{"id":138187,"date":"2018-04-25T16:45:15","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T20:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/salvadoran-spanish\/"},"modified":"2025-02-24T05:00:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T10:00:33","slug":"salvadoran-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/salvadoran-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Aspects of Salvadoran Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tucked between Guatemala<\/a> and Honduras<\/a>, El Salvador is\u00a0an excellent destination for practicing your Spanish, especially if you’re the type who loves to learn slang<\/a> or idioms.<\/p>\n

We’ll show you what sets Salvadoran Spanish apart from other Spanish dialect, including quirks in El Salvador’s grammar, pronunciation and slang.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Unique Aspects of Salvadoran Spanish<\/h2>\n

Now it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty details that’ll help you survive in El Salvador without too much confusion. These language pointers will make any conversation with a Salvadoran go more smoothly.<\/p>\n

1. Salvadorans Generally Use Voseo\u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n

You can count El Salvador among the countries using voseo<\/em>, such as Argentina<\/a>, Uruguay<\/a>, Paraguay<\/a> and most central American countries. Voseo<\/em> is the use of\u00a0vos<\/em>\u00a0in place of t\u00fa.<\/em>\u00a0Here are the two main differences between these forms of Spanish.<\/p>\n

Second Person Pronoun:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whenever you’d like to say the word “you” in an informal sense, use vos<\/em>\u00a0rather than t\u00fa.<\/em><\/p>\n

For example, in Salvadoran Spanish, V<\/em>os sos muy simp\u00e1tica\u00a0<\/em>means\u00a0T\u00fa eres muy s<\/em>imp\u00e1tica\u00a0<\/em>in textbook Spanish, or “You are very nice” in English.\u00a0This is the voseo<\/em> effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Note: It has nothing to do with the second person plural (vosotros<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Second Person Verbs:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In voseo<\/em>, the present simple forms of second person verbs generally take a different conjugation than the traditionally taught t\u00fa<\/em> form. Take a look at the following examples:<\/p>\n

T\u00fa eres \u2192\u00a0vos sos<\/em> (you are)<\/p>\n

T\u00fa dices \u2192 vos dec\u00eds\u00a0<\/em>(you say)<\/p>\n

T\u00fa pides \u2192\u00a0vos ped\u00eds\u00a0<\/em>(you ask for, order)<\/p>\n

Generally, the vos<\/em> form is more regular than the t\u00fa<\/em> form of the second person verb conjugations, since you simply take the infinitive verb (pedir<\/em>), accent the last syllable, and replace the “r” with “s” at the end of the word (ped\u00eds<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Here’s a\u00a0voseo<\/em> Spanish conjugation chart<\/a> for more info.<\/p>\n

2. With Foreigners, Salvadorans Still Use T\u00fa<\/em><\/h3>\n

So, remember how I said not to use t\u00fa<\/em>?\u00a0Naturally, there’s an exception.<\/p>\n

Plenty of Salvadorans still use t\u00fa<\/em> with foreigners, who are more likely to use it when speaking Spanish.<\/p>\n

3. Salvadorans Use U<\/em>stedes<\/em> Instead of V<\/em>osotros<\/em><\/h3>\n

Vosotros\u00a0<\/em>is the Spanish equivalent of “y’all,” or “you” if you’re addressing more than one person. However, it’s not commonly used in Salvadoran Spanish (or Latin American Spanish at all). Salvadorans use the formal, third person plural pronoun ustedes<\/em>\u00a0in place of vosotros<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For example:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ustedes<\/strong> van a montar en bicicletas a la playa<\/em>. (You all are going to ride bicycles to the beach.)<\/p>\n

4. Watch Out for the Disappearing “S”<\/h3>\n

“S” is a mighty consonant that makes words plural in Spanish. However, Salvadoran speakers are likely to make it disappear at the ends of words in speech.<\/p>\n

In its place you might hear something like an “h” sound, or a “j” sound, which is a guttural “h” sound in Spanish. Sometimes the “s” may be ghosted and disappear completely. This is known as aspiration<\/strong>, which is a common feature of Salvadoran Spanish.<\/p>\n

For instance, in the following sentence, the “s” in parentheses would be replaced with a breathy sound.<\/p>\n

Salvadoran pronunciation: Llev\u00e1bamo(s) la(s) pupusa(s) al parque.<\/em> (We used to carry the pupusas to the park.)<\/p>\n

5. Some Salvadoran Phrases Make No Sense in Translation<\/h3>\n

The beauty of a local dialect means that you can’t learn it from a dictionary. Trying to understand things word-for-word will cause you endless frustration. Here are a few phrases that are sure to baffle Spanish learners new to Salvadoran Spanish:<\/p>\n

As\u00ed es la onda.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Direct translation: The wave is like this.
\nSalvadoran Spanish meaning: This is the situation.<\/p>\n

Est\u00e1 bien yuca.<\/em><\/p>\n

Direct translation: It’s good, yucca plant.
\nSalvadoran Spanish meaning: It’s a really difficult situation.<\/p>\n

Hay pericos en la milpa.<\/em><\/p>\n

Direct translation: There are parakeets in the cornfield.
\nSalvadoran Spanish meaning: Watch what you say because others might be eavesdropping.<\/p>\n

Machete estate en tu vaina.<\/em><\/p>\n

Direct translation: Machete, stay in your sheath.
\nSalvadoran Spanish meaning: Mind your own business, so you don’t get into trouble.<\/p>\n

These unique, idiomatic expressions are part of what makes Spanish learning so exciting. But they can also make the process pretty difficult. The best way to learn them is through immersion, which might seem impossible if you’re not currently living in a Spanish-speaking region.<\/p>\n

But thanks to the internet, immersion is actually pretty easy\u2006these days\u2014you just have to put in a bit more effort. Where you\u2019d usually read books, listen to music or watch videos in English, try swapping them out for Salvadoran Spanish content instead.<\/p>\n

YouTube would probably be the easiest place to find lots of Salvadoran Spanish videos. The FluentU<\/a> language program is also another option.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

<\/p> \r\n

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \"FluentU\r\n

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