Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

F
Fachento (adjective) – A person who is badly dressed or looks ridiculous.
Feria – what vendors give for “free” to their clients. De feria means “on top of that.” De feria, él me insultó. On top of that, he insulted me.
fiado: to purchase on credit. Démelo fiado y mañana se lo pago. Give it to me on credit and tomorrow I’ll pay you.
fijate: listen to what I am going to say.
Filo – hunger. The correct Spanish word is hambre. Tengo mucha hambre I am hungry.
Fondillo – rear end or butt
Fregar to bother someone. A estos niños les encanta fregar a los mayores These children like to bother adults. Molestar is the correct way to express the same idea.
Fresa – (adjective) a rich kid
Frito – (adjective) to have no chance or to be “screwed.” The expression Estar frito sin mantequilla means to be fried without butter or really screwed.

G
Gacho – difficult
Galleta – a smart person.
Gallo, gallito – any kind of food wrapped in a tortilla.
Gallo pinto – a typical rice and beans based dish in Costa Rica.
Gato – a person with blue eyes
gato por liebre to jip or short-change someone. Vender gato por liebre is to jip someone
Goma – a hangover. Cruda (Mexico) and resaca (Spain) are also used.
Guachimán watchman. Guachi is also used. The correct Spanish words are guarda or velador.
los guachos eyes. The correct word is los ojos
Guacho – a wrist watch. The correct word is el reloj de pulsera.
Guamazoi a strong blow or hit.
Guata – water. The correct Spanish word is agua
Guatearse – to take a bath. The correct Spanish word is bañarse.
Guachar – slang for to watch. The correct verbs are vigilar or cuidar
Guaro: Costa Rica’s national alcoholic beverage which is made of sugar cane. However, this term can sometimes refer to any liquor Costa Rica)
Güeiso/weiso/hueiso – something that is bad
Güevo – money. Dinero or plata are the correct Spanish words for money
Guineo – a type of banana or a male homosexual (offensive).
Güila – a child

Columbus Day has a number of different names in the Spanish-speaking world. In Spain and Ecuador it is currently known as El Día de la Hispanidad (Day of Spanishness), in Mexico as the Día de la Raza (Day of the Race), in Chile as El Día del Descubrimiento de Dos Mundos (The Day of the Discovery of Two Worlds), and in Uruguay as El Día de las Americas (The Day of the Americas). In Venezuela, the day has been known as El Día de la Resistencia Indígena (The Day of Indigenous Resistance) since 2002.

The year 1492 is not just famous because of Christopher Columbus. In 1492 the reconquista (reconquest) was completed. After ruling for almost 700 years, the Moors were defeated and the entire Iberian Peninsula was brought under Christian rule.

Columbus Day Vocabulary

El almirante – Admiral
El ancla – anchor
Anclar – to anchor
Las Antillas – West Indies
Artracar – to place a ship alongside a pier. This verb also means to rob someone. An atraco is a robbery.
La Bitácora – ship’s log
La brújula – compass
El capitán – captain
Capitanear – To captain
Carabela – caravel or a small Spanish or Portuguese sailing vessel of the Middle Ages and later, with two or three masts. Columbus’ ships, La pinta, La Niña and the Santa María, are examples of a caravel.
El Caribe – Caribbean
El cartógrafo – cartographer or map maker
El catalejo – spyglass
Cristóbal Colón – Christopher Columbus
La corriente – current (wind or ocean)
La cubierta – deck
El descubridor – discoverer
El descubrimiento _ discovery
Descubrir – to discover
El encordaje – rigging
El estribor – starboard
Las especias – Spices
Estibador – deckhand
El grumete – cabin boy
Ir a tierra or pisar tierra – go ashore or set foot on land
La isla – island
Las Islas Canarias – Canary Islands
Latitud – latitude
Longitud – longitude
Levar ancla – to weigh anchor or set sail
El mar- sea
El mascarón de proa – figurehead on the front of a ship
El marino or marinero – sailor
Marinero (adjective) – seaworthy
El mástil -mast
La nave – ship
Navegar –to navigate
El nuevo mundo – New World
Océano Atlántico – Atlantic Ocean
La popa – stern of a boat
La proa – bow of a boat
El puente – the bridge of a ship
La tierra firme – mainland
La tormenta – storm
La tripulación – crew
La torre de vigía – crows nest
El timón – helm or rudder
La travesía or viaje por mar -voyage
La vela – sail
Los vientos alisios -trade winds
Zarpar -set sail

