Chilean slang: 20 words explained for people from other countries
· Callumbra
Talk with someone from another country for a while and sooner or later a Chilean word slips out and leaves them blank. Here are 20 very Chilean words with a simple explanation so you can translate them on the fly (and get a conversation topic out of it too).
The most common ones
- Cachai: do you get it? (from «cachar», to understand).
- Al tiro: right away.
- Po: a filler word that reinforces what you say («sí po», «ya po»).
- Fome: boring.
- Bacán: really good, great.
- Pololo / polola: boyfriend / girlfriend.
- Carrete: a party, a night out.
- Luca: a thousand pesos.
- Pega: job.
- Guagua: baby.
The most confusing ones
- La once: the afternoon meal, with bread, tea and something else.
- Cuático: over the top or impressive (for better or worse).
- Taco: a traffic jam.
- Micro: a city bus.
- Choclo: corn.
- Palta: avocado.
- Flaite: someone with bad manners (careful, it's derogatory).
- Pituto: a contact who gets you something.
- Caleta: a lot, loads.
- Echar la talla: to joke around.
How to use them in a conversation
Asking someone from another country about the typical words from where they live is a great topic: everyone has their own and likes explaining them. Trade one word each and you'll see the conversation stretch out on its own.
Practice with people from other countries
On Callumbra you can talk on video with people from all over the world from your browser, with nothing to install, and use the country filter if you want to meet people from a particular place. It's 18+ only.