The nuances of Spanish exist well beyond any dictionary. As if the language weren't hard enough to learn, our daily speech is full of words that have been completely redefined as slang. And to make matters even worse, those terms vary widely from country to country and even town to town — sometimes family to family.
Here, we rounded up some of the most loved and colloquially used words and phrases from across Latin America. The great part is that this slang is frequently used in more than one country! Consider yourself in the know.
Did we miss any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments below.
What it means: What's up?, though it literally transates to "what wave?"
In a sentence: Hola, Adele. ¿Qué onda?
What it means: Be careful, but it literally translates to "eye."
In a sentence: Ojo con el piso. Esta sucio ahí.
What it means: To look out or be energized — pilas means batteries.
In a sentence: Ponte pilas antes de que no pases el examen.
What it means: Cute, but literally translates to "monkey."
In a sentence: El que estaba sentado en la otra mesa era muy mono.
What it means: Abbreviated way of saying te quiero mucho.
In a sentence: Me mandó un mensaje de texto que decia TQM.
What it means: What's up?, but it literally translates to "what smells?"
In a sentence: Zac, ¿qué huele? No te he visto en años.
What it means: Dude, although it also means "uncle."
In a sentence: Venga, tío, que vamos al parque.
What it means: To court someone; literally to "throw dogs at someone."
In a sentence: Mi primo Leonardo le está echando los perros a mi vecina.
What it means: Straighten up — comes from avispa, which means bee.
In a sentence: Avispate ahora para que luego no te quemes las clases.
What it means: The truth, "the solid."
In a sentence: ¡Te juro, me dijo la firme!
What it means: Awesome, but literally "flame."
In a sentence: La fiesta estuvo candela.
What it means: Plenty or "in buckets."
In a sentence: Me gusta leer los libros a chorros.
What it means: Mr. So and So.
In a sentence: Don Fulano es el que empezó los rumores la semana pasada.
What it means: Preppy, boring.
In a sentence: No quiero salir con Blair; es una fresa del Upper East Side.
What it means: Know-it-all or smartass.
In a sentence: Alex es una sabelotodo. Por eso no me cae bien.
What it means: Partypooper.
In a sentence: Mi papá puede ser un aguafiesta de lo más grande.
What it means: Defiant.
In a sentence: La castigaron, pero toda achorada dijo que igual iba a salir.
What it means: Immature kid.
In a sentence: Esos adolescentes son guarichos. Ya es hora de que se comporten como adultos.
What it means: To ignore someone.
In a sentence: Es de mala educación pichar a alguien, pero el es tan pesado.
What it means: A knockoff or an item of bad quality.
In a sentence: ¡Era una bolsa pipiripao — se veia horrible!
What it means: To be out and about.
In a sentence: Nunca la vas encontrar en casa. Siempre anda chotiando.
What it means: A very positive person
In a sentence: Cuando tengas un mal día, tienes que llamar a Agnes. Es tan cambambera que te hará sentir mejor.