Bolivian Spanish glossary
Bolivian Spanish slang: 104 words and expressions you will really hear
The words that make Spanish sound Bolivian, from the market to the trufi, in nine themes. Each comes with its meaning, an example when there is one, and where it is said; every word links to its full glossary page.
104 words in 9 themes
What makes Spanish sound Bolivian
Three small words do much of the work. Nomás softens almost any sentence: "pase nomás" is a warm "come in", and in an invitation it never means "only". Pues, often heard as "pue", is the little tail-word of highland speech ("ya pues", "sí pues"), and a quick ¿ya? at the end of a sentence checks that you agree.
Diminutives add warmth rather than size: un cafecito is an invitation, not a small order, un ratito can last much longer than a little while, and cerquita means close enough not to worry. Highland Sucre is especially fond of them.
Quechua and Aymara live inside everyday Bolivian Spanish: a baby is a wawa, the morning after a fiesta can bring chaqui, and imaynalla is the Quechua greeting many older people still use around Sucre.
Who says vos depends on the region. Santa Cruz speaks a cruceño voseo, Tarija has its own melodic chapaco voseo, and in Cochabamba a casera may call you vos; Sucre keeps a warm usted, and in La Paz you will also hear tú. With strangers, vendors and older people, usted is always the safe choice.
The regions have their own words and their own pride. The lowland east says che among friends, lives among curichis and bakes cuñapé; Cochabamba is proud of its silpancho and agrees with ya pues; the highlands bring soroche and the chompa you carry everywhere; Tarija has its singani. Even the names of the regions, camba and colla, are words to use with warmth.
Greetings, address and politeness
How Bolivians greet and address each other: warm, respectful, and usually in usted with people they do not know.
honorific for a respected, established figure
'young one', friendly address term
respectful address for a trufi/micro driver
boss (friendly address for the owner)
may God repay you (thank you)
- imaynallaRegion: Sucre
hello, how are you (Quechua)
short for licenciado or licenciada
go right ahead / come on in
openly / don't be shy
Example: Pregunte nomás, con confianza. Just ask, don't be shy.
Little words and reactions: nomás, pues, ya
The tiny words that make a sentence sound Bolivian: they soften, agree, check and react.
just here / really close
Example: Me bajo aquí nomás. I'll get off right here.
- de unaAlso outside Bolivia
right away, at once (as a reply: an eager yes)
just, simply (softening particle)
Example: Dos cuadras nomás. Just two blocks, no big deal.
just like this / just as it is
Example: Hoy lo dejo así nomás. Today I'll leave it just as it is.
just about there / right around here
- dale nomásRegion: Santa Cruz and the east
go right ahead / sounds good
- puesRegion: Andean highlands
well / then
Example: Tranquilo pues, hoy no corremos. Relax, we're not rushing today.
okay? (seeking agreement)
Example: Hablá con él, ¿ya? Talk to him, okay?
- ya puesRegion: Cochabamba
okay then, that's settled
Example: Ya pues: cuatro y media. All right then: half past four.
- cheRegion: Santa Cruz and the east
hey (attention-getter between friends)
Example: Che Valeria, ¡qué día! Hey Valeria, what a day!
watch out / heads up
great!
for nothing, in vain
Example: Esperar de gusto. To wait for nothing.
Time, amounts and diminutives
Bolivian time is elastic and Bolivian amounts are generous; the -ito ending adds warmth, not smallness.
- al toqueAlso outside Bolivia
right away / immediately
Example: Me respondió al toque. He answered me right away.
soon / in a bit (flexible)
Example: Nos vemos ahorita. See you in a bit.
only then / just
Example: Recién empezamos. We've only just started.
a lot, plenty
Example: Hace harto frío. It's really cold.
it happens a lot
really, super (intensifier prefix)
Example: Re temprano. Really early.
a little while / a little bit longer
Example: Conversamos un ratito. Let's chat for a little while.
nice and early
Example: Mejor tempranito, pues. Better nice and early.
right nearby (diminutive of cerca)
little coffee (affectionate diminutive)
Example: Vamos por un cafecito. Let's go for a coffee.
