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Tico-Spanish Expressions
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Author:  EsposoDeBarbie [ Mon May 18, 2009 11:05 am ]
Post subject:  Tico-Spanish Expressions
I thought that as a disciple of the Jadcujo School of Learn Spanish, I would post some interesting Tico Spanish expressions. Disfrute mis amigos....

A word is not a thing in itself. It is a symbol for a thing or a quality or an idea. Thus, it is arbitrary. I may refer to my vehicle as a “car,” “carro,” “macchina,” “voiture” or, for that matter, “Henry.” It doesn’t matter, as long as the person with whom I am trying to communicate is in agreement with the symbol I am using. This is logical.

Until, that is, I sit down to write a poem and find that I can go through 5 or 10 different words before I find one that gives me that “Aha!” feeling. Against all logic, I can’t tell you why, when there are several other words that stand for the same thing. It’s a mystery – and thank heaven for it.

Likewise, against all logic, certain words and expressions in everyday language have more charm than others. Here are some of my favorites in Costa Rican Spanish, many of which won’t be found in a standard dictionary. (Note that “pura vida” is not one of them.)


Acharita! or Charita! ”What a shame!” But we have to say it with a certain rhythm: ah-char-EEEE-ta!

Guacala! or Huacala! Yuck!

Ojo! Literally, “Eye!” It means, “Watch out!”

Suave! Literally, “Soft!” It means, “Wait a minute!”

Upe! It’s what Tico’s say (or yell) when they knock on the door, much better than our moronic “Is anybody home?”

Acurrucarse. It means, “to cuddle up,” or to “curl up.” The charming part is that it imitates the sound a mother hen makes when she gathers her chicks around her.

Arroz con mango. When we mix things that don’t go well together, be it in a party list or the soup of the day, we have created “rice with mango.”

Bocaraca’ A horrible poisonous snake with a beautiful name.

Cabanga. Nostalgia for something. It’s a tiquismo, so it’s not in the dictionary.

Chucaro. Wild, untamed, skittish. Best of all, it can describe a person as well as a horse.

Chunche. Thingamabob. Chunches means “stuff.”

Con las manos en la masa. Literally, “with hands in the dough.” It means “red-handed.” Lo sorprendieron con las manos en la masa (they caught him red-handed.)

Culindingo. It is not in the dictionary either. Apparently it is a word that is no longer used. It refers to a person that is fussy about any and everything.

Dar a luz. Literally, “to give to light.” It means “to give birth,” but oh so poetically.

De mala muerte. Literally, “of bad death.” It means “crummy” or “lousy,” but it is not used to describe just anything. Comimos en el restuarante de mala muerte (we ate in a greasy spoon). Es un hotel de mala muerte (it’s a crummy hotel).

Escarabajo. Beatle.

Estar de chicha. To be in a foul mood

Estar en la luna. “To be on the moon,” to be distracted or “spaced out.”

Guira guira. This is pronounced “gweary gweary – well, more or less. It means “hassle,” and is usually used with mucho. No quiero hacer eso – mucho guiri guiri (I don’t want to do that – too much hassle).

Llave maya. “Mayan key.” No, it’s not some esoteric doodad for entering the spirit world. Called variously “travel drive,” “memory stick” and “removable disk” in English, it’s that little USB device that plugs into a computer and allows us to carry data from one computer to another. Come to think of it, maybe it is an esoteric doodad after all.

Pagar los platos rotos. When we have to take flak for something that isn’t our fault, we are the one’s who, as the saying goes, “pay for the broken plates.”

Para el tigre. Anything that is no longer useful, be it food, furniture or failed romance, is deemed para el tigre (for the tiger). A tigre, in this part of the world, is a cougar or jaguar.

Pata caliente. Literally, “hot paw.” It refers to a person who runs around a lot instead of staying home.

Patas arriba. Literally, “paws up.” It refers to a disorder or dysfunction. La casa esta patas arriba (the house is a real mess).

Pelo de gato. Literally, “cat hair.” It’s the fine misty rain we call “drizzle.”

Ruedacaca Literally, “wheel poop.” It means “dung beetle.”

Vacilon. Something hilariously funny, a great time, as in Que vacilon!

Yuyo. Pronounced “ju-jo,” it literally means “foot fungus,” but it also refers to a bothersome person, someone we might call a “pain in the neck.” I think “foot fungus” gets it better.
Author:  El Ornitorrinco [ Mon May 18, 2009 11:23 am ]
Post subject: 
Very interesting, thanks for that. And thanks for the chica in your sig pic! :lol:
Author:  PacoLoco [ Mon May 18, 2009 12:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tico-Spanish Expressions
Great list Pata caliente! :)

EsposoDeBarbie wrote:
Upe! It’s what Tico’s say (or yell) when they knock on the door, much better than our moronic “Is anybody home?”
What is the literal meaning?

