Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

De ninguna manguera como dijo el bombero – This expression means, No way! It literally translates as “No hose said the fireman” It is mocking the real expression, “De ninguna manera” or “No way” and expresses negation.
Nadie en su sano juico lo haría – nobody in their right mind would do it.
Ni a balas – Not a chance. No way
Ni cuerdo – I wouldn’t do it if I was in my right mind which implies that one is already crazy.
Ni a huevos – No damn way (vulgar).
Ni loco/a – No way! Not even if I was crazy.
Ni a palos – No way!
Ni borracho/a – Not even drunk would I do it.
Ni de vaina – Not a chance.
Ni dormido/a – No way. I wouldn’t do it even if I was asleep.
Ni hablar – No way
Ni pensarlo – Don’t even think about it.
Ni por nada en este mundo – I would do it for anything in this world
Ni por todo el oro del mundo – Not even for all of the gold in the world.
Ni soñarlo – Don’t even dream of it.

Appropriate tiquismo (Costa Rican expression) -
Ni a putas – No damn way (very vulgar)!

Expressions
A Dios rogando con mazo dando – Praise the load and pass the ammunition
Desnudar un santo para vestir otro - To rob Peter to pay Paul
Quien madruga, Dios lo ayuda – the early bird catches the worm
¡Dios guarde! – God forbid!
Dios aprieta pero no ahoga – You shouldn’t lose faith even during bad times
Dios ayuda a la gente que se ayuda a si misma – God helps those who help themselves
Dios castiga sin palo ni azote – Bad people will be punished
Dios los cria y ellos se juntan – Birds of a feather flock together
¡Dios mío! – Good gracious!
Dios no le da alas al animal ponzoñoso – God doesn’t help bad people
Dios sabe lo que hace – You have to resign yourself to god’s will
Echar un sermón or sermonear – To give someone a lecture (scold)
El hábito no hace la monja – Clothes don’t make the person
El hombre propone y dios dispone – Man proposes and God disposes (has the last word). A funny version. “El hombre propone viene la mujer y todo descompone”
Gracias a dios – Thank god!
Más vale vestir santos que borrachos – It is better to dress saints than drunks.
Entre cielo y tierra no hay secretos – There are no secrets in life
Poner el altar para que otro diga misa – To do all of the work for someone else who gets credit for it
!por dios! – For God’s sake!
¡Por el amor de dios! -For crying out loud!
Quedarse para vestir santos – Used when a woman doesn’t marry. Una quedada means the same thing
Rezar por su vida – to pray for your life
¡Valgame dios! – Bless my soul!
Vaya con Dios – good-bye or may god be with you
Se le fue el santo al cielo – to forget what one was saying. Se le fue el pajarito is also used.
Si dios quiere – God willing

Alter boy – monagillo
Altar – el altar
Athiest – el ateo
Baptist – Bautista
Baptism – el bautismo
Bible – la Biblia
Protestant – Protestante
Cathedral – la Catedral
Catholic – Católico
Cristian – Cristiano
Church – La iglesia
Communion La comunión
Confession booth – el confesionario
Confess – confesar
God – Dios
Heaven – el cielo
Holy water – el agua bendita
Jesus – Jesús
Jewish – Judío
Kneel – arodillarse or ponerse de rodillas
Lord – el Señor
Mass – la misa
Mormon – Mormón
Nun – la monja
Pew – el banco de iglesia
Persignarse, hacer la señal de la cruz
Pope – el papa. Don’t confuse this word with la papa which is potato
Pray – rezar or orar
Prayer – oracion or rezo
priest – el cura
Rabbbi – el rabino
Rosario – el rosario
Satan – Satán or Satanás
Sermon – sermón
Sin – el pecado
Sinner – el/la pecador/a
Synagogue – sinagoga
Sunday school – la doctrina
Wafer – la hostia
Worship – adorar or idolotrar

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.

Because of the recent uproar about using the caja (The Costa Rican Department of Social Security – CCSS) I have included some terms that may assist non- Spanish speakers (angloparlantes) with Costa Rica’s medical maze.

Ahogarse or atragantarse – to choke
Amígdalas – tonsils
Amigdalitis – tonsilitis
Andadera – a walker or device you hold onto in order to walk.
Automedicarse – to self-administer medicine
Bastón – a cane for walking
Cicatriz – scar
Conteo – a count like a blood count, etc.
Conmoción- a concussion
Contusion – a blow to the head
Costra – scab
Débil – weak
Defensas or el sistema inmunológico -
Dengue – an illness and fever that comes from an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus.
Desfibrilador – defibrilator
Diagnóstico – diagnosis
Discapacitado or minuválido – handicapped or disabled
Envenenamiento – poisioning
Enyesar – to put a cast on someone
Espasmo – spasm
Estornudar – to sneeze
Hernia – heria Un disco herniado is a herniated disk. The verb herniarse is to get a hernia.
Hueso – bone
Insolación- sunstroke
Laboratorio – lab
Me siento mejor/peor – I feel better/worse
Mordedura – bite from a dog or snake
Muletas – crutches
Neumonía or pulmonía
Paperas – mumps
Picadura – an insect bite
Plaquetas – blood platelet
Prueba or examen – test
Ronchas or sapullido – a rash
Sarampion – measles
Silla de ruedas – wheelchair
SIDA – AIDS
Suero oral – is an electrolyte solution that replaces fluids and minerals lost during excessive perspiration, vomiting and/or diarrhea.
Tiña – a fungal skin infection or ringworm
Tocer – to cough
Torcedura – a sprain
Torcerse – is to sprain something
Varicela – chicken pox
VIH – virus de inmunodeficiencia humana or HIV
Yeso – cast

To be continued next week

Tico expressions:

• Ser como la iglesia de Puriscal, no tener cura – when there is no cure for someone. The word for “cure” and priest is the same except la cura is the cure and el cura is the priest. The church in Puriscal doesn’t have a priest or cure because it is in ruins due to a series of earthquakes. It has been closed for years.
• Ser justamente lo que el médico recetó – To be just what the doctor ordered Venirle como agua de mayo means the same thing.
• S.I.D.A. – AIDS. Although this illness is nothing to joke about the locals say that SIDA stands for Solamente Intenté Darte mi Amor. I just wanted to give you my love. They also say that it is the abbreviation of San Ignacio de Acosta.