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Buenos Aires, Hablá Argentino: guide to spanish slang while studying abroad Buenos Aires

Lunfardo: is said to have come to Buenos Aires at the tail end of the 19th century about the same time (and therefore deeply associated with) italian immigrants were fleeing to Argentina to look for work. Because of this, lots of lunfardo is a mixture between spanish and italian, as well as carrying  gaucho and even african origins. Lunfardo spread first through the lower classes – particularly around Buenos Aires, and later to Rosario, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay – but began to enter all class levels and cross racial, social, and gender divisions, particularly because it was, and still is, used in the lyrics of Argentina´s iconic tango music. Lunfardo has now entered all sorts of speech throughout Argentina and Uruguay, but the term is synonymous of ¨speech of Buenos Aires¨.

Here are some words, phrases, and terms that you can slip in to conversation with porteños to give you that authentic spice!:

a full: overworked, busy, in a rush "estoy a full con la facultad". A lot, packed with people, "cómo fue la fiesta?" "a full che"

bárbaro: great, cool

berretta: cheap or bad quality

boludo/a: the term boludo/a can both be an insult (calling someone an idiot) and a term of endearment used among friends

• boludez: similar to the term "bull" in english, a task that's easy to do or something you don't want to do
• boludear: to joke around ("me estás boludeando"), to waste time
• hacerse el boludo: to act like an idiot

boliche: dance club

bondi: bus, slang for "colectivo", the more common term for bus

bronca: anger, frustration

• Darse bronca or me da bronca: used to say that something upsets you,

buena onda: cool, can refer to a person, a place, an activity, etc.

capaz: maybe, "capaz que si"

chabón: guy

chamuyar: smooth talking, especially in romantic situations

• chamuyero: used most often for a guy who hits on a lot of women by talking them up

charlatán: a show off/know-it-all, used similarly to chamuyero

che: used as a colloquial phrase when talking to someone, often at the beginning of a sentence. "che, ¿cómo estás?"

dale: like "ok", but used in agreement. "¿querés ir al parque?" "¡dale!"

estar en pedo: to be really drunk, to be in trouble (used like "I'm screwed")

fiaca: lazy

forro:condom

• forro/a: used also as an insult, like idiot

huevos: literally means eggs, used like "balls" in English

• me costó un huevo y medio: more slang way of saying something was expensive, similar to the English saying "it cost me an arm and a leg"

joda: a party, usually with intonation of it being wild

guita: money, used like "cash"

laburar: to work

lunfardo: the argentine/rioplatense slang. Originated from the word "outlaw" because in the late 1890s and early 1900s the language was associated with prison speak

luca: one thousand pesos, 1.000 pesos = 1 luca, 2.000 pesos = 2 lucas

mango: Money, used like "bucks" in English. 1 peso = 1 mango, 2 pesos = 2 mangos

medio: placed before adjectives to say "kind of" or "a little". "a veces es medio difícil"

¡mira vos!: used commonly as "wow!" or literally "look at you!"

mina: woman, originated as an offensive term but now used commonly

un montón: a lot, a ton

morfar: to eat

• morfi: food

pelotudo: idiot

pibe: a kid, child

plata: money, used like "cash"

puede ser: could be, maybe

pucho: a cigarette

que sé yo: I don't know, what do I know

quilombo: mess, much stronger expression than "lio" or "desastre"

re-: really, very, used as a prefix to an adjective, "estoy recontento"

subte: short for el subterraneo, which is the subway

tal cual: exactly, used in agreement to a statement

telo: a pay-by-the-hour motel

tener ganas: to be in the mood to do something, "yo tengo ganas de mirar una película"

pilas: literally means batteries but is used as energy, intention, etc.

• con pilas: with energy or excitement"hay que hacerlo con pilas!"

tipo: guy, dude, used not to address friends, sometimes in a negative tone

• used as description or time: tipo can also be added to the end of sentences (mostly with times or numbers) to mean "around" "¿cuando nos juntamos?" "a las 8 tipo"

trucho: fake, especially used for something counterfeit

vesre: one tendency of lunfardo is to reverse syllables in words, for instance telo is the reverse of hotel, just as vesre is just a vesre version or reves

viste: literally the you-preterite of ver, or "you saw", but is used to say "you know?"

About the Author

Mente Argentina is an organization whose main objective is to offer opportunities to visit Argentina in a unique and different way. We offer exciting, customizable study abroad programs in Buenos Aires, programs to learn Spanish, internships, volunteer programs, artistic short programs such culinary, photography ,sports clinic and DJ programs.

I want to visit Argentina, my dad says there is too much crime. How can I convince him to go?

Also, my dad is like 100% Argentine, he moved to The US when he was a kid, and he's fluent in Spanish. Isn't Argentina just like any other big city where you just have to be careful? Why live in fear? How about taking some risks!!
And the ironic thing is, we live in the Los Angeles area.

Hi there, been 7 times to Argentina (BA, Patagonia and other provinces) and it is as safe as any country can be! Well, no actually, I think it's safer than NY and LA. You can convince your dad by looking at some statistics from crime in Argentina and crime in cities around the US, but the best way to convince him is by telling him that you are a sensible girl, who will take care of yourself and not do silly things while travelling to Argentina. No ones can assure you that you will be 100% safe (even a trip to the supermarket in your neighbourhood can be fatal) but stick to a well known travel agency, book a very nice and "safe" trip which includes an hotel in a nice and safe neighbourhood and just act sensibly like dont flaunt that you're a tourist, walk along main avenues and well lit streets, stick to the safe placs they tell you to go, and if you can, dont travel alone, do it with a friend so that you can take care of each other.

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