EsposoDeBarbie wrote:
Chucaro. Wild, untamed, skittish. Best of all, it can describe a person as well as a horse.
Would "chucara" be appropriate to describe a wild chica? :twisted:

EsposoDeBarbie wrote:
Escarabajo. Beatle.
I think you meant "beetle".
Author:  El Ciego [ Mon May 18, 2009 12:51 pm ]
Post subject: 
Esposa de Barbie, y Skipper, y Madge....

Great list! Thank you!

I borke up up a couple KL darlings a couple years ago by using "chunches" "Ya tiene sus chunches?" (Are you ready to go?)

Here's a couple more, a bit more obscene than those on your list:

Carepicha...literally "cara de picha..." Dick-face

Hueyputa (hijo de puta) - Son of a whore/English son of a bitch) Used either as an expletive or as an appellation.

Carajo - Aw, shit. Fairly soft, but not really for polite company.

De mil cosas - Really busy (of a thousand things).


Playo - faggot, queer (male)

Machorra - dyke/lesbian

Macha/macho - blonde, not "masculine" as in other parts of L. America


Any others? One of the fun things about the so-called novia relationship (yeah, she's your sweetheart, right) is that one can pick up a lot more pachuco (slang) than one can from a book, Pimsleur or language school.
Author:  Panadero [ Mon May 18, 2009 1:30 pm ]
Post subject: 
Great information from EsposoDeBarbie and also, El Ciego. Thank you.

One more:
Chinear = to spoil
Chineado (a) =spoiled
Me puedes chinear? =can you be more affectionate? :)
Author:  Cujo's [ Mon May 18, 2009 8:26 pm ]
Post subject: 
Great list and contribution EDB 8)

Cujo
Author:  JazzboCR [ Mon May 18, 2009 9:16 pm ]
Post subject: 
Good job, guys. We haven't had this kind of topic in a while and it's aways welcomed. To be added to, I hope?
Author:  Del Rey Dave [ Tue May 19, 2009 4:17 am ]
Post subject: 
There a couple of good books written on this topic that I bought while living there. One is called "A Lo Tico", A. Giebler Simonet. Bought it in 204 at the Liberia Nacional for 3,000 Col.

en dos toques -right away
pisar- to have sex
Wachiman- security guard
Author:  Panadero [ Tue May 19, 2009 10:41 am ]
Post subject: 
One more,

Regar = to sprinkle /to irrigate

Regarse = to ejaculate (Mainly in CR)

Riégate = I want you to come (The “tú” form)

Regáte = same (The “vos form” which is so common in CR) :)
Author:  Pacifica55 [ Tue May 19, 2009 11:45 am ]
Post subject: 
Quote:
Guacala! or Huacala! Yuck!

Somehow I hear this one a lot. Eveling tells me it translates to "vomit" literally!
Author:  Mrpublic [ Tue May 19, 2009 6:01 pm ]
Post subject:  more costa rican spanish
interesting, some of these i've never heard, i wonder how common they are. some other costa rican things...

i like "acurucar," another synonym is "apapachar."

apretar - literally "press," but means "to make out" as in kiss and fondle.

brete - job, usually a short-term "gig" job.

bara - synonym for "chunche," means "thingy."

carajillo - K*D

guila ("Gwila") - chick. interestingly all central american countries have different words for "girl/guy" and they all come from local indigenous dialects. in nicaragua for example they say "chavalo."and in el salvador they say "chamaco."

cholo - means unsophisticated, lower class (they even have jokes like our "you might be a redneck" jokes, one goes, "if you eat fried chicken on the bus, you might be a cholo...")

mae - means "dude," some young people and "cholo" people say it almost every other word

que madre - "this sucks." interestingly in mexico they say "que padre" for something that's good.

que carga, que tuanis, que chiva, que dicha, que rico (or "llico"), que fresa, que legal, que chevre - all of them mean "cool," with the last being recently imported in from colombia.

que barbaro, que salado, que COLera, que animal, que chicha, que salidas, que ingrato, que torta, que lindo (sarcastic), or sea barbaro, sea tonto, nombre! - all mean "wow, that's crazy / bad"

me cuadra / me cae bien - i like it (usually a person), the first is unique to costa rica.

al chile - for real

ni papa - absolutely nothing

todo bien - everything good, used both as a question and then as the answer. this is actually used more than "pura vida," especially among non-old people.

pinche - a cheap person

chepe - san jose

tome chichi - "take it baby," for when something funny/ bad happens to someone else.

