase taken by its owner and shared on social media.”

The context I saw the word was even more specific – language shelfies, i.e. a photo of a bookshelf containing language courses, dictionaries, and other language-related books.

So here are a few of my language shelfies:

Shelfie of some of my language books

Shelfie of some of my language books

This is a non-language shelfie. Can you guess who my favourite author is?
Shelfie of some of my favourite fiction books

You can see larger versions of these shelfies on Flickr.

Are there equivalents of selfie or shelfie in other languages?

Gaelic hills

By Simon

A photo of Scottish mountains I took in March 2016

I’m currently reading an interesting book – Uncommon Ground – A word-lover’s guide to the British landscape by Dominick Tyler.

One thing I’ve learnt from it, is that there are quite a few words in Scottish Gaelic related to hills and mountains:

Beinn [beiɲ / beɲə] = mountain, mount; high hill, pinnacle; head, top, high place. It comes from the Old Irish benn (peak, point, pinnacle), from the Proto-Celtic *benno- (peak, top).

Sgurr [sguːrˠ / sgurˠə] = high pointed hill, peak; cliff, craig.

Stob [sdɔb] = point, pinnacle; stake; pointed iron stick; prickle, thorn; stump; sharp-pointed stick; to prick, prod.

Meall [mjaul̪ˠ / mjal̪ˠəɣ] = mound, round hill; pile, heap; lump, clot, mass; (rain) shower; bout. It comes from the Old Irish mell (a ball, sphere, round mass; a round protuberance, swelling).

Stùc [stuːxg] = little hill jutting out from a greater, steep on one side and rounded on the other; cliff; pinnacle of a roof; horn; scowl; rock; lump; conical steep rock; precipice.

Stòr [sdɔːr] = steep, high cliff; broken or decayed tooth.

Coire [kɤrʲə] = circular hollow surrounded by hills; mountain dell; whirlpool.

Cnoc /krɔ̃xg/ = hill: small hill, hillock, knoll; chilblain. It comes from the the Old Irish cnocc (hill, lump, stump), from Proto-Celtic *knokkos (hill).

Cruachan [kruəxan] = conical hill; hip.

Mam [maum] = rounded hill/mountain; mountain gap/pass; boil; bulge.

Cnap [krãhb] = small lumpy hill; knob, lump, protrusion; block; boss, node; swelling; button; potato; gust of wind; thump, thud. It is a borrowing from the Old Norse knappr (knob, stud, button), or the Old English cnæp (top of a hill, button, brooch).

Tiumpan [tʲũːmban] = one-sided hill; timbrel, tabret; tambourine; backside, bum.

Binnean [biɲan] = high conical hill; apex, high point; pinnacle.

Cruachag [kruəxag] small round hill; small pile/stack; small clamp (stack).

Dùnan [duːnan] = small hill; small fortress; dunghill; midden.

Torr [tɔːrˠ] = hill, mountain of an abrupt or conical form, lofty hill; Eminence; mound, large heap.

Monadh [mɔnəɣ] = mountain (covered with moors); high-lying moorland; expanse of heather.

Sliabh [ʃʎiəv] = hillside, slope; mountain. It comes from the Old Irish slíab (mountain, mountain range, moor), from the Proto-Celtic *slēbos (mountain).

Note: not all these words feature in Uncommon Ground.

Some of these words appear mainly in place names, and may be used in songs and poems, but are not used in everyday Gaelic.

Sources: Wiktionary, Am Faclair Beag, Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary

In a jiffy

By Simon

In a jiffy

A jiffy is very short, unspecified length of time. For example, “I’ll be back in a jiffy”.

It can refer to more precise units of time, and was first defined by Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875–1946) as the time it takes light to travel one centimeter in a vacuum (about 33.3564 picoseconds). Other definitions are available.

Jiffy [ˈd͡ʒɪ.fi] was first recorded in English in 1785 and its origin is uncertain. One possibity is that it was Thieves’ Cant for lightning. It used to be written giffy, and may be related to gliff (a transient glance; an unexpected view of something that startles one; a sudden fear) [source].

Jiffy is also a brand of padded envelope and other packaging, so you could, if you were so inclined, send someone something in a jiffy (bag/envelope) in a jiffy.

Other expressions that indicate that something will happen very soon include:

– at once
– now
– right now
– straight away
– immediately
– in an instant
– instantly
– in a minute
– in a moment
– in a second
– in a trice
– in a mo
– in a sec
– in a tic
– in a heartbeat
– as quick as a flash
– in a second / in a sec
– in two shakes of a lamb’s tail
– in the blink of an eye
– before you know it

Welsh equivalents include:

– ar unwaith (at once)
– yn syth (immediately)
– ar y gair (on the word)
– yn y fan (in the place)
– yn ddi-oed (without delay)
– mewn chwinciad (in a wink)

The length of time indicated by these expressions can vary considerably. When some people say they will do something staight away, they really mean it. Others might mean that they will do it at some time in the future, maybe, if they can be bothered, but don’t hold your breath.

When I’m asked to do something I don’t really want to do, I might say that I’ll do it when I have a spare moment (or two), or if I can find the time. This might mean that I will actually do it, or that I won’t.

Do you know/use other expressions, in English or other languages, for short lengths of time?

When asked to do something you would rather not do, how would you politely decline?

This post was inspired by a reference to Jiffy Pop, a brand of popcorn, in a novel I’m reading at the moment, The Art of Disappearing, by Ivy Pochoda. I had to look it up.

