Ecuadorian slang is a unique blend of Spanish, Kichwa (the nation\u2019s indigenous language) and foreign loan words. And it’s as \u00a0diverse as the nation itself: You\u2019ve got the coast, the mountains and the jungle, all of which have their own unique variations on Spanish and Kichwa.<\/p>\n
The variations are striking, so much so that even after spending three months in Quito and chatting constantly with your new Quite\u00f1o buddies, the Spanish spoken on the coast or in the jungle can\u00a0totally throw you for a loop.<\/p>\n
[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n
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1. Canguil<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2014 Popcorn. The non-slang term is palomitas.<\/em><\/p>\n 2. Chichis<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>\u2014<\/span> Boobies<\/p>\n 3. Estar chiro<\/em>\/Estar chira <\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 To be broke<\/p>\n 4. Pelado<\/em><\/span>\/Pelada<\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2014 Boyfriend\/Girlfriend<\/p>\n 5. Peluc\u00f3n\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Wealthy person<\/p>\n 6. Foco\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Flashy, showy<\/p>\n 7. Cargoso<\/em><\/span>\/<\/span>Cargosa<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u2014 Someone who likes to joke around at others’ expense.<\/p>\n 8. Choro\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014\u00a0Thief, robber<\/p>\n 9. Chapa<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Police officer<\/p>\n 10<\/strong>. Polic\u00eda acostado<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u2014 Speed bump. Literally, it means “police officer lying down.”<\/p>\n 11. La yoni<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 The United States<\/p>\n 12. Chompa<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Sweater, jacket<\/p>\n 13. Acolitar<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2014\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>To help or support<\/p>\n 14. Zancudo<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 Mosquito<\/p>\n 15. Amiguero\/Amiguera\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014\u00a0<\/em>If you’re\u00a0amiguero,\u00a0<\/em>then you’re extra friendly and amiable.\u00a0<\/p>\n 16. T\u00edmbrame\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014\u00a0<\/em>After exchanging numbers, you might say\u00a0“\u00a1T\u00edmbrame!”\u00a0<\/em>or “Ring me!”<\/p>\n It doesn’t always mean “call me,” rather, your friend is suggesting that you just set off their ringtone so they see your phone number or know you’re ready to meet up.<\/p>\n 17. Pana\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Buddy. This one belongs more in Guayaquil, but it’s used around the country.<\/p>\n 18. El man<\/em>\/La man <\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Ugh, this one is confusing when learning Spanish, mostly because it’s hard to distinguish if the speaker’s talking about a girl or a guy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Man\u00a0<\/em>is pronounced “mahn,”\u00a0<\/em>with a Spanish accent. El man <\/em>means something like “the guy” and la man <\/em>is the female version, best translated as “the chick” or something similar.<\/p>\n You can use it to sound chill when referring to any friend, acquaintance or complete stranger.<\/p>\n 19. Amiguis\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 A cutesier way than amigos<\/em>\u00a0to say “friends,” best reserved for\u00a0girlfriends.<\/p>\n 20. Porfis<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u2014 A super cutesy version of por favor\u00a0<\/em>used\u00a0to say “please” in the most adorable way possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n 21. Mi llave\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Literally means, “my key,” and is just a nonsense phrase used to refer to friends humorously and make your sentence sound silly.<\/p>\n Want to sound enthusiastic? Here are all the phrases you’ll need!<\/p>\n 22. \u00a1De ley!\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014\u00a0<\/em>Absolutely!<\/p>\n 23. \u00a1De una!\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014\u00a0<\/em>Absolutely!<\/p>\n 24. \u00a1Pilas!<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Look sharp!<\/p>\n 25. Sim\u00f3n\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 <\/em>Yeah, man!<\/p>\n 26. Ver\u00e1s<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0\u2014<\/em> This is used in a variety of contexts to mean, “You’ll see,” “Watch out,” or “I told you so.”<\/p>\n When making plans to hang out, you can humorously warn your friend not to break the plans by saying “Quedamos para el jueves.