Understanding Argentine

The language of Buenos Aires was influenced by both the diverse immigrant groups that streamed into the area and some indigenous groups, resulting in a rich and expressive language that is distinctly Argentine. Much of the influence has manifested itself in the Porteño slang. Porteño slang is typically used by young and old alike and thoroughly confounds foreigners, even other Spanish speakers. The largest influence was, by far, that of the Italians- so much so that most Porteños speak Spanish with a thick Italian accent and much of the slang is ver batim Italian words adopted into the local Spanish. Some of these words are considered fairly crude and are definitely not words that you would learn while attending a formal school such as a Spanish course New York or, really, anywhere else in the world, except in Buenos Aires.

birra One of the words transplanted from Italian, asking for one of these in a bar will get you a beer.

boludo/a A quintessential Porteño word and one you'll hear thrown around by kids on the street, it means a stupid, clumsy or annoying person, or a jerk. It's also used to playfully address friends.

canchero/a This typically used to refer to something that is cool or hip. Also meaning easy-going or friendly.

che The other half of the epitomic Argentine phrase "¡Che Boludo!", Che is simply an interjection such as "Hey!". This was immortalized for people around the world due to Ernesto "Che" Guevara (an Argentine) being nicknamed this for his frequent use of the word.

faso A cigarette, plain and simple. Normally called "cigarillos".

morfar This is an alternate version of "to eat" (in comparison to the standard "comer").

pedo This word, though slightly crude, simply means fart. It becomes slang when it is used to express drunkenness. If a Porteño is "en pedo" it means he or she is drunk. Similarly, the phrase "ni en pedo", literally "not even drunk" means a resounding "no way".

pibe/a An informal way of saying "kid", or a youngster.

trucho/a Fake, made up, false, an inferior quality. It an even be applied to people, meaning a scammer or a quack.

This is by no means an exhaustive list and, in fact, even these words often have additional meanings depending on context and how much the speaker plays around with them. If you come across any of these words while reading or watching an Argentine movie, hopefully now you'll have a better grasp of them. And while it seems like you might be more likely to learn some of these words while taking an Italian course New York City actually has a very similar history and as a result you'll encounter many similar phrases and gestures in both of the two cities. These connections are what makes this beautiful city with it's distinctive Spanish feel not quite as strange as it could.

Back from Italian course New York.