Colloquial Spain Spanish (vale, mola, tío, venga) and Latin American equivalents
Understand and use everyday informal Spanish from Spain, and know what people say instead in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Chile.
Part of the free C1 Spanish course. Press the speaker next to an example to hear it.
Textbook Spanish rarely prepares you for a bar in Madrid. Spaniards pepper conversation with a handful of very frequent words that do a lot of work. Using them well makes you sound relaxed and natural; using them with your boss's boss, or in Buenos Aires, can sound odd. This lesson is about informal speech among friends and colleagues (see Register: formal, neutral and colloquial versions of the same message).
The essential words
- vale: OK, agreed. Perhaps the most typical word of Spain Spanish.
- venga: "come on" (hurry up, encouragement), "go on then" (agreement), or a way to wrap up a conversation (Venga, hasta luego).
- tío / tía: "mate, dude" among friends; also "guy, woman" (un tío de mi clase). It still means uncle and aunt.
- mola / me mola: "it's cool / I like it". ¡Cómo mola!
- guay: cool, great.
- majo / maja: nice, friendly (of a person).
- currar, el curro: to work, a job.
- flipar: to be amazed (estoy flipando).
- mogollón (de): loads (of).
- pasarlo bomba: to have a great time.
- ¡Qué fuerte!: That's crazy! (shock, surprise).
- Vale, nos vemos a las ocho en la puerta del cine.OK, see you at eight outside the cinema.
- Venga, date prisa, que perdemos el tren.Come on, hurry up, or we'll miss the train.
- Venga, hasta mañana.Right then, see you tomorrow.
- Tío, ¿has visto lo que ha pasado en el partido?Mate, did you see what happened in the match?
- Me mola mucho tu chaqueta nueva.I really like your new jacket.
- ¡Qué guay que vengas a la boda!How great that you're coming to the wedding!
- Esta semana no paro de currar.I haven't stopped working all week.
- Nos lo pasamos bomba en la fiesta.We had a great time at the party.
- Había mogollón de gente en el concierto.There were loads of people at the concert.
- Tu amiga es majísima.Your friend is really nice.
- ¡Qué fuerte lo que me cuentas!That's crazy, what you're telling me!
- Estoy flipando con este pueblo.I'm blown away by this village.
Swear words such as joder, hostia and coño are very frequent in informal speech in Spain, often used more freely than their English equivalents, but they are still swear words. Recognise them; use them only if you are sure of the setting.
Latin American equivalents
| Spain | Mexico | Argentina | Colombia / Venezuela | Chile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vale | sale, va | dale | listo, dale | ya |
| guay, mola | padre, chido | copado, buenísimo | chévere | bacán |
| tío, tía (mate) | güey | che | parce (Col.), pana (Ven.) | huevón (very informal) |
| pasta (money) | lana | guita, plata | plata | plata, lucas |
| curro (job) | chamba | laburo | camello (Col.) | pega |
| coche | carro | auto | carro | auto |
These words are regional: chévere sounds Caribbean, padre sounds Mexican. If you are unsure, the neutral word (genial, de acuerdo, dinero, trabajo) is understood everywhere.
Coger (to take, to catch) is normal in Spain (coger el autobús), but in Mexico, Argentina and other countries it is a vulgar word for sex. There, say tomar el autobús.
Common mistakes
- Using tío or tía with someone you don't know well, or with people older than you in a formal setting.
Es muy mola: mola is a verb (molar). Say mola mucho or es muy guay.- Saying vale in Mexico or Argentina: it is understood, but it marks you as Spanish. Sale, dale or de acuerdo sound local.
- Using coger for transport in Latin America; use tomar.
- Mixing countries in one sentence (
¡Qué chévere, güey, mola mogollón!): pick one variety.
Practice
- ¿Quedamos a las siete en la plaza? — _____, allí nos vemos.Options: Vale · ¡Anda ya! · ¡Qué fuerte!
Show the answer
Vale — Vale = OK, agreed. ¡Anda ya! expresses disbelief, ¡Qué fuerte! shock.
- What does «¡Venga, que llegamos tarde!» mean?Options: Come on, we're going to be late! · Come here, we arrived late! · Fine, we'll arrive late.
Show the answer
Come on, we're going to be late!
- What does «Este bar mola mucho» mean?Options: This bar is really cool. · This bar is really noisy. · This bar is really expensive.
Show the answer
This bar is really cool.
- What is the typical Mexican equivalent of «¡Qué guay!»?Options: ¡Qué padre! · ¡Qué bacán! · ¡Qué majo!
Show the answer
¡Qué padre! — Bacán is typical of Chile and Peru; majo means 'nice' (of a person) in Spain.