How to speak Spanish in Argentina: Part I

The Argentinian way of speaking Spanish is truly one-of-a-kind.  The language found in Argentina is heavily influenced by both the Italian language and the customs.  Vowels are also pronounced differently, and some words are exclusively used in Argentina that wouldn’t be understood in other countries.  The level of difficulty will give your brain a solid workout and make speaking Spanish is any other country a piece of cake.  Once you’ve mastered Argentinian Spanish, learning to fly a plane will seem easy.

If you want to speak like an Argentinian, you must first learn to speak like a true porteño.  A porteño is what Buenos Aires residents are commonly called, meaning “people of the harbor.”  Although I am constantly learning new words and phrases (does it ever end?), below are some helpful ones I have learned so far.

1. Che or lunfardo – A very common phrase in Argentina, che roughly translates to “man” or “pal,” and is applied to everybody (old people, young people, new acquaintances, etc.), except for people in a higher social position than oneself. A lunfardo is a person who can get away with things, or a “hustler.”
2. Cómo andás – Taken directly from the castellato phrase, ¿Cómo estás?, this is the Argentinian version of “How are you doing?” or “How’s it going?”  The typical response would be something like, “Todo bien, vos?” meaning “All good, you?”
3. Vos – Instead of tú, Argentines use the second person pronoun vos.
4. Sh – In traditional Spanish, y and ll are pronounced in a harsher sense, such as ya.  In Argentina, they are pronounced sh.  This can be kind of confusing at first, but once you convert your pronunciation to the softer tone, you will never want to go back to regular castellano.  An example is when first introducing yourself using Yo me llamo.  In traditional Spanish, this is pronounced “yoh meh yamoh.”  In Argentina, it would be pronounced “sho meh shamoh.”
5. Viste – Generally used to begin a sentence or to street a point, meaning “you see.”  For example, you could say “Viste, Argentina tiene el mejor equipo de futbol del mundo” meaning “You see, Argentina has the best soccer team in the world.”
6. Boludo – Most closely translated as “jerk” or “idiot.”
7. Bombon – An attractive man or woman.
8. Qué copado – This phrase can be used to exclaim “How cool!”
9. Qué quilombo – A word to describe craziness, confusion, choas, a disaster, or a mess.  Mostly used when describing a crazy party or event that happened.
10. Posta – “No way!”  Generally used after someone’s told you something strange or remarkable.
11. Ni en pedo – Mostly used in slang terms such as “Not even if I were drunk” or “No way in hell.”  This is a good term to know when at a bar 🙂
12. Buena onda – My favorite!  Although this term literally translates into “good wave,” it is more commonly used as “good vibrations.”  This term suits any great, amazing, nice, friendly situation, person, or thing.
13. Basta – Italian word for “stop.”
14. Birra – Italian word for “beer.”  You can also say cerveza, but in Argentina, this term is more widely used when in a restaurant or bar.
15. Frutilla – Argentine word for “strawberry.”  Traditional Spanish uses fresa.
16. Mango – Another way to express Argentine currency, the peso.