List of Puerto Rican slang words and phrases explained

This article is a summary of common slang words and phrases used in Puerto Rico. Idiomatic expressions may be difficult to translate fully and may have multiple meanings, so the English translations below may not reflect the full meaning of the expression they intend to translate. This is a short list and more may be found on the Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española website.[1]

List

Spanish; Castilian: [[ataque de nervios]]
  • a sudden nervous reaction, similar to hysterics, or losing control, experienced in response to something[2]
    Spanish; Castilian: ¡Bendito!
  • variants are ¡Ay bendito! and dito - “aww poor you” or “oh my god”; “ay” meaning lament, and “bendito” meaning blessed.[3] [4]
    Spanish; Castilian: abombao / abombá
  • Referring to food; rotten or damaged.[3]
    Spanish; Castilian: al garete
  • Wild, off the rails, disastrous. Doing something rash. Comes from the Arabic phrase meaning "adrift" (Arabic: على غير هدى (/ʕa.'laː.ɣajr.'hu.dan/), romanized: ealaa ghayr hudaa).
    Spanish; Castilian: asicalao
  • flawless, clean, immaculate. From standard Spanish Spanish; Castilian: acicalado
    Spanish; Castilian: bembé
  • a big party.[3] [5]
    Spanish; Castilian: bichote
  • Important person. From English English: big shot.
    Spanish; Castilian: birras
  • Beer.[3]
    Spanish; Castilian: bochinche
  • gossip[6]
    Spanish; Castilian: [[boricua]]
  • The name given to Puerto Rico people by Puerto Ricans.[3]
    Spanish; Castilian: bregar
  • To work on a task, to do something with effort and dedication.
    Spanish; Castilian: broki
  • brother or friend.[7]
    Spanish; Castilian: cafre
  • a lowlife. Comes from Arabic (Arabic: كافر (/kafir), romanized: Kafir).
    Spanish; Castilian: cangri
  • A badass, hunk or hottie.[8] An influential person.[9] From English English: congressman.[10]
    Spanish; Castilian: cariduro
  • person who should be ashamed of their actions but isn't; a stubborn person[11]
    Spanish; Castilian: chacho
  • short for Spanish; Castilian: muchacho - Guy, male,
    Spanish; Castilian: chavoin mexico this can mean dude or guy relating to someone younger but in puerto rican slang, it is used in replacement of dinero/money
  • Spanish; Castilian: chulería
  • While in other countries this word means "insolence",[12] in Puerto Rico it has an entirely different meaning and is used to describe that something is good, fun, funny, great or beautiful.[13]
    Spanish; Castilian: corillo
  • Friend, or group of friends.
    Spanish; Castilian: dura
  • Normally means “hard”, but in Puerto Rican slang means that someone is really good at what they do.
    Spanish; Castilian: embustería
  • series of lies, something that is completely false, a "pack of lies"[14]
    Spanish; Castilian: ¡Fo!
  • literally translates to "eww!" or "yuck!" it is often used as an exclamation in reaction to a bad smell.
    Spanish; Castilian: fregao, fregá
  • shameless person[15]
    Spanish; Castilian: guajana
  • The flower of the sugarcane.[16]
    Spanish; Castilian: guinda
  • steep slope
    Spanish; Castilian: gufear
  • to act goofy.
    Spanish; Castilian: janguear
  • “to hang out”. Comes from the American expression “hang out”.[17]
    Spanish; Castilian: jartera
  • to be full.
    Spanish; Castilian: jevo/a
  • boyfriend / girlfriend
    Spanish; Castilian: [[Jíbaro (Puerto Rico)|jíbaro]]
  • A person who lives in the countryside, mountain people, the agricultural worker, who cuts sugarcane, for example.[18] From a Taino compound word ("Jiba" meaning mountain or forest, and "iro" meaning man or men)[19] though commonly mistaken for originating from the Arabic (Mofarite Arabic: جبري (Jabre), romanized: Jabre), in the Mofarite related Ethiopian Semitic languages ገበሬ(Gabre), romanized: Gabre).
    Spanish; Castilian: jumeta
  • Drunk
    Spanish; Castilian: lambeojo
  • Lackey,brownoser;toady,sycophant.
    Spanish; Castilian: ligar
  • to peep
    Spanish; Castilian: ligón
  • Peeping Tom
    Spanish; Castilian: limber
  • Also, "limbel". A home-made flavored frozen treat usually made from natural fruits or sweet milk mixtures and often served on a small piece of water-resistant paper, a plastic or paper cup, or a popsicle stick.[20] The name is said to have originated from the last name of Charles Lindbergh after the islanders noticed how "awfully cold as ice" he was as compared to the warmth of the locals during Lindbergh's visit to the Island in 1928.[21]
    Spanish; Castilian: mamey
  • Used when referring to something that is easy to do.
    Spanish; Castilian: [[Mami (hip hop)|mami]], papi
  • Terms of endearment; mami when referring to a cute woman, papi when referring to a handsome man, or to address a lover[22] [23]
    Spanish; Castilian: nene, nena
  • Boy/girl In standard Spanish it means "baby".
    Spanish; Castilian: panna, pana
  • Friend / Buddy[24] ("pana" is also a name for breadfruit in Puerto Rico)[25] From English: partner.
    Spanish; Castilian: [[pasárselas con la cuchara ancha]]
  • to get away with murder or to get away with it
    Spanish; Castilian: [[perreo]], perrear
  • A way of dancing ("grinding") or a danceable song.
    Spanish; Castilian: pichea
  • “forget about that”, Disregard.  
    Spanish; Castilian: por encima de los gandules
  • Expression of admiration, to say that something is outstanding or beyond good.[26]
    Spanish; Castilian: revolú
  • Used to describe chaotic situations.
    Spanish; Castilian: [[servirse con la cuchara grande]]
  • to get away with murder or to get away with it
    Spanish; Castilian: soplapote
  • a nobody, or a worker low on the hierarchy, or an enabler[27]
    Spanish; Castilian: tapón
  • traffic jam. In standard Spanish, "a bottle top" or "a clog".
    Spanish; Castilian: tráfala
  • a lowlife.
    Spanish; Castilian: wepaTypically used at parties, dances, or general hype events to express of joy or excitement, hence the direct translation "That's awesome!"