\u00a0\u00a1Ver\u00e1s!”<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(We’re on for Thursday. Or else!).\u00a0<\/p>\n You could also use this to warn\u00a0someone to exercise caution or be wary of the outcome of their actions.<\/p>\n 27. Ya saaabe\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 A super chill way to say, “You already know, man!” or “You know it!” The longer you stretch out that aaaa,\u00a0<\/em>the chiller you are.<\/p>\n 28. \u00bfMande?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Come again? This one has a historical context rooted in the times of Spanish conquerors, as it was the proper way for a subject to address their ruler.<\/p>\n Mande <\/em>is the polite “you” form<\/a> of mandar\u00a0<\/em>(to command), so you’re basically politely asking, “What do you want\u00a0me to do?”<\/p>\n It’s considered to be polite, so you may use this as you please in Ecuador with whomever you’re addressing.<\/p>\n 29. \u00a1<\/span>Chuta!<\/span><\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2014 Shoot! If you’re feeling especially frustrated, try elongating the u<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>and saying chuuuuuta\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>or chuuuu<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n 30. –azo <\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Adding this to the end of a word expresses that the thing in question is\u00a0large <\/strong>or emphasizes an adjective<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Some examples of its usage are buenazo\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(awesome) instead of bueno,<\/em> or ricazo<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>(delicious) instead of rico.<\/em><\/p>\n 31. \u00a1<\/span>Qu\u00e9 huevada!<\/span><\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2014 What a load of crap!<\/p>\n 32. \u00bfLa plena?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Really? Seriously?<\/p>\n 33. Huev\u00f3n <\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u2014 <\/em>Jerk, a**hole. Commonly used between male buddies when joking around.<\/p>\n 34.<\/span> \u00a1Mentira!<\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2014 This is used frequently in conversational Ecuadorian Spanish to express disbelief or astonishment.<\/p>\n If you’re super incredulous about something your buddy just said, shout “\u00a1Mentira!”\u00a0<\/em>in a high-pitched tone of voice.<\/p>\n 35.<\/strong> Bac\u00e1n\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Cool<\/p>\n 36. Ch\u00e9vere\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Cool. This is more common than\u00a0bac\u00e1n\u00a0<\/em>in Ecuador.<\/p>\n 37.<\/span> \u00a1Qu\u00e9 asco!<\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2014 Gross! This can be used humorously when someone tells a vulgar joke or gritty story. You can also just say “\u00a1Asco!”<\/em><\/p>\n 38. \u00a1Carajo!\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u2014 Darn, damn<\/p>\n 39. Fresco\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Fresh, smooth. If someone asks you how your trip to the coast went, you can tell them how chill it was by saying, “Todo fresco.”<\/em><\/p>\n 40. Caramba\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014\u00a0<\/em>An exclamation used to express surprise, anger and excitement. It’s often said directly to a misbehaving child or dog and comes off sounding more like, “You rascal!”<\/p>\n 41. Cacho\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Time-out, pause. This is used when things need to be stopped temporarily. For example, kids say this when they want to take a time-out from a game like hide and seek.\u00a0<\/p>\n 42.<\/strong> \u00bf\u00a1\u00bf\u00a1Qui\u00e9n dice?!?! <\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u2014 Who says?!?! Say this mischievous phrase when someone tells you that you shouldn\u2019t do something, or that something you want to do is a bad idea. You can\u2019t swim right after eating? You can\u2019t go to that concert on the dangerous side of the city? Who says?!?! This became popular thanks to the Ecuadorian comedy group EnchufeTV\u2014you can\u00a0watch one video in the famous series here<\/a>.\u00a0You\u2019ll also hear a TON of Ecuadorian slang in this video.<\/p>\n 43. Cojudo\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Silly, stupid person<\/p>\n 44. Loquillo\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Crazy person<\/p>\n 45. Cholo\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014 Tacky, vulgar, in poor taste<\/p>\nWords with Friends<\/h2>\n
Ecuadorian Exclamations<\/h2>\n