Hi there! ¿Cómo va?
In this post we’ll be addressing the magical world of Argentinian Spanish once again.
When I introduced you to LUNFARDO, I mentioned that many of the words that we are regarded as ‘made in Argentina’ are not necessarily lunfardo words. What imprints Argentine lexicon is not only lunfardo, but also idiomatic expressions, turns of phrase or typical ways of speaking typical of the Argentine people.
What starts as lunfardo can later become argentinismo. The basic distinction to keep in mind is that of language and speech.
LANGUAGE – the principal method of human communication, consisting of words used in a structured and conventional way and conveyed by speech, writing, or gesture.
SPEECH – the expression of thoughts and feelings by articulate sounds
While language is one and the same for all Spanish speaking countries, the way we use it locally transforms it and gives it its own identity.
In case you missed it, there was an extensive post of Argentinian Slang Phrases and another one with Argentinian Slang Words.
I feel it’s a good idea to have the standard phrase as a reference and the local phrase.
| Standard phrase/expression | AR Spanish phrase/expression |
|---|---|
| ¿Me estás cargando? | ¿Me estás jodiendo? |
| ¿Cómo estás? | ¿Qué hacés, che? |
| Buen fin de semana | Buen finde |
| Hola | Buenas |
| Estoy con muchos problemas | Estoy con mil quilombos |
| Estoy trabajando mucho | Estoy laburando una barbaridad |
| Ok | Dale | De una | Bárbaro | Joya |
| Estás exagerando | Estás flasheando |
| ¡Increíble! | ¡Qué flash! |
| De verdad | Posta |
| ¿De verdad? | ¿Posta? |
| ¡Qué aburrido! | ¡Qué bodrio! | ¡Qué embole! |
| ¡Qué desorden! | ¡Qué quilombo! |
| Exactamente | Tal cual |
| ¿Tomamos una cerveza? | ¿Tomamos una birra? |
| No hay manera | Ni en pedo |
| No me molestes | No me rompas las pelotas |
| ¡Qué interesante! | ¡Mirá vos! |
If you listen to casual conversation you’ll soon cross out many of them. In fact, I’ve created a printout you can carry in your pocket and cross out the ones ou hear! Click on the image to dowload it:
You might also want to read these articles:
- False expectations are deadlyIn language learning, false expectations can do real damage. Here’s why patience and perseverance win the race.”
- Argentinian Spanish vs Mexican SpanishIn the past, I compared Argentinian Spanish to Peninsular Spanish and Uruguayan Spanish. Here’s the long due AR / MX comparison.
- Cognates and False FriendsLearn about cognates and false cognates so they don’t surprise further down in your Spanish learning journey.
- 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.