Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

This concludes my series of articles about using the caja. The vocabulary below will assist non- Spanish speakers (angloparlantes) with Costa Rica’s medical maze.

Ankle – el tobillo
Appendix – el apéndice
Arm – el brazo
Anus – el ano
Back – la espalda
Breast – el seno
Bone – hueso
Butt – el glúteo
Chest – el pecho
Ear – la oreja
Eye – el ojo
Face – la cara or el pichel or el tarro as they say here
Finger – el dedo
Foot – el pie
Gland – la glándula
Hand – la mano
Hair – el pelo or el cabello
Head – la cabeza or la jupa as they say in Costa Rican slang
Heart – el corazón
Hip – la cadera
Jaw – la mandíbula or la quijada
Joint – la coyuntura or la articulación
Kidney – el riñon ,,,Cálculos or piedras are kidney stones
Knee – la rodilla
Knuckle – el nudillo
Leg – la pierna
Lip – lel abio
Liver – el hígado
Lung – el pulmón
Mouth – la boca or la jeta in slang
Muscle – el músculo
Neck – el cuello
Nose – la nariz or la nañata as they say in slang
Penis – el pene
Rib – la costilla
Shoulder – el hombro
Skin – la piel
Stomach – el estómago
Teeth – los dientes…in slang los podridos
Thigh – el musclo
Throat – la garganta
Toe – el dedo del pie
Tongue – lengua
Vein – la vena
Waist – la cintura
Wrist – la muñeca Note: muñeca also means a child’s doll or a cute woman
Vagina – la vagina

* I probably left out a few

Health-related expressions:

• Come poco y cena temprano, si quiere llegar a anciano -Dine early if you want to avoid stomach problems, enjoy good health and have a long life.
• De penas y de cenas, están sepulaturas llenas – suffering and abusing food cause a lot of people to die
• Fajo larga, vida corta – a long belt (for a fat belly) leads to a short life.
• El viejo que se cura, cien años dura – If you take care of yourself when you are old, you may live 100 years
• En la casa donde no entra el sol, entra el doctor – It is important to open the windows of your home to let in fresh air so you won’t become ill. On the other hand, if your house is dark and not well-ventilated you may become ill.
• Paciencia, hermanos y moriremos ancianos – Be calm and you will live you be 100.
• Quien bien come y bien digiere, sólo de viejo se muere – Eat slow and chew well and you will die old.
• Quien quiere vivir sano, come poco y cena temprano – If you want to have a healthy lifestyle, eat little and eat dinner early.