11 Things You'll Only Understand If You Speak Spanglish

By Vivian Nunez
Evere
Evere

I grew up in a predominantly Latinx neighborhood where "pero like" was used as punctuation more often than not. Spanglish was the third language I mastered at a very young age, and while I could speak Spanish and English, nothing came close to my use of the hybrid language.

Walking the line that exists between both languages allows you to have the best of both worlds: the emotion of Spanish with the conciseness of English. Plus, it's like your own secret language . . . even if it did really get my grandma riled up every time she heard me mix the two. If you're a Spanglish speaker like me, you get it and will relate so much to the 11 situations ahead.

01
When you don't realize you switched languages mid-sentence.
Universal Studios

When you don't realize you switched languages mid-sentence.

You're wondering why people who don't speak Spanish are just staring at you like you spoke another language . . . but it's because you just did.

02
When you know a word in Spanish better explains something, so you just use it and then explain the meaning.
ABC

When you know a word in Spanish better explains something, so you just use it and then explain the meaning.

You're left explaining something that could take one word in Spanish in many, many English sentences, but it's well worth it.

03
When you mispronounce a word in English so badly because you were thinking in Spanish.
Giphy

When you mispronounce a word in English so badly because you were thinking in Spanish.

Ugh! You know what we mean, though, right? You do.

04
When someone asks you what language you think in.
Warner Bros.

When someone asks you what language you think in.

It's all Spanglish in my brain.

05
When you meet someone who also speaks Spanglish and you immediately launch into a bilingual conversation.
NBC

When you meet someone who also speaks Spanglish and you immediately launch into a bilingual conversation.

"Well, estaba hablando con ellas, but now that you're here, asi que solo voy a hablar contigo, because tu eres más cool."

06
When your friends don't speak Spanish but use “pero like."
Giphy

When your friends don't speak Spanish but use “pero like."

You say it so often they've now embraced the phrase.

07
When you use Spanglish as your secret code.
Giphy

When you use Spanglish as your secret code.

If you want to talk about something private (or gossip about someone in front of them), you can just say the keywords in Spanish. Spanglish is really the perfect language.

08
When a job form asks if you speak any other languages and you want to say, "Yes, three."
ABC

When a job form asks if you speak any other languages and you want to say, "Yes, three."

Because Spanglish is it's own thing. Can we just all agree on that?

09
When your grandma yells at you because you're not speaking real Spanish.
Netflix

When your grandma yells at you because you're not speaking real Spanish.

It's my own language, abuela.

10
When your iPhone keyboard doesn't understand you.
NBC

When your iPhone keyboard doesn't understand you.

And let's not even get started on Siri.

11
When you can show off and sing both the English part and Spanish part of songs perfectly.
Giphy

When you can show off and sing both the English part and Spanish part of songs perfectly.

Yes, I know what "despacito" means, and, yes, I know Justin Bieber's part as well.