Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

Amor, Love, Amor

Acaramelados – lovey dovey
Al Gato viejo, ratón tierno – old geezers like sweet young things
Amor – love
Amor a primera vista – love at first sight
Amor juvenil – puppy love
Amorío – a love affair
Anular – to annul
Adventura amorosa – a love affair
Adventura extramarital – an extramarital affair
Asaltacunas –cradle robber
Comprometerse – to become engaged
Cupidito - Cupid
Dar vuelta – to cheat on one’s mat (Costa Rica)
Deshojando la margarita - “Does she love me, she loves me not , etc. ?
Dejar plantado – to stand someone up
Descorazonado – heartbroken
Desenamorarse – to fall out of love
Enamorarse – to fall in love
Echar el caballo – to make a pass at or to hit on (Costa Rica)
Echar el cuento -  to make a pass at or to hit on (Costa Rica)
Echar los perros – make a pass at or to hit on (Costa Rica)
Echar el ruco – make a pass at or to hit on (Costa Rica)
Echarse la soga al cuello – to get married
Enculado – head over heels in love (Costa Rica/vulgar)
Encularse – to fall in love (vulgar)
Estar loco or loca por alguien - to be crazy about someone
Gallina vieja hace buen caldo – an old hen makes a good broth
Hacer el amor –to make love
Juntados – to live together
Matricidio – marriage (matricide)
Media naranja – one’s other half
Morirse por alguien – to be dying for someone
No hay amor sin dolor – no love without pain
No hay rosa sin espina – same as the last one
No hay amor sin interés – same as the last one
Perdidamente enamorado – lost in love
Pepeado - head over heels in love (Costa Rica)
Picaflor – playboy
Ponerle los cuernos – to cheat on a man
Romper el corazón – to break someone’s heart
Sonarle las campanas de la iglesia a alguien – someone is going to get married
Templado - horney
Tener algo con alguien – to a have a relationship with someone
Tener celos – to be jealous
Tórtolos – love birds
Traicionar – to betray
Volar rabo – to make love in Costa Rica (vulgar)

Humorous expressions about love:

Amor con amor se paga – have to reciprocite in love
Antes que te cases mira que haces – look before you leap (marriage)
Dejar como novia del pueblo – to stand someone up
Casarse por detrás de la iglesia – to elope
Como en el amor y en la guerra, todo se vale – all is fair in love and war
Cuando de los cincuenta pases, no te cases – don’t get married after 50
El amor es ciego  pero el matrimonio abre los ojos – love is blind but marriage opens the eyes
El que casa por todo pasa – he who marries goes through a lot
Ir a la guerra ni casar no se ha de aconsejar – don’t get married or go to war
Ni con ellas sin ellas – can’t live with them or without them

Agarrar con las manos en la masa – to catch red handed or with your hands in the cookie jar
Amigo de lo ajeno – a thief
Antisocial – a criminal
Arrebatamiento de bolso – a purse snatching
Asaltacasas – home invader
Asalto en casas – home invasion robbery
Asesino en serie – a serial killer
Bajo mundo – underworld
Bajonazo – a carjacking
Bolsear to pick someone’s pocket
Cadenazo – theft of a gold or chain snatching
Carterista – a pick pocket
Chatajear – to blackmail
Dehuesadero – a chop shop for stolen car parts
Dejar limpio – to take or rob everything
Esponjazo – the robbing of a bus driver’s sponge coin holder
Esposas – handcuffs but more commonly used for WIFE
Gatillero – trigger man or assassin
El hampa – the underworld
Estafador  - a swindler
Fechorías – bad acts
Hurtar – to rob or steal
Ladrón de corazón – lady killer
Ladronería – stealing
Ladronzuelo – acommon thief
Llevar preso or levantar – to arrest
Limpiar una casa – to clean out a home during a robbery
Lo que se hereda no se hurta – what you inherit isn’t stolen
Malhechor – a bad guy
Matar a golpes  - to beat to death
Matar a puñaladas – to stab to death
Matar a tios – to shoot to death
Meterse a robar – to burglarize
Paliza or golpiza – a beating
Perrera- paddy wagon
Pillo – a thief
Pinta – a thief
Ratero – a thief
Rehén – hostage
Robacorazones – a heart throb (man)
Robamiradas – to rob looks or attention (an attractive woman)
Robadera – robbing
Robamaridos – a husband stealer
Robaesposas – a wife stealer
Robaganado, ladrón de ganado or cuatrero – a rustler
Robar – to rob
Robar en casas – to burglarize
Robar el santo y la limosna – to rob everything
Robo en casa – burglary
Robar hasta la manera de caminar – used in Costa Rica to mean everything is fair game for the bad guys
Robar todo lo que no esté clavado – rob everything that isn’t nailed down
Secuestrador – kidnapper
Secuestrar – to kidnap
Secuestro – a kidnapping
Secuestro express – a short kidnapping now in style in Latin America
Soltar o dejar en libertad – to let out of jail
Sopa de muñeca – a beating in Costa Rica
Tarro –can (jail) in Costa Rica
Timador – thief, swindler
Topador – a person who sells stolen merchandise or fence
Violador – a rapist
Sicarios or asesinos a suledo – paid trigger men

