Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

Agarrar a burrazos – to kick someone. We also say agarrar a patadas
Bochinche or zafarrancho – a big fight
Brujos – the residents of Escazú. They are more commonly called Escazuceños
Ceci – short for Cecilia (a woman’s name)
Chainear – to clean something
La Chota – joking or ridicule. The verb chotear means to make fun of someone.
Como un ajito – something that is very clean or white
Echarse a alguien – to murder somebody. Matar is a more common expression.
Echarse flores – to praise oneself
Filazos – to be slashed with a knife
La fuerza roja – Costa Rica’s fleet of red taxis
Meneón – a big shake like an earthquake
Pezeteños – the residents of San Isidro de General/Pérez Zeledón
Ponerle – to make a big effort
Porteador – an informal taxi driver
Visita de águila – to have eyesight like an eagle

Tiquismo of the week (Costa Rican expression)
Bloguear – to blog someone. A bloguero is a blogger and a bitácora is a type of blog
Vejestorio – We use this word to describe an old person or object

Aprobar algo or signo de aprobación con el pulgar para arriba – thumbs up
Chinche or tachuela – thumbtack
Dedo gordo or pulgar – thumb
Desaprobar algo or signo de desaprobación con el pulgar para abajo– thumbs down
Estar bajo el poder de uno or tener poder sobre uno – to be under one’s thumb
Hojear un libro – to thumb through a book
Libro manoseado – a well thumbed book
Mirar las uñas – to twiddle one’s thumbs
Pedir un ride – to thumb a ride or hitchhike
Ser torpe – to be all thumbs
Uñero – thumb index like a dictionary has

Tiquismo (Costa Rican expression) of the week:
Me contó un pájaro – by word of mouth. Por otras bocas is also used.
Está legal – That’s cool

I am a semi-retired Spanish language instructor. My specialty was teaching Spanish as second language to native English speakers of all ages. If you live or retire in Costa Rica you should have at least survival level Spanish. What do I mean by survival level Spanish? Specifically the ability to handle most situations you will be confronted with every day. Learning a new language can be daunting and quite a challenge for adults, but it does not have to be if they put themselves in the right learning environment.

Many retirees who move to Costa Rica want to learn the language but do not know where to start. During my lectures at the Association of Residents of Costa Rica’s (ARCR) monthly seminar I talk about different methods of learning the language. One of the best ways is to enroll in a language school here. The problem is choosing the correct one. Most of the language institutes try to get their students to study as many hours as possible because they charge according to the number of classes a student takes per week — the more classes, the more the school makes. Some of these total immersion programs are just too much for adults who become overwhelmed and quickly get discouraged by the workload. I encourage students to take fewer weekly lessons so they can devote more time to mastering what they have studied and not end up dropping out.

I am really impressed by the program that Epifanía Language has designed for English speaking residents of Costa Rica. I have had the opportunity to observe their classes on several occasions and really like their approach to teaching Spanish as a second language. In fact, on my monthly relocation tours we pay a visit to the school and my clients receive a sample lesson. All of my guests love this education activity. At the end of the half-hour class all of the participants receive a diploma with their name on it for their participation.

I recommend Epifanía’s residents language program for anyone who really wants to learn the local lingo. They have one school in Escazú which serves expats and retirees who live west of San José and another institute east of the city for those who live in that area. Here is their contact information:

506.2524.1726
Email: info@epifaniaschool.com

http://www.epifaniaschool.com

Arma Blanca – a knife
Blanca Nieves – Snow White
Blanco de la uña – half moon of the finger nail
Blanco del ojo – white of the eye
Calentar al blanco – to make white hot
Cheque en blanco – blank check
Dar en el blanco – to hit the mark or target
De punta en blanco – to be all dressed up
Dejar en blanco – to leave blank
Firmar en blanco – to sign a blank check
Más blanco que la nieve – to be as white as snow
Páginas en blanco – blank pages
Poner los ojos en blanco – to roll one’s eyes
Quedarse en blanco – to miss the point
Ser el blanco de las burlas – to be the butt or target of of jokes

Tiquismo of the week – Quedarse como un ajo – to be very white or clean

A cada paso – at every turn
A ese paso – at that rate
A paso de tortuga – at a snail’s pace or slowly
A pasos agigantados – by leaps and bounds
Abrir paso – to open a path through a crowd
Acelerar el paso – to speed up
Aflojar el paso – to slow down
Andar en malos pasos – to be mixed up in shady affairs
Ceder paso – to yeild the right of way (road sign)
Cerrar el paso – to block the way or cut someone off
Dar un paso – to take a step both literally and figuratively
Dar un paso en falso – to take a false step
El paso de tiempo – the passing of time
Estar de paso – to be just passing through
Llevar el paso – to keep in step or keep time
Marcar el paso – to set the pace
Paso de peatones – a crosswalk
Paso del baile – dance step
¡Pisa con cuidado! – Watch your step!
Prohibido el paso – No trespassing
Salir al paso – to defend someone
Salir de paso – to get out of trouble or an obligation
Seguir los pasos – to follow in one’s footsteps (literally and figuratively)
Volver sobre los pasos – to retrase one’s foot steps

Tiquismo of the week:
Pisar – means to step on. Pisar can also mean to fornicate (vulgar)