50 Porteño Spanish Phrases Every British Expat Needs to Know

I spent three months in a Spanish class in London before moving to Buenos Aires. On my first day in Palermo, I understood approximately 30% of what people said to me. Not because my Spanish was bad. Because Buenos Aires Spanish is its own language.

The voseo (vos instead of tú), the Italian-influenced lunfardo slang, the speed, the accent (ll and y pronounced as "sh"), the constant interruptions, the hand gestures. Your European Spanish teacher prepared you for Madrid. Buenos Aires is not Madrid.

Here are the 50 phrases that actually matter in daily life.

The essentials (use daily)

1. Dale — "Sure" / "Let's do it" / "OK." The most useful word in Argentine Spanish. Replaces sí in most casual contexts.
2. Buenísimo — "Great" / "Excellent." More enthusiasm than "bueno."
3. Genial — "Brilliant." Even more enthusiasm.
4. Bárbaro — "Fantastic." The pinnacle of porteño approval.
5. Tranqui — "Relax" / "No worries." Short for tranquilo.
6. Re — Intensifier. "Re lindo" = very pretty. "Re caro" = really expensive. Used constantly.
7. Che — Attention-getter, like "mate" or "hey." "Che, vení" = "Hey, come here."
8. Boludo/a — Friend (among friends) or idiot (among strangers). Tone is everything. "Hola boludo, cómo andás?" = "Hey mate, how are you?"
9. Tipo — "Like" / "sort of." Used as a filler word. "Era tipo una fiesta" = "It was like a party."
10. Onda — "Vibe." "Qué buena onda" = "What a good vibe." "Mala onda" = bad energy.

At the café and restaurant

1. Un cortado — espresso with a splash of milk. The default British expat coffee order.
2. Dos medialunas — two croissants (sweet, Argentine-style).
3. La cuenta, por favor — "The bill, please." You will never be brought the bill without asking.
4. Está riquísimo — "It's delicious." Makes any chef happy.
5. Me falta el IVA — "I need the VAT receipt." For business expenses.

At the shops

1. ¿Tenés...? — "Do you have...?" (Vos form, not tú)
2. ¿Cuánto sale? — "How much is it?" ("Sale" is more porteño than "cuesta")
3. Es un afano — "That's a rip-off." (Literally: a robbery.)
4. Llevame dos — "I'll take two."
5. ¿Aceptan tarjeta? — "Do you accept card?"

Getting around

1. ¿Me llevás a...? — "Can you take me to...?" (to a taxi driver)
2. Acá, por favor — "Here, please" (to stop a taxi)
3. ¿Por dónde queda? — "Where is it?" / "Which way?"
4. Estoy perdido/a — "I'm lost."
5. La próxima, bajo — "I'm getting off at the next stop." (on a colectivo)

Social situations

1. ¿Cómo andás? — "How are you?" (The vos form of ¿cómo estás?)
2. Todo bien — "All good." The standard response.
3. Nos vemos — "See you." Standard goodbye.
4. Un beso — "A kiss." How porteños sign off messages and conversations.
5. Aguante — "Long live" / "up with..." "¡Aguante Boca!" = "Go Boca Juniors!"

Lunfardo (street slang)

1. Quilombo — "Mess" / "chaos." "Esto es un quilombo" = "This is a disaster."
2. Laburar — "To work." From Italian lavorare. More common than "trabajar" in daily speech.
3. Guita — "Money." More casual than "plata."
4. Mango — "A peso" / "money." "No tengo un mango" = "I'm broke."
5. Morfar — "To eat." Lunfardo. "¿Vamos a morfar?" = "Shall we eat?"
6. Pibe/piba — "Kid" / "guy/girl." "Ese pibe" = "that guy."
7. Afanar — "To steal" or "to rip off."
8. Fiaca — "Laziness" / "can't be bothered." "Tengo fiaca" = "I can't be bothered."
9. Chamuyo — "Smooth talk" / "BS." "Es puro chamuyo" = "It's all talk."
10. Bondi — "Bus." "Tomé el bondi" = "I took the bus."

Expressing feelings

1. Me copa — "I love it" / "I'm into it."
2. Me embola — "It bores me" / "I can't stand it."
3. Estoy al pedo — "I'm doing nothing." Vulgar but extremely common.
4. Me re cabe — "I really like it." Youth slang.
5. Flashear — "To hallucinate" / "to be delusional." "¡Estás flasheando!" = "You're dreaming!"

At the bureaucracy

1. Turno — "Appointment." "Tengo turno a las 10" = "I have an appointment at 10."
2. Trámite — "Paperwork process." The word you will hear most at Migraciones.
3. Precaria — "Temporary residency document." Not precarious. Important distinction.
4. ¿Dónde hago la fila? — "Where do I queue?"
5. Todavía no salió — "It hasn't come through yet." The standard response to any follow-up on any government process.

The pronunciation cheat sheet

• LL and Y = "sh" sound. "Yo me llamo" sounds like "sho me shamo."
• S at end of words = often dropped. "Vamos" sounds like "vamo."
• Emphasis = expressive, musical. Porteños sound like they are performing even when ordering coffee.

Worth reading next

• Learning Spanish in Buenos Aires
• Making Friends in Buenos Aires
• Bureaucracy Survival Guide