The more I pay attention to the way we use certain phrases in Argentina, the more I’m impressed by the magic of languages. Languages are living beings, I like to say. Just as those that Charles Darwin discovered when he visited Galapagos Islands, roughly 700 km off Ecuador and saw how differently they’d developed in isolation compared to those inhabiting the mainland.
Today I want to share with you some of my favorite Argentine Spanish expressions with the verb HACER, things we say without even noticing how confusing they might sound to foreign speakers of Spanish.
Hacer una gauchada | to make someone a favor
Rodri, ¿me hacés una gauchada? ¿Me alcanzás hasta la estación que estoy a pata?
Hacer quilombo (1) | to complain
Los empleados de la fábrica tuvieron que hacer un poco de quilombo para conseguir los aumentos.
Hacer quilombo (2) | to make a mess
Los hinchas hicieron quilombo cerca del estadio después del partido.
Hacerse el boludo | to play dumb
No te hagás el boludo que yo sé que fuiste vos.
Hacer la segunda, hacer la dos | to back up someone, to support someone
Che, Seba, tengo que ir a buscar a Nadia al aeropuerto a las 3 de la mañana. ¿Me hacés la segunda?
Hacer un papelón | to make a fool of oneself
Leandro entró a los gritos a la oficina. Hizo un papelón terrible.
Hacerse la rata | to be absent for school without your parents knowing it
Ramiro se hizo la rata y se quedó boludeando en la plaza.
Hacer una vaquita | to collect money as a group to buy or pay for something
Che, ¿hacemos una vaquita y le compramos algo a Lu para el cumpleaños?
Hacerse el copado | to play cool
Se hacen los copados, pero son altos garcas.
I’ll soon be posting more idiomatic expressions with other common verbs. Stay tuned!
Happy Spanish learning,
You might also want to read these articles:
- CancherearDive into the nuances of the word ‘canchero’ and how ‘cancherear’ can make or break a moment.
- Hacer una vaquitaI’m not going to argue how ridiculous this phrase may sound at first. Let me just tell you what it means in Argentina.
- Pizza in ArgentinaAn appreciation post dedicated to pizza—specifically, Argentine-style pizza.
- Put your pen to inkDo you need some motivation and ideas to do some writing practice in Spanish? Click right here!
- The Paradox of ChoiceToday, I want to introduce the concept of paradox of choice, and show you how it’s detrimental to your progress.
- Argentinian Spanish Input (part 1)In this post, I included podcasts you can try to leverage your learning with natural input.