Tiquismos (Costa Rican expressions)

• Piensa el ladrón que todos son de su condición – tendency to suspect of others we we do ourselves
• Cada ladrón juzga por su condición – Sam as the last one
• Ladrón que roba al ladrón 100 años de perdón – a thief who robs another thief gets forgiven for 100 years (Spanish proverb)

This is for those of you who have have to watch the NFL in Spanish on Fox or other stations. Learning the vocabulary below will help you understand what the announcers are talking about.

abucheos – boos (noise)
acarrear – to carry a ball
acarreo – a carry
aguador - waterboy
ala abierta – split end
ala cerrada – tight end
alineación titular – starting line up
anotar – to score
apoyador – linebacker
árbitro – ref
arranque en falso – off sides
atrapada –a catch
atrapar – to catch
balón suelto – fumble (noun)
banca – bench
buena posición de campo – good field position
caderera – hip pad
campo  de juego – playing field
captura - sack
capturar – to sack
carga – rush
casco - helmut
castigo – penalty
cuartos – quarters (periods of time)
centro – center (lineman)
¿Con quién vas? – Who are you rooting for?
corredor - runner
defensivo – a defensive player
defensiva – defense
doble marcaje – to have two men guarding one man
doblar la esquina – turn the corner on the outside
empate – tie game
echar porra al equipo - to cheer or root for a team
entrenador – coach
engaño – a trick play
equipo favorito - favorite team
escopeta – shotgun formation
estadio – stadium
finta – a fake
fuerza excesiva – unnecessary roughness
ganar – to win
guardia – guard (lineman)
gol de campo – field goal
hombre en movimiento – a man in motion
hombrera – shoulder pad
hueco – a hole in the scrimmage line
intercepción – interception
interceptar – to intercept
jugada – a play
jugada de anotacíon – scoring play
jugada de pizzarón or de película – a picture perfect play
jugador - player
interferencia – interference
lesión- an injury
línea de golpeo – scrimmage line
lineros – linemen
marcador – score or scoreboard
marcador final- final score
marcar – to guard a player
mariscal de campo – quarterback
mascarazo – illegal grabbing of the facemask
mascarilla - facemask
medio tiempo- half time
muete súbita – sudden death
narrador or locutor - announcer
ofensiva – offense
oviode – football (the ball)
pañuelo – flag (penalty)
pasador - passer
pasar – to pass
pase – pass
pase completo – completed pass
pase incompleto – incomplete pass
patada corta – short kick or onsides quick
patada de salida – kickoff
patear – to kick
perder el balón – to fumble (verb)
pédida – a loss
primera, segunda, tercera oportunidad – fist down, second down and third down
por aire – through the air
por tierra - on the ground
postes – goal posts
postemporada - postseason
pretemporada – preseason
primer tiempo – first half
primera y diez – first and ten
profundo – safety (player)
protector bucal – mouth piece
protesta – challenge
punto extra – extra point
receptor – receiver
repeteción de jugada – replay
reserva or suplente – back up player
retorno – kick return
rodillera – knee pad
sujetando – holding
Super Tazón – Super Bowl
tabla de posciones – standings (record)
tacleada – a tackle
taclear – to tackle
temporada regular – regular season
jugador titular – a player in the starting line up
tiempo extra - overtime
¡tiempo fuera! – Time out!
uso ilegal de las manos – illegal use of the hands
utilero – equipment man
victoria - victory
zona de anotación – end zone

