If you have ever wondered what slang words are used in Argentina and/or how to use them, you are in the right place. Because in this article, I am going to show you a list of the 30 most used Argentinian slang words.
1. Abatatarse
This verb means “to be afraid of some situation”. However, if you want to use it to tell it to another person (such as “I am afraid”), you can say “te estás abatatando”.
2. Piola
This means “great/fine/okay/nice/cool” and it is used ALL THE TIME in Argentina (it is even possible to hear an old Argentinian person saying it sometimes). For example:
“Está todo piola” (Everything is okay)
“Piola!” (Great!/ Cool!)
3. Manso
It has the same meaning of “piola”, but it is slightly different. Why, you may ask? This is because it also has a connotation to “relax” (such as saying “the situation's atmosphere is okay”). For example:
“Todo manso”/“Todo tranquilo” (Everything is okay/The situation's atmosphere is okay”)
4. Gil
It is mostly used for calling somebody who does not think the same as you, or who does not want to do something that you want to do. There is no literal translation for this term in English. For example:
“Uh! Sos un gil! ¿por qué no querés ir?” = “Hey! Come on! Why don't you want to go?!”
Note: It is also used to call somebody who is such an innocent person.
5. Amarrocar
This is a verb which means “to save” something for the benefit of the person who is saving it. For example:
“Vos te amarrocás toda la plata!” (You saved all that money for your own benefit!)
6. Achicarse
This term is used to when somebody is acting like a coward in facing a situation. For example:
“Che! No te me achiqués/achiques” = “Hey! Don't be such a coward!”
7. Acomodar
This verb is used to express that somebody has a favorable influence in some situation/place, and that is the reason that person is doing a certain thing or working in a certain place. The most common situation for using this verb is for talking about people who work at a place because they knows somebody who is important and got them that job. For example:
“¡Este chavon (this guy) está re acomodado en ese trabajo en el banco!”
This sentence cannot be literally translated into English, so I am going to explain it:
A guy is working in a bank, because he has got favorable influence from somebody important who works or knows somebody in the bank.
8. Afano
This means “theft/robbery”. It does not need an example about how to use it, because it is just a slang to express “theft/robbery”.
9. Fiambre
This noun means “dead person”. It is only used in informal speech, and mostly among friends or people of the same age.
10. Re
This preposition expresses quantity. One of the translations into English would be “so” (used as in the expression “so cute”). For example:
“Ese pibe está/es re lindo” (That guy is so cute)
If you want to use “está” instead of “es” in this sentence, you should only do it when you talk with friends, or people of the same age. If you want to express this sentence to an old/older person, it would be better to use use “es”
11. Chavón/Chavona
“Chavón” means “guy/dude/bro” in Argentina. You can use “chavona” only when you talk to a woman who is your friend. Because if she is not your friend, that girl may get annoyed hearing that from you whoever you are (the same happens with “chavón”).
12. Pibe / Piba
These terms have the same meaning as “chavón / chavona”.
13. Agarrada
This word is to describe a strong “pelea / discusión” (“fight/discussion”). It is often used with the verb “tener” (“to have”). For example:
“Ayer tuve una agarrada con mi jefe” (I had a strong discussion with my boss yesterday)
14. Bardo
This noun means “problema” (“problem”) in Argentina (not a normal problem, but a serious problem). It is often used with the verbs “hacer” and “tener”. For example:
“A el le encanta hacer bardo” (He loves making problems)
“Ella tiene bardo con su amiga” (“She has a problem with her friend)
15. Sindi
This is used to call somebody who has bad dentures or has no teeth (sin dientes). This word sounds like the English name “Cindy”. That is why people like to make fun of others by calling them “Sindi”, to imply that he/she has bad dentures or has no teeth in his/her mouth. For example:
“Allá va la sindi” (There goes Sindi (meaning “person without teeth”))
16. Paja
This noun is used to express “laziness”. It is commonly used with the verb “tener” and the preposition “re”. For example:
“Ja… tengo una re paja” (Ha… I feel so lazy)
17. Manduquear
This verb means “comer” (“to eat” in English). It is used for talking about eating food (most of the time). For example:
“Ayer me manduquié alta pizza” (Yesterday I ate a delicious pizza)
18. Alta/Alto
Depending on the noun it is attached to, you can use “alto” or “alta”. This word has a positive connotation (and also a quantity connotation). For example, if you say “altas zapatillas”, it would mean “cool shoes”, or if you say “alta hamburguesa me comí”, it would mean “I ate a very delicious hamburger”.
19. Viaje
This has two meanings, but I am going to describe the most accurate one over here. This noun which normally would mean “trip/travel”, is used to say “punch/hit” (e.g. “to hit somebody with your hands”) in Argentina. It is commonly used with the verb “dar” (“to give/to provide”). For example:
“Alto viaje le di al chavón”
20. Estar en pedo
This slang phrase means “to be drunk”. For example:
“Estoy re en pedo” (I am so drunk right now)
21. Lija
This word (noun) means “hambre” (“hunger”) in Spanish, and in Argentina we sometimes use it to express that we are “so hungry”. Please remember that it is ONLY used for talking in an informal speech. For example:
“Tengo alta lija” (I am starving/I am hungry)
22. Nabo
This noun is actually the name of a root vegetable: the turnip. However, in Argentina it is used to mean “fool/silly”, but not in a bad way. For example:
“¡Sos un nabo! No tendrías que haber hecho eso…” (You silly! You shouldn't have done that…)
23. Banda
This quantity adverb is used to express “a lot of/lots of”. For example:
“Ahí hay una banda de gente” (There are lots of people over there)
24. Bolazo
This noun means “mentira” (“lie” in English) and is normally used with the verbs “meter”, “decir” , or “ser”. For example:
“Me estás metiendo un bolazo” (You are telling me a lie)
“Y entonces, le dije un bolazo” (And then, I told him/her a lie)
“Esto es un bolazo” (This is a lie/This is not true)
25. Borrego
This noun means “baby lamb” in Spanish; however, it has another meaning in Argentina. Although it is not much different, it does not refer to the same animal. “Borrego” is the normally used to refer to a child or teenager in Argentina (“borrega” is used for female children instead of “borrego”).
26. Posta
This word expresses that something is the truth. For example:
“Te digo la posta” (I tell you the truth)
27. Afano
Something totally unfair. For example:
“Es un afano!” (It is totally unfair!)
28. Gato
Has the same usage as “gil”. But you can say “gato” to talk about a woman, or “gata” to talk about a man. For example:
“Sos un gato” (you're so bad/what you say or think is unfair)
29. Guliar
This basically means “comer” (to eat). For example:
“¿Vamos a guliar algo?” (Let's eat something?)
30. Che
This is used to call for somebody (literally translated in English as “hey”). For example:
“Che! ¿Cómo andás tanto tiempo?” (Hey! How have you been? Long time no see.)
There is a ton of other Argentinian slang words, but these are the most used ones. I hope you have enjoyed reading this article about Argentinian slang!
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