#Exc lingo meaning how to

There´s a fab book about how to chat in colloquial Spanish with examples of typical dialogues in different social situations, quizzes and the often hilarious consequences of getting your slang wrong. Or if you want to say that you put your foot in it, that would be: Ups! Metí la pata.įor more Spanish slang and expressions, with English translations, check out: Get the book Una aventura is a fling NOT an adventure (also un lio) – while estar en un lio means to be in trouble. Voy a echarle una bronca – I´m going to have a go at him/her. Un follón or una bronca is also a row or ruckus. ¡Vaya follon! What a mess/what a fuss! (more formally, un desorden). And if something is rubbish, you can say so: es una basura. However, if it´s awful, use fatal (‘fah-TAL’) or chungo, which could also be translated as dodgy.

You can also use the verb molar – to be fab/cool. If you want to say that something is fab or cool, es guay (‘gwai’). Or maybe your meal was a rip-off: un timo. ¡Qué ganga!Ī bargain is una ganga or un chollo. Something you might find during las rebajas (re-BA-hass – the sales).

Us foreigners or tourists are known affectionately as guiris (GHI-rees). While we´re moaning about people, un/una aguafiestas is a killjoy or spoilsport while un golfo is a yob or lazy bugger, and un vago/una vaga is a lazy person. To insult a woman, you might call her a witch – una bruja. When you have a fuzzy/woolly head, you can say estoy espeso (for a man) or espesa (for a woman). Un pringado means a poor fool, unlucky victim or dogsbody. So you can tell someone not to be silly: no seas bobo. «That silly face you get when you´re arguing with someone and you realize that they´re right»īobo (for a man) or boba (for a woman) is gentle slang for silly, like Bobo the Clown. Talking about mood, you can say: estoy de buen/mal humor – I´m in a good/bad mood, or the slang equivalent: estoy de mala leche (lit: of sour milk), maybe because you don´t have any dosh: no tengo un duro/no tengo pasta. Meaning ‘it´s up to you’, this can also be said to a woman: ¡tú misma! To tell someone to cheer up, you simply say: ¡ ánimo! But if you´re feeling down you explain: ‘estoy bajo/baja de ánimos’ (Iiterally low in spirits). Exclamations of surprise include ¡Vaya!, ¡Anda! (wow!) and ¡Caramba! (blimey!) while ¡Dios Mio! would translate as oh My God. ¡Cállate! Pronounced ‘kai-ya-teh’ means shut up, while ¡lárgate! means clear off. And because I know you´re wondering: to let one off is to ‘throw’ a fart: tirar un pedo.

My favourite is estoy (un poco) pedo – I´m (a bit) sloshed literally, I´m a fart. Estoy pedoĪs in English, there are many ways to say you´ve had too much to drink. A very Canarian expression is to describe someone as muy buena gente meaning he or she is a good person or the opposite – la tia es pesada – the girl´s a real pain (lit: she´s heavy), or el trabajo es pesado/un rollo – work is a drag. Schools don´t teach many slang words or palabras coloquiales but it´s fun to know a few that will impress your Spanish friends and help you understand common Spanish expressions.Ī lot of slang is about describing people – es un bombón (he/she is a cutie!) – you can also say that she is guapísima or super guapa ( guapo/ guapísimo for a guy).Ī bloke/fella is un tio (also meaning ‘uncle’) while a chick/lass is una tia.

Exc lingo meaning