    See also

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico. Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico. 2019-05-27. 2019-05-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20190527134150/https://tesoro.pr/. live.
    2. Book: Febles, J. . Into the Mainstream: Essays on Spanish American and Latino Literature and Culture . Cambridge Scholars Press . EBSCO ebook academic collection . 2009 . 978-1-4438-0665-7 . 29 August 2019 . 197 . 6 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201006170841/https://books.google.com/books?id=LqwYBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA197 . live .
    3. Web site: Quinn . Niall . 30 Puerto Rican Slang Terms That Only Make Sense In The Caribbean . Baselang . 9 November 2018 . 6 May 2019 . 6 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190506055959/https://baselang.com/blog/uncategorized/puerto-rican-slang/ . live .
    4. Web site: Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico . 2020-03-02 . 2020-03-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200302184246/https://tesoro.pr/lema/bendito . live .
    5. Web site: Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico . 2020-03-02 . 2020-03-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200302184246/https://tesoro.pr/lema/bembe-2 . live .
    6. Web site: bochinche . Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico . es . 3 September 2019 . 3 September 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190903151902/https://tesoro.pr/lema/bochinche . live .
    7. Web site: Puerto Rican slang words and phrases . TranslationDirectory . 6 May 2019 . 6 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190506060000/https://www.translationdirectory.com/glossaries/glossary146.htm . live .
    8. Web site: cangri . Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico . es . 17 September 2020.
    9. Web site: cangri . WordReference.com . 2 October 2020 . 19 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170819100204/http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=cangri . live .
    10. Web site: Cáceres-Lorenzo . María-Teresa . Diccionario para bichotes: Cómo evitar malentendidos al escuchar reguetón . The Conversation . 27 October 2020 . 15 December 2020 . es.
    11. Web site: cariduro, ra . Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico . es . 8 May 2021.
    12. Web site: Chulería - Diccionario Inglés-Español WordReference.com . 2019-12-29 . 2019-12-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191229032641/https://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=chuler%C3%ADa . live .
    13. Web site: Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico . 2019-12-29 . 2019-12-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191229032638/https://tesoro.pr/lema/chuleria . live .
    14. Web site: embustería . Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico . es . 3 September 2019 . 3 September 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190903150958/https://tesoro.pr/lema/embusteria . live .
    15. Web site: fregado, da . Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico . es . 17 September 2020 . 6 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201006170843/https://tesoro.pr/lema/fregado-da . live .
    16. Web site: guajana . Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico . es . 2021-06-08.
    17. Web site: Alger . Nate . Puerto Rican Slangs 10 Words and Expressions To Learn . Spanishland School . 25 September 2017 . 6 May 2019 . 6 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190506060000/https://spanishlandschool.com/puerto-rican-slangs/ . live .
    18. Caldwell . Jenna . Allow Bad Bunny to Teach You Puerto Rican Slang . Time . 28 March 2023 . 28 March 2023.
    19. Web site: https://www.coursesidekick.com/arts-humanities/3638035 . 2024-02-21 . www.coursesidekick.com.
    20. Book: Matos, Jose M. Rodriguez. La Mancha que me Persigue. Palibrio. Bloomington, Indiana. 2011. es. 9781463313203.
    21. Web site: Origen de la palabra "límber". Coqui Snacks & Mini Donuts. es. 2013-12-09. 2013-09-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20130902061120/http://coquisnacks.com/sabiausted.html. live.
    22. Web site: mami. Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico. es. 2019-12-01. 2019-10-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20191010155112/https://tesoro.pr/lema/mami. live.
    23. Web site: papi. Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico. es.
    24. Book: Sánchez, Marta E.. Shakin' Up Race and Gender: Intercultural Connections in Puerto Rican, African American, and Chicano Narratives and Culture (1965–1995). 2009. University of Texas Press. 9780292774780. 155.
    25. Book: Árboles comunes de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Elbert Luther. Little. José. Marrero. La Editorial, UPR. 2001. 9780847703838. es.
    26. Web site: Revista de la Universidad de PR en Arecibo . Cuarto Propio . es . 6 October 2020 . 11 September 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190911234050/http://cuartopropio.upra.edu/Resenas/brevisimosparalaelegancia.html . live .
    27. Web site: soplapote . Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico . es . 17 September 2020.

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