La ópera no ha terminado hasta que cante la gorda – The opera isn’t over until the fat lady sings

Agua pluvial or agua de lluvia – Rain water
Aguacero – a heavy rain storm
Arcoiris – rainbow
Baldazo – a lot of rain or bucketful of rain
Escampar – to clear up
Garua – a drizzle in Costa Rica
Garuar – verb to drizzle in Costa Rica
Cabeza de agua –  type of flash flood
Capa or impermeable – raincoat
Deslave – a wash out of a road
Estación lluviosa – rainy season
Inundación – a flood
Las desgracias no vienen solas – when it rains it pours
Llover a baldazos- to rain by the bucketful
Llover a cántaros – to pour or rain by the busketful
Llover a chorros – to rain copiously
Llover a cubetazos – also to rain by the bucketful
Llover perros y gatos – rain cats and dogs
Llover sobre mojado – to have one bad thing happen after another or when it rains it pours
Lloverle a uno – something bad or good is going to happen to you in abundance
Llovizna - drizzle
Lloviznar - to drizzle
Llueva o truene – come rain or shine
Lluvia de balas – a shower of bullets
Lluvia de piedras or flechas – raining stones or arrows
Lluvioso - rainy
Lluvia torrencial – torrential rain
No Llueve pero gotea - things are going to be OK but not as good as thy could be
onda tropical – a storm
Pelillo de gato – a mist in Costa Rica
Temporal – bad weather for a couple of days
Tromba – waterspout

Tiquismo of the week:
Después de la tormenta viene la calma – after the storm comes the calm
Después de la tormenta viene la cama – a vulgar version that means after a fight with your lover you reconcile in bed
Llover sapos y culebras – to rain toads and snakes

acurrucarse – to cuddle
alimentar las pulgas – to sleep
caminar dormido – to sleepwalk
cabecear – to be nod off
conciliar el sueño – to get to sleep
consultar con la almohada – to sleep on it (decision)
dejar dormir los perros del pasado – let sleeping dogs lie
desvelar – to keep awake
dormilón – a sleepyhead
dormir a cuerpo de rey – to sleep like a king
dormir a pierna suelta – to sleep well
dormir al niño – to put a child to sleep
dormir al volante to fall asleep at the wheel
dormir boca abajo – to sleep face down
dormir boca arriba – to sleep face up
dormir como un lirón – to sleep like a dormouse (well)
dormir como una piedra – to sleep like a stone (well)
dormir como un santo – to sleep like a saint (well)
dormir como un tronco – to sleep like a log (well)
domir de costado – to sleep on ones side
dormir la mona – sleep off a drunk
dormir la siesta – to take a nap
dormir ligeramente – sleep lightly
dormir profundamente – to sleep deeply
echarse una siestecita – to take a nap
enroscarse – to go to bed in Costa Rica (curl up in bed)
espantar el sueño –  to fight off sleep or struggle to stay awake
durmientes – rail road ties
echar una pestaña – to catch a wink
insomne – insomniac
insomnio – insomnia
no me quita el sueño – I don’t lose sleep over it (not worry)
pegar el ojo – to sleep
planchar la oreja – to sleep
pegarse una ruleada – also to sleep in Costa Rica
pasar la noche en vela – to not be able to sleep at night
pegarsele las cobijas – to oversleep
pesadilla – a nightmare
planchar la oreja – to sleep
poner a dormir un animal – to put an animal to sleep permanently
ruliar or rulear – to sleep in Costa Rica
somníferos or pastillas para dormir– sleeping pills
sonámbulo – a sleepwalker
soñar con alguien – to dream about someone
soñar despierto – to daydream
soñoliento -sleepy
sueño malo – bad dream
sueño mojado or húmedo – a wet dream
tener sueño – to be sleepy
trasnochar – to stay up all night
trasnochador – a night owl
vivir en un mundo de sueños – to live in a dream world

Tiquismo of the week: clavar el pico – to fall asleep in Costa Rican slang