Standing still on the longest day

By Simon

Today is the longest day of the year and the summer solstice. After several hot, sunny days in Bangor, today it’s cloudy, warm and muggy.

The word solstice comes from the Old French solstice, from Latin sōlstitium (solstice; summer), from sol (sun) and sto (stand), from sistō (I stand still).

Sol comes from the Proto-Italic *swōl, from the pre-Italic *sh₂wōl, from the Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ (sun), which is the root of words for sun in many Indo-European languages. In the Gaelic languages though, it is the root of words for eye: Irish: súil, Manx: sooill, and Scottish Gaelic: sùil.

The word muggy, meaning humid, or hot and humid, comes from an English dialect word, mugen (to drizzle), from the Old Norse mugga (drizzle, mist), which possibly comes from the Proto-Indo-European *meug- (slimy, slippery), which is also the root of the English word mucus.

Wandering prattlers

By Simon

It has been brought to my attention that in Swedish the most common way to say ‘speak’, at least in Stockholm, is pratar, and that few people use talar anymore.

Är detta sant? Is this true?

The Duolingo course I’m studying Swedish with uses talar, – pratar has not come up yet.

According to Witionary, Pratar is the present tense form of the verb prata (to talk, speak), and comes from the Low German praten (to talk), from the Proto-Germanic *prattuz (idle or boastful talk, deceit), from the Proto-Indo-European *brodno- (to wander, rove). The English word prattle (to speak incessantly and in a childish manner; to babble) comes from the same root.

Talar is the present tense form of the verb tala (to speak; to utter words; to tell; to talk; to make a speech) from the Old Norse tala, from the Proto-Germanic *talō (calculation, number), from the Proto-Indo-European *del- (to reckon, count).

Other Swedish words related to speech and language include:

– tal = speech
– språk = language
– språka = to speak
– snacka = to talk, speak (coll.); to boast emptily (slang); to reveal secrets
– säga = to say, to tell; to utter words
– pladdra = to prattle
– skrika = to scream, to yell, to shout
– viska = to whisper

Closing out

By Simon

On some podcasts I listen to, I’ve noticed that the presenters use the phrase close out when talking about the end of the show. For example, they say things like “Finally we will close out with an item about …”, or “It’s now time to close out the show.”

To my British ears this expression sounds a bit strange – the podcasts I hear it in are made by Americans, or by British people living in America. In British podcasts and radio programmes people would be more likely to say something like, “Finally an item about …”, or “We have now come to the end of this episode of …”, “Here comes the end”, “That is it for this episode”.

In the UK you might say that you close up a shop or other business at the end of each day.

Is this phrase used in other contexts?

Does it sound normal/strange to you?

So I have now come to the end of this post. It’s time to close out, or not, depending on your version of English.

Nature service

By Simon

Yesterday I went to see the ankle specialist at the local hospital,. He said that my ankle has healed well and just needs a bit of physiotherapy. I can start to wean myself off the orthopedic boot, using it less and less each day, and crutches as well. I didn’t wear the boot yesterday afternoon, and tried to get around a bit without the crutches. This worked okay, but when I went out last night to a gig, I wore the boot and took the crutches.

Today I went back to the hospital for some physiotherapy, without the boot, but with the crutches. The physiotherapist gave me some exercises to do, and said that I should try to move my ankle as much as possible. Within a few weeks I probably won’t need to crutches anymore, and in a few months my ankle should be back to normal. I’ll do all the exercises dilligently, and devise others as well, as I want to be fully mobile as soon as possible.

The physiotherapist suggested that I sit with my ankle raised for 20 minutes each hour. I plan to use this time to study languages, practise music, or read. At the moment I’m studying Russian, Swedish and Romanian, mainly on Duolinguo, while keeping my other languages, especially the Celtic ones, ticking over.

The word physiotherapy comes from physio, from Ancient Greek φύσις (phúsis – nature) and therapy, from New Latin therapia (therapy), from Ancient Greek θεραπεία (therapeía – service, medical treatment), from θεραπεύω (therapeúō – I serve, treat medically).

Calabooses, digging and beds

By Simon

A photo of a Calaboose

I came across the word calaboose in a book I read recently and as I couldn’t work out its meaning from the context I had to look it up. I also like the sound of it, so thought I’d write about it.

A calaboose is an informal American term for a prison or jail. It comes from the Spanish calabozo (dungeon), according to the Collins English Dictionary.

Calabozo possibly comes from the Late Latin *calafodium, from fodiō (I dig, bury), which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *bʰod- (plot, patch of ground) from *bʰedʰ- (to pierce, dig).

This is also the root of the English word bed, via the Proto-Germanic badją (lair, grave, bed), the Welsh word bedd (grave), via the Proto-Celtic *bedo- (grave, ditch), and related words in other, mainly Germanic, languages.

Working like a horse

By Simon

Working like a horse

The other day I learnt an interesting Russian idiom (via Duolingo) – Работать как лошадь [rɐˈbotətʲ kak ˈloʂətʲ], which means literally “to work like a horse”, and is used to indicate that you are working hard. For example, Сегодня я работаю как лошадь (Today I am working like a horse).

You can also work like an ox in Russian: работать как вол.

The English equivalent is to work like a dog, as in the Beatles song, A Hard Day’s Night. Are there other English idioms with a similar meaning?

In French you can also work like a dog, or travailler comme un chien.

In Hebrew you work like a donkey: לעבוד כמו חמור (la’avod kmo khamor).

In Italian you work like a mule: Lavorare come un mulo.

What about in other languages?

Personally I prefer to work like a cat.

Source: WordReference.Com