No matter how much Spanish you learned in 10th grade, or how long you’ve lived in a South American city, when you pick up and travel to a new place, you will be confronted with new sayings and phrases particular to that country, region, city and culture.
Here’s some key paisa slang you’ll hear friends saying to one another in Medellin:
(Como estas) Bien o no?
How are you?
No veo la hora de llegar a mi casa
I can’t wait to get home.
Estoy salado
I’m unlucky (salty like a fish).
Ay primo hermano!
What’s up friend
Estar a un pelo
To be really close to something or to be a hair away from something.
e.g., Marce esta a un pelo de la boleta de libertad. Marce is so close to freedom.
Estar en sus cabalas
To be rational, use your wits.
e.g., El no esta en sus cabalas. He is not of right mind.
Sin mas ni que
Like it was nothing.
Ir a la fija
To be really sure, something that is fixed.
e.g., Will Camilo be late? Si, a la fija! Yeah, of course, he is always late!
Ni mas faltaba
No way! Don’t even think about it.
Estoy enguayabado
I am hungover, taken from the guayaba fruit.
No cabe en la ropa
When someone is full of himself or egotistical they say that he cannot fit into his clothes.
Brad Hinkleman, Founder of Casacol SAS, shares with us his foreign buyer's guide to Medellín…
Medellin’s nightlife is a jungle of musical genres that can be overwhelming for the old-fashioned,…
Doing coffee tasting tours around the city and preparing Colombian coffee on your own is…
Mercado del Rio is the first food market in Colombia and one of the must-visit…
You've just landed in Medellin, and all you see around the city are tours and…
Taking a quiet afternoon sipping some coffee in Medellin can enhance your visit, so it’s…
This website uses cookies.
View Comments
Haha. Great article Jessica. I have just been inundated with "bien o no" recently. The first few times I thought it was a question... like I could answer "no" and continue on with the conversation. But basically I discovered you just say "bien" or "todo bien" instead to not make things too difficult.
I also like "Tonc, parce" which is short for "Entonces, parcero", or basically "what's up dude".
i like that too.. however, usually only guys say it to one another. If women say it, they may be considered bitchy. :)
The young people I met used the phrase --que mas pues?--often> Exactly I'm not sure what it means.
It's like "So, what's up?!"
You just had one mistake. It's not "Estar en sus cabalas" but "Estar en sus cabalEs"
Cabalas means "something you do to get luck"
Great post!! it can be very usefull for "gringos" since it's not standard spanish but really common in Medellín.
In recent months "bien o no?" has been prominently replaced by "bien o que?"..
Other really common slang:
Vamos de farra - go out to party
Mijo/Mija - endearing term for a friend
We are a group of volunteers and starting a new
scheme in our community. Your website provided us with valuable info to work on. You have done a formidable job and our entire community will be thankful to you.