Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

Antojar is a verb that has a variety of uses and is difficult for beginners to master. This should stat you on your way.

A su antojo – to do as one pleases
Example:
Quiero hacerlo a mi antojo – I want to do it my way

Antojar - to crave, to take a sudden fancy to; to Imagine
Example:
Se me antojó bastante dificil – I fancy it is it pretty difficult.
Se me antoja que va a llover – I’ve got imagine it is going to rain

Antojarsele a uno – to get into one’s head
Example:
Se me antojó ir a Costa Rica – I got it into my head to go to Costa Rica
No se le antoja ir – He doesn’t want to go

* The construction of the sentences in the examples above is much too difficult to explain to beginners.

Antojo – a whim or craving
Una mujer embarazada tiene muchos antojos raros– a pregnant woman has a lot of strange cravings

Antojos – can mean the same as antojitos below.
Antojitos - Snacks, hors d’oeuvres; traditional Mexican snack foods but also eaten in Costa Rica. Los Atojitos is the most famous and oldest chain of Mexican restaurants in Costa Rica.
Antojería – a restaurant that serves Mexican food.

Estar antojado – to want something

Expression of the week:

Si no te aclimatas, te aclichingas – If you don’t adapt, you will get screwed.
Al pueblo que fueres, haz lo vieres – When in Rome do as the Romans

In my column about Easter last week I forgot the Easter-related sayings or dichos below. Remember that la Pascua de Resurrección or la Pascua florida mean Easter in Spanish. By the way, la pascua de los hebreos is Passover.

Estar como unas pascuas or más alegre que unas pascuas – to be very happy
Hacerle la pascua a uno – to bother someone or make their life miserable
¡santas pascuas! – means …”and that’s that.” This is used when something is concluded. Aquí está su dinero..y ¡santas pascuas! Here is your money and that’s that.
De Pascuass a Ramos – means “once in a blue moon.”
Cada muerte de obispo is also means the same thing.

Tiquismos of the week:

Levantarse con el pie derecho: to get up with the right foot
Levantarse con el pie izquierdo: to get up with the left foot

This is a continuation of my series on Spanish legal language. The series will conclude with the next article

Life in prison – cadena perpetua
Probate – Sucesorio
Property – Propiedad
Prosecutor – Fiscal/procurador
Residency – Residencia
Restraining order – Orden de alejamiento
Retainer – Pago anticipado de honorarios
Ruling- Fallo
Sentence – Condena, pena or sentencia
Stockholder/shareholder – Accionista
Signature – Firma
Squatter – precarist
Suit – Demanda/ Querella
Summons – Citación
Suspect – imputado, sospechoso
Take the case (lawyer) – Llevar el caso
Take to trial – Llevar a juicio
Tax evasion- evasión fiscal
Testify – Declarar or testificar
Testify against – Testificar/declarar contra
Testify for – Tesitificar/declarar a favor de…
The right to enjoy a thing owned by another person – Usofructo (Like living in their home)
To appear in court – Comparecer
To dismiss a case – Desestimar
To record in the nation al registry – Protocolizar
To rule against – Fallar en contra de
To rule in a case – Fallar
To rule in favor of – Fallar a favor de
To rule against – Fallar en contra de
Trial – Juicio
Tribunal – made up of three judges
Trust – Fidecomiso
Trustee – Fidecomisario
Try – Juzgar/enjuiciar
Verdict – Fallo
Will – Testamento
Win a case – Ganar un caso
Witness – Testigo

Tiquismos of the week:

El que nace para burro del cielo le caen las orejas: If destined to be a burro, heaven will send you ears
El que nace para maceta del corredor no pasa: If destined for flower pot, from the corridor won´t be budged
El que nace para tamal, del cielo le caen las hojas: if destined to be a corn cake (tamal), heaven will send you the wrappers

In case you missed this in yesterday’s AM Costa Rica, here is something for all of you enamorados (people in love). Enjoy!