costa ricans often give affectionate nicknames to each other based on physical appearance, many of which would sound offensive in the US, like negrito, chinito (to someone with slightly slanted eyes), gorda, flaco, viejo, and the aforementioned "macha."

if you want to make a costa rican girl laugh and punch your shoulder, introduce her to people as "mi vieja" (or "mi donya").

men also use (and women like) lots of extremely sappy romantic nicknames, like "mi amor, corazon, mi cielo, mi reina, munyeca, mi guapa, tesoro," etc. (meaning "my love, heart, my heaven, my queen, doll, my handsome, treasure".)

nena - babe

SAtiro - "pervert." good description for many here.

tortillera / marimacha - lesbian. the first definitely means lesbian, the second can mean that or just "tomboy."

marica - fag.

malparido - "poorly born," but this is one of the strongest swear words possible here!

ramera - slut. this is not just in costa rica, but it's making a comeback here in terms of guys proudly referring to themselves as "rameros" or "manwhores."

and here's a longish costa rican curse for you... "la reputisima madre que te parrio!"

be careful about lists you see online, many of the "dichos" they give are not commonly used, and never used by most people under 40.

the costa rican word for slang is "pachuco," so if you want to learn more then find someone who's style you want to imitate and ask them to teach you more pachuco.

ps - "upe" is probably a shortened version of "disculpe!" although some people believe it came from a reference to the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Author:  Don Papi [ Tue May 19, 2009 6:56 pm ]
Post subject: 
The most comprehensive book on this topic I know of is:

"Christopher Howard's Guide To Costa Rican Spanish"

available at: http://costaricabooks.com/

I have no personal interest in or benefit from this information.
Author:  Panadero [ Tue May 19, 2009 8:08 pm ]
Post subject: 
Mrpublic,

Your list is awesome. Most of these expressions are not found in guides or grammar books.

Some people find this information interesting! :)
Author:  El Viejo [ Tue May 19, 2009 8:46 pm ]
Post subject: 
An interesting thread to be sure. But, one of my favorite desserts is Mango with Sticky Rice ( Thai food: aka sticky rice with creme of coconut milk poured over the rice), Sublime, and it does go together.


As for these dichos, I speak spanish at the 80-90% level. But, native fluency is never attained unless you get totally into the nitty gritty of dichos and local slang. I can communicate, but I will never get to that level. Nor will most of us.
Author:  Puravida29 [ Fri Jun 05, 2009 1:22 pm ]
Post subject: 
My father-in-law's brother told me the story of how the word 'upe!' came to be. It's pretty much used when you're at a tico's house, and they have no timbre (buzzer/doorbell), so you say (or yell out), Upe! Upe! I guess you would translate it as "hey, i'm here, open the door!"

As for the story ... 'upe' is short for 'virgin of guadalupe'. A long time ago, it was customary for Ch*ldren to pass a small statue, the virgin of guadalupe, to their neighbor. The Ch*ld was supposed to call out 'virgin of guadalupe'. Over time, the Ch*ld would say 'guadalupe' instead. And now, it has become 'upe!'; but they no longer pass a statue.

Ticos also have this dichos :

sea perro (say ah pair-oh) - means ... that/this sucks

not sure how to spell this one .... que jeta (kay hey-tuh) - means basically like how we would say something in surprise/shock, etc. kind of like "wow/no way/are you serious?"

que asco - similar to 'guacala' ... something nasty/disgusting

cochino - similar to rude (grosero) ... for instance if you burp/fart around a tica, she would say 'cochino!'

not sure how to spell this one either ... ooofa - something smells bad

cachiton - somebody with bigger cheeks

diay! - this is more polo, but it means similar to wow! or gah!

this one will always get a laugh from any tico you say it too: maria santissima! - similar to how we say Jesus! you could substitute 'maria santisima' for 'hijuepucha'. it's not as an insult, only use it in a joking manner. for instance ... say you're walking, and you stub your toe on furniture, you could say "diay! mariasantisima!"

apurese - hurry up!

polvo - slang for C*m/leche

pachuco - dirty talk (not in the bedroom) ... polvo is an example of pachuco ... dichos (slang) that are dirty. ticas will also say 'pachuco!' to you if you use one of these words (not in an insulting manner)

platanazo - gay (you can usually add the -azo to any of the fruits in the banana family, and it means the same thing)

ñoño - nerd

porfa - short for por favor

sip - i have no idea why ticos use this, they dont say it, just write it ... it's "si", they just add a p to the end

que malito - said in a joking manner - if you or somebody else does something wrong

metrofresa - metrosexual

coqueto - similar to above

cochinadas - junk food (cookies, chips, etc)
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