- despacitoRegion: Sucre
nice and slow (diminutive of 'despacio')
Example: ¿Me lo puede repetir más despacito? Could you say it again a little more slowly?
Market, money and shopping
The market runs on relationships: the casera, the yapa and a small, kind rebajita; money talk has its own Bolivian words too.
friendly market address term (vendor/customer)
Example: ¿Qué querés llevar, caserita? What would you like to take, caserita?
a little extra a vendor adds for free
Example: ¿Y mi yapita? And my little extra?
Bolivian large-deposit housing arrangement
a small discount (asked kindly)
since it's you (special-price phrase)
Example: Por ser usted, se lo dejo en... Since it's you, I'll let you have it for...
negotiable
Example: Precio charlable. Price negotiable.
small change (synonym of suelto)
Example: ¿No tiene sencillo? Don't you have small change?
money (everyday word)
Example: Ando sin plata. I'm out of money.
to pay (in Bolivia)
Example: Cancele en caja. Pay at the cashier.
money's a bit tight for me
to pool money together
Example: Hacemos una vaca. Let's pool our money.
rotating savings group: each member takes the pot in turn
Example: Este mes me toca el pasanaku. This month it is my turn to take the pasanaku pot.
payment slip (boleta) / official tax invoice (factura)
Food and drink
Food is identity in Bolivia: each region is proud of its dishes, and the names are worth knowing before you order.
cold drink of dried peach in sweet cinnamon water
boiled corn kernels (a pueblo table staple)
- el mostoRegion: Tarija
fresh, unfermented grape must
- chanchoAlso outside Bolivia
pig / pork (colloquial)
Example: No lleva chancho. It has no pork in it.
juicy baked stuffed pastry, eaten mid-morning
- el silpanchoRegion: Cochabamba
Cochabamba's signature breaded-beef dish
- el pique machoRegion: Cochabamba
heaped beef-and-potato plate for the brave
fresh locoto-tomato table salsa
Example: ¿Pica mucho? Is it very hot?
Andean hot pepper
- el chuño y la tuntaRegion: Andean highlands
freeze-dried potatoes (dark and white)
- cuñapéRegion: Santa Cruz and the east
cruceño cheese-and-yuca bread
- sonsoRegion: Santa Cruz and the east
sonso (grilled yuca and cheese)
- majaditoRegion: Santa Cruz and the east
majadito (rice, dried beef, fried egg, fried plantain)
- el singaniRegion: Tarija
Bolivia's national grape spirit
soup plus main dish (the set lunch)
People, nicknames and regional identities
Words for children, friends and family, and the proud names of the regions: use the identity words about yourself or with warmth.
- cochabambino/a · cochalaRegion: Cochabamba
from Cochabamba (adjective and affectionate local word)
Example: ¿Qué es bien cochabambino? What is really typical of Cochabamba?
one of the family / of the household
baby, small child
kid, small child; also a young person or teenager
Example: Los changuitos ya salieron de la escuela. The kids are already out of school.
close friend, buddy
Example: Él es mi cumpa desde el colegio. He has been my close friend since school.
camba: from Santa Cruz, Beni or Pando, the east; colla: from the Andean west and the altiplano
Example: Soy camba, pero vivo en La Paz hace diez años. I'm from Santa Cruz, but I've lived in La Paz for ten years.
- chapaco/aRegion: Tarija
of Tarija; a person from Tarija
- cruceño/a de toda la vidaRegion: Santa Cruz and the east
cruceño/a for life / born and raised here
posh: someone with upper-class manners or airs
Example: No soy jailón, solo me puse corbata para la entrevista. I'm not posh, I just put on a tie for the interview.
