Slang
Slang (region varies)
Short answerIn Spain, say Qué fuerte/en serio. — No way / that's intense.
Slang changes by country. If something feels risky, ask: ¿Se dice así aquí?
Do people say it like that here?
Everyday casual
- Qué fuerte/en serio.No way / that's intense.
- Ni de broma.No way / not even as a joke.
- Estoy a tope.I'm all in / I'm at full energy (Spain).
- Me da igual.I don't care.
- Qué pena.What a shame.
- Mola.It's cool.
- o seaI mean / like — constant, and fills the same slot as en plan.
- es que…The thing is… — the universal excuse-opener, and arguably the most Spanish construction there is.
Friendly reactions
- ¡Qué crack!You're a legend (Spain).
- ¡Qué grande!You're amazing!
- Me flipa.I'm obsessed / I love it (Spain).
- ¡Toma ya!Boom! / there you go! — celebration.
- buen rollo / mal rolloGood vibes / bad vibes. Foundational — "me da mal rollo" is a bad feeling about something.
- ¡Anda ya!Get out of here! — disbelief.
- ¡No veas!You wouldn't believe it — an intensifier for a story.
- Me parto.I'm cracking up.
"Soft" intensifiers
- Un montón.A lot.
- En plan…Like… (filler).
- mogollónLoads. Madrid-leaning, understood everywhere.
- de fliparUnbelievable — "es de flipar".
- petado/aPacked, rammed — "el bar está petado".
- a sacoFull on / all out.
- ni de coñayoungNo chance — a notch more casual than ni de broma.
- telaSeriously / a fortune — "cuesta tela" is it costs a bomb.
The glue — what holds a Spanish sentence together
- a ver…Let's see / right then — opens a sentence while you think.
- pues nadaAnyway / well, that's that. Closes a conversation.
- venga, vaOh go on then — agreeing reluctantly, or nudging someone along.
- qué vaNo way / not at all. Much gentler than ni de broma.
- vale, valeYeah yeah, okay okay — doubling it adds a note of impatience.
- total, que…Anyway, so… — picking a story back up.
- hombre…Come on / well now. A sentence-opener, whoever you're talking to.
- me da paloI can't face it / it's awkward for me. Untranslatable and extremely common.
Castizo Madrid
- mazoMadridLoads / really — the defining Madrid intensifier. "Mazo bueno."
- la keliMadridyoungThe house / my place.
- la chupaMadridThe jacket — any jacket.
- tronco / troncaMadridDude / mate. Retro, and still very much heard.
- dabutenMadridBrilliant. Deliberately old-fashioned, and it always gets a laugh.
- estar al loroMadridTo be on the ball / paying attention.
- pirarseMadridTo bail — "me piro" is I'm off.
- un gatoMadridA born-and-bred Madrileño, three generations deep.
Catalan — the courtesy starter pack
- Bon diaCatalàGood morning. The single highest-return word in Barcelona.
- Bona tarda / Bona nitCatalàGood afternoon / good evening.
- Si us plauCatalàPlease.
- Gràcies / De resCatalàThank you / you're welcome.
- AdéuCatalàGoodbye.
- Som-hi!CatalàLet's go!
- Vinga!CatalàCome on! — the Catalan cousin of venga.
- Déu n'hi do!CatalàWow, that's something! Untranslatable, and unmistakably Catalan.
Barcelona — what things are called here
- un tallatBarcelonaA cortado — what the menu will actually say.
- un bikiniBarcelonaA ham-and-cheese toastie. On every menu, and visitors never order it.
- plegarCatalàTo knock off work — "a quina hora plegues?"
- somiatruitesCatalàA dreamer with their head in the clouds — literally an "omelette-dreamer".
- fer el préssecCatalàTo make a fool of yourself — literally "to do the peach".
- pixapinsCatalàCity folk playing at countryside. Affectionately mocking.
- Quina passada!CatalàHow amazing!
- Hi ha roba estesaCatalàCareful — not in front of them. Literally "there's laundry hanging out".