Valentine’s Day or Saint Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In Spanish-speaking countries the holiday is called Día de los Enamorados . It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine’s cards, flowers, chocolates or offering related gifts.

Below you will find an assortment of words and phrases related to the language of love.

Acaramelados – lovey dovey
Amor – love
Amor a primera vista – love at first sight
Amor juvenil – puppy love
Amorío – a love affair
Adventura amorosa – a love affair
Casarse detrás de la iglesia – to elope
Comprometerse – to become engaged
Compromiso – engagement
Cupidito – Cupid
Dar el sí – to get maried
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
Enamoradamente – lovingly
Enamoradizo – inclined to fall in love
Enamorar – to make someone fall in love with you or to enamour
Enculado – head over heels in love (Costa Rica/vulgar)
Encularse – to fall in love (vulgar)
Engañar – to cheat on your mate
Estar loco or loca por alguien – to be crazy about someone
Felizmente divorciado/a – happily divorced
Flechar – to sweep off one’s feet (love)
Juntados – to live together
Matricidio – marriage (matricide) sarcastically
Me atrae – I’m attracted to you
Me cae bien – I like you
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/a – lost in love
Pepeado/a – head over heels in love (Costa Rica)
Piropo – a flirtatious statement like “Dichosos los ojos que te ven” “Your a sight for sore eyes.”
Picaflor – playboy
Ponerle los cuernos – to cheat on a man
Rejuntarse – to shack up with someone
Romper or terminar con alguien – to break up with someone
Romper el compromiso – to break an engagement
Romper el corazón – to break someone’s heart
Ser infiel – to be unfaithful
Sonarle las campanas de la iglesia a alguien – someone is going to get married
Templado or caliente – horney
Tener algo con alguien – to a have a relationship with someone
Tener celos – to be jealous
Tórtolos – love birds
Traicionar – to betray
Usted es bonita – You are pretty
Usted es guapo – You are handsome

Humorous expressions about love:

Al Gato viejo, ratón tierno – old geezers like sweet young things
Asaltacunas – craddle robber
Caliente pichas or microondas – a woman who is a P.T. (vulgar)
Casarse con zeta – instead of casarse (the correct word to get married) means to get hunted instead of married jokingly.
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
Dar vuelta – to cheat on one’s mat (Costa Rica)
Del amor al odio sólo hay un paso – one step from love to hate
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
Ella está con el hombre por el amor..por el amor del dinero – She is with him for love..for the love of money
Gallina vieja hace buen caldo – an old hen makes a good broth
La luna hiel – a bad honeymoon
Ir a la guerra ni casar no se ha de aconsejar – don’t get married or go to war
Ponerle los cuernos/cachos a alguien – to cheat on someone
Viejo verde – a guy who likes younger women

Guilt – Culpa
Guilty – Culpable
Hearing – Audiencia
Higher court – Corte superior
House arrest – Arresto domiciliario or casa por cárcel
I.D. Card – Cédula
Illegal- Ilegal/prohibido
Illegal enrichment – Enriquecimiento ilícito
Impediment to leave country – Impedimento de salida
Innocent – Inocente
Jail – Cárcel
Judge – Juez (masc.)/Jueza (fem.)
Justice – Justicia
Key witness – Testigo clave, testigo estrella (star witness)
Law suit – Demanda
Lawyer – Abogado
Lawyer’s bar – Colegio de Abogados
Legal – Legal
Legal form – Papel sellado
Life sentance – Cadena perpetua
Litigate – Litigar
Litigation – Litigio or plrito
Lose a case– Perder un caso
Lower court – Corte inferior

Tiquismos of the week:

Así como es el chancho es la horqueta: The size of the pig determines its harness
Juntate con los buenos y serás uno de ellos: You are as good as your friends
El que con tigre se acuesta, desplumado amanece: if you court trouble, you´ll find trouble