- cholitaRegion: Andean highlands
a woman who wears the pollera skirt, the manta shawl and a hat
Example: Las cholitas escaladoras suben a las montañas con pollera. The cholita climbers go up the mountains in their polleras.
the famous one (affectionate teasing)
you're a guest
Example: No, vos sos visita. No, you're our guest.
the tease/banter
the lowlands / the highlands
Getting around
Trufis, flotas and bloqueos: the words of Bolivian roads, where timetables are loose and addresses are landmarks.
shared fixed-route taxi
the intercity bus
Example: Como cuatro horas en flota. About four hours by intercity bus.
vehicle / means of transport
traffic jam
road blockade (protest)
- los anillosRegion: Santa Cruz and the east
the ring roads
Example: Sobre San Martín, entre segundo y tercer anillo. On San Martín, between the second and third ring.
destination caller
it leaves when it's full
the gas station
the pickup
Example: ¿A qué hora es el recojo? What time is the pickup?
Home, weather and land
Everyday words for the house and the weather, from the chompa you carry at altitude to the curichi of the lowlands.
sweater, jumper (the warm layer)
Example: Lleva chompa. Take a sweater.
- depaAlso outside Bolivia
apartment (informal)
it didn't agree with me
- el curichiRegion: Santa Cruz and the east
a low, marshy area
- botarAlso outside Bolivia
to throw away (Bolivian everyday usage)
Example: Botalo nomás. Just throw it away.
jacket
- frazadaRegion: Andean highlands
blanket
Example: ¿Dan frazada? Do they give you a blanket?
the refillable gas tank
bleach
- sorocheRegion: Andean highlands
altitude sickness
Fiesta and free time
Processions, dances, carnival water fights and a Sunday kickabout: Bolivian free time has its own vocabulary, and saying no to a drink is always fine.
- picaditoAlso outside Bolivia
casual kickabout
the morenada (a Bolivian folk dance)
- la ch'allaRegion: Andean highlands
the ch'alla (an Andean blessing / offering custom)
folkloric procession / parade
the big soaking (the water fight)
the 'crazy hour'
- el aguayoRegion: Andean highlands
handwoven Andean textile
- la chelaAlso outside Bolivia
the beer (slang)
- chaquiRegion: Andean highlands
hangover, feeling unwell after drinking too much
Example: Llegó tarde a la oficina porque estaba con chaqui. He got to the office late because he was hungover.
Questions people ask
What does nomás mean in Bolivia?
Nomás softens a sentence, like "just" or "go ahead": "pase nomás" means come right in, and "dos cuadras nomás" means just two blocks, no big deal. In an invitation it does not mean "only". You hear it all over Bolivia.
What is a casera in Bolivia?
Casera, or casero for a man, is what a market vendor and a regular customer call each other, roughly "my regular"; caserita is the affectionate form. It names a relationship: come back to the same stall and she remembers you.
What does yapa or yapita mean?
La yapa, or yapita, is the small free extra a vendor slips into your bag for a good customer: a handful more, a few potatoes. It is a gift, not a discount; asking "¿y mi yapita?" with a smile is fine, insisting is not.
What does ahorita mean in Bolivia?
Ahorita is Bolivia's most elastic word for time: it can mean now, in a minute, in a few hours or next week. It is sincere but not a promise, so when the time matters, agree on a clock time politely.
What does de una mean in Bolivia?
De una means "for sure", "absolutely": an everyday Bolivian yes, one notch warmer than dale, and instantly recognisable as local. You will hear it in other Latin American countries too.
What is a chompa?
A chompa is a sweater or jumper, often knitted: the warm layer you carry. In La Paz, Sucre and Cochabamba a sunny day turns into a cool evening, so "lleva chompa" comes up in almost every plan; chompita is the diminutive.
What is a trufi in Bolivia?
A trufi is a shared car, minivan or minibus on a numbered fixed route, with a set fare per seat, flagged down at any corner. There is usually no timetable: it leaves when it is full, "sale cuando se llena", and routes are learned by asking.
Do Bolivians say vos or tú?
Both, depending on the region: vos in Santa Cruz and Tarija and often in Cochabamba, tú in La Paz, and a warm usted in Sucre. With strangers, vendors and older people, usted is always right.
Hear these words in real scenes
Lesson 1 of Mi español is free, with no account. Chapter 1 of several situations opens without an account too, like the one where you hear trufi and "sale cuando se llena".