Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

You may find it hard to believe that there is almost as much difference between the Spanish you learn in school and the Spanish spoken in everyday life, as there is between Spanish and English.

Many students spend years studying Spanish in a formal setting only to find they cannot understand native Spanish speakers. Spanish like English has become very idiomatic.  That is to say daily speech contains many expressions not taught in traditional Spanish courses.

The only way to learn this vocabulary is to practice with native speakers as often as possible and/or to memorize the expressions like the ones listed below.

Ahogarse en un vaso de agua - means to get all worked up over nothing or to make a mountain out of a molehill
Estar en un apuro - means to be in a jam or in trouble
Gastar saliva - means to waste one’s breath figuratively speaking
Poner a uno al día - to bring someone up-to-date
Tomarle el pelo a uno - to pull someone’s leg or tease
Ser pan comido - to be easy or a “piece of cake. Es un queque is also used here.
Partir la espalda - to break one’s back by working hard. Deslomarse is also used
Faltarle a uno un tornillo - to be missing a screw or crazy

Tiquismo of the week: Cortar el rabo means to fire someone from a job.

If your goal is to speak Spanish fluently, sooner or later you will have to know the names of all of the parts of a house.

The survival vocabulary below is especially useful if you are currently living or plan to reside in a Spanish speaking country. Undoubtedly, you will have to use some of these phrases in order to communicate with Spanish speaking plumbers, carpenters and other repairmen.

Remember to build your vocabulary. The more words you know the more you will understand and the better you will be able to express yourself.

bañera, tina - bathtub
cielo raso- ceiling
techo - roof
chimenea - chimney
pasillo - hall
puerta - door
timbre - doorbell
grifo, llave - faucet
piso - floor (level, the first floor, second floor etc.)
planta baja - ground floor
garaje, cochera - garage
portal, terraza cubierta - porch
ducha - shower
fregadero - kitchen sink
lavamanos, lavabo - bathroom sink
inodoro, escusado - toilet
escalera - stairs
pared - wall (inside)
muro, tapia - wall (outside)
ventana - window
cuarto de baño - bathroom
dormitorio - bedroom
sala - living room
comedor - dining room
armario, ropero, closet - closet
patio - back yard
cocina – kitchen
Desayunador – breakfast counter

Dichos (sayings) that have to do with the word house.
“Mi casa es su casa” -  ”My house is your house”
“Entrar como perro por su casa” – Enter as if you own the place
“Hogar (home) ducle hogar” – home sweet home
“Candil en la calle, oscuridad en la casa” – a bright spark outside but a dull dog at home
“Echar la casa por la ventana” – to spend lavishly
“Mientras en mi casa estoy, rey me soy” - - a man’s house is his castle

• You are in shock and awe when someone shows up “on time”.
• You are in shock and awe when YOU show up on time.
• You haven’t looked at your wrist in years to see what time it is.
• You forgot that there used to be a watch there…You haven’t had a tan line where the watch used to be in years….You don’t own a watch.
• You can even travel in other countries without a watch.
• You whip out the debit card for amounts less than a thousand colones…
• You occasionally wear the pants that make your butt look big because you know you will get a little extra attention from the guys.
• You call everyone “mi amor” or “cielito“.
• You know that 3 oçlock means 4, four oclock means 5 etc….

• You point with your lips.
• You snap your index finger against your second (bird) finger when you think something’s funny or incredible.
• You miss the chaos when you leave the country.
• You miss the way black beans in restaurants used to be whole and had a different flavor.
• Diay and puta come out of your mouth like you were born to them.
• You watch a Spanish language movie and you understand the body language that gives another layer of nuance to the acting.
• You start to prevaricate so somebody else can save face.
• You answer bien por dicha even when the other person doesn’t ask you how you were, but you were expecting them to, so you say it automatically.
• The sound of a gringo accent in Spanish makes your ears bleed.
• You get pissed off when your friend slams the door to your car.
• You go to an English speaking country and when you want to ask for a glass of water the first thing out of your mouth to a waiter in a restaurant is “mae, regalame….” and you don’t get why he’s looking at you funny.