Tiquismos (Tico talk) of the week :

La chorpa means jail. El tarro (the can) and el tavo are also slang for jail. La cárcel is the correct word for jai.

D
¡déle!- Hurry up! Apúrese or Dese prisa are also used.
dar en el clavo – to hit the nail on the head
dar lata – to bother someone. Molestar and joder (vulgar) are also used. Lata usually means a tin can or a nuisance.
despichar/despicharse – To ruin, to screw up something
despiche – disaster, disarray or frigging mess. Mi casa es un despiche. My house is a real mess.
detrás del palo – Clueless
dicha – luck In Costa Rica you often hear the expression ¡Qué dicha! How lucky! or How good!
diez con hueco – deceit
dolor de huevos – a person or thing that is a pain in the butt (vulgar expression). Dolor de picha is also used but is very vulgar.

E
echar el cuento – to flirt with someone or try to make advances on them. Echar el caballo, echar el ruco or echar los perros are also used here to mean the same thing.
echar(le) un ojo – to watch something for some one. Echale un ojo a mi bicicleta. Watch my bike. The ticos say in jest that if you echar el ojo (literally to throw your eyeball at something) you will quedar tuerto (become a one-eyed person).
enjachar – to stare at someone. Jacha or tarro can mean “a person’s face” in Costa Rica. Cara or rostro are the correct words for face.
Espeso – difficult Las cosas están espesas entre Tomás y María. Things are not good between Tom and Mary.
Estampa – something that is an exact replica. For example, if someone says that your son is your “estampa” it means he is a carbon copy of your.
estañón sin fondo – a bottomless pit. Used when someone eats like a pig. Barril sin fondo is also used for “bottomless pit” as is Más grande por dentro que por fuera (bigger on the inside than the outside).
estirar la pata – to die. Palmarse, patear el balde (literally to kick the bucket) and colgar los tenis are also used. The correct Spanish verbs to use are morir or fallecer.
estripar – means to squeeze. Apretar or presionar are the correct words.
estuche – any football stadium in Costa Rica. An estuche is actually any type of case like one for your glasses or a musical instrument.

With all of the rain and the havoc it has caused I think now is a good time for the vocabulary below.

Alud – a landslide
Aislado or incomunicado – isolated or cut off
Avalancha – an avalanche
Baldazo – a rain storm or a lot of rain
Barrial – a lot of mud or mud hole
Barro - mud
Cabeza de agua - a type of flash flood where the stream of water drags everything with it like trees, rocks, boulders and other types of debris.
Cañada – a ravine
Cauce – river bed or channel
Damnificados – homeless victims of a natural disaster
Derrumbe – a landslide
Desastre natural – natural disaster
Desbordarse – to overflow. This means the same as salirse del cauce
Deslave – a wash out
Deslizamiento – landslide
Desprenderse – to break loose like rocks or debris
Inundación repentina – flash flood
La corriente – current or stream
Lodo- mud
Ponerse a salvo – move to safe groud and out of the path of the water
Refugio or albergue – shelter for victims of a natural disaster
Represa or presa - dam
Salirse del cauce – to overflow
Se fue el puente – the bridge went (was destroyed)
Se lleva todo lo que se encuentra a su paso – to destroy of take out everything it finds in its path like rushing water
Socavar, minar or falsear –to undermine
Inundación – a flood
Inundar – to flood

*Pasados por agua – soaked. Empapado is also used to express the same idea.