Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

A Anyone who has ever lived or travelled in Latin America knows from experience that it is very difficult to find your way around. This can be especially frustrating if you don’t speak Spanish.

In Costa Rica it is even harder to “keep your bearings” since street signs are few and far between and most houses don’t have numbered addresses. Memorize the Spanish survival phrases below and you should be able to find your way around, located addresses and hopefully not get lost.

¿A qué distancia queda…? - How far is…?
¿Dónde está…? - Where is…?
Tome la primera calle… - Take the first street
a la derecha - to the right
a la izquierda - to the left
directo/derecho - straight ahead
diagonal - diagonal to
a la par de - next to
¿Hay un…por aquí? - is there a …around here?
Doble a la derecha - turn right
Doble a la izquierda - turn left
una cuadra - a block
cien metros - a block in Costa Rica
cien varas - also a block in Costa Rica
entrada - driveway
la esquina - corner
cerca de - near
lejos de - far
enfrente de - opposite
en el cruce - at the intersection
estoy perdido - I’m lost
¿Puede indicarme el camino? - Can you show me the how to get to…?
norte - north
sur - south
este - east
oeste - west

Tiquismo of the week:
Chulear means to “leach” or “sponge” off someone. A chuleador or chulo is a person who is a “leach.”

About a year ago I wrote an article about Spanish words that look like English words and appear to have the same meaning. Careful! Appearances can be deceiving. Below I have listed Spanish words most commonly misused by native English speakers.

Acostar - This word looks like it means “to accost.” It actually means to lie down or go to bed. La muchacha se acuesta (The girl is going to bed).

Afección - Does not mean affection. It usually refers to a medical condition. The Spanish word for affection is cariño.

Asistir - Doesn’t mean to assist but to attend (a party, school or event) in Spanish. La muchacha asiste a la universidad. (The girl attends the university).

Cargo - Is a job or position and not the English word “cargo.” Carga is the word used to denote a load or shipment.

Complexión - Is not your skin texture, but your physical shape or build. Cutis is the word most commonly used for complexion.

Copa - Referes to a glass for drinking alcohol. Taza is the correct word for cup.

Embarazado - This word does not mean “embarrassed” but pregnant. Me da pena or estoy apenado are the best ways to say you are embarrassed in Spanish.

Exito - Looks like “exit,” but means success. La salida is the “exit” in Spanish.

Tiquismo of the week:
Jetonear means to tell lies in Costa Rica. The correct Spanish verb is mentir or decir mentiras.