The 5 words you must learn before coming to Argentina

We thought about writing a guide to the most helpful words in Argentine Spanish, even the five words you won’t go 30 seconds without hearing (Che, and dale come to mind…) or even the guide to Argentina’s most, um, colorful slang. But we figured that in the end, the words themselves are easy enough to learn – we’d rather focus on what we can actually learn about Argentine culture through some of our favorite words in Argentine Spanish.

Feriado: Argentina, home of the 6-day weekend! Argetines like to think they have more feriados or public holidays than any country on earth, and this may very well be true. This year, there are roughly 20 slated. People create informal rankings of holidays based on importance which corresponds to what stores will be open ie: the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of a certain battle is not as important as, let’s say, Independence Day. Many attest that this is the government’s way of increasing domestic tourism, and that’s likely the case. But how do they prevent you from planning an international trip? Well, sometimes by adding new holiday just a few weeks in advance! So luckily in Argentina, the next public holiday is never too far away!

Quilombo: No one does hectic like the Argentines. Simply put, a quilombo is a big disorganized mess, a disaster, etc. Imagine the streets during a rowdy protest, the Subte at rush hour, or a public transportation strike –In a city of roughly 14 million people (in the Metropolitan Area) trying to get around, it’s easy to see how any one of these events can create a quilombo. You could also have a quilombo at work during at particularly difficult or stressful time, or the word could describe the state of your house the morning after a huge party. Disclaimer: throughout history this word has meant brothel or a settlement runaway slaves, but that’s not what the typical Argentine use for it is now.

Zapán: Zapán is a slang word for belly or gut, but it’s not the word itself that matters as much as how that term, and ones like it, came to be. The actual word for tummy in Argentina is panza, but in this unique twist specific to rioplantese Spanish, they flip the syllables to arrive at the slang meaning. A Telo is a hotel where you pay by the hour. A jermu is a mujer that’s someones wife. Que lorca! For when it’s really hot outside rather than que calor!, And a zapán is something you develop after months of eating tons of delicious dulce de leche.

Quincena: Techinically speaking, a quincena are the two parts you have when you divide a month in half. It’s basically a 15-day period, either the first two weeks of the month or the second two weeks. But the word quincena gives us a clue into a rather sacred part of Argentine culture: vacations. Argentinians take vacations exclusively during four periods of the year: the first or second quincena of January or February. And they work hard all year long in order to finally get that break at the start of the new year.  If you’re traveling during a cambio de quincena – ojo! – so is one quarter of the Argentine population.

Que Flash!: Sometimes languages tend to bleed together a bit and English words certainly have a way of creeping into Argentine Spanish at unexpected times. Que Flash! Is what you’d say if you were really blown away by something. There’s also Que Top! meaning “How fancy!” and Que fashion! when someone looks especially trendy, or used ironically, when someone is trying too hard to look trendy.  If you listen closely, you’ll hear “sori”, “plis” and even “omygot” sneak into Argentines conversations.  While these phrases aren’t actually not all that important to every day life in Argentina, they are all good words to know, especially if you’re struggling with your Spanish and your confidence needs a boost!

What are some of your favorite words in another language?