Bolivian Spanish word
casera / casero
Other forms: caserita, caserito
Meaning: friendly market address term (vendor/customer)
Where it is said: Markets across Bolivia, from La Paz and Sucre to Cochabamba and Santa Cruz; also recorded in Peru, Ecuador, Chile and Panama.
Other meanings
- the regular: a vendor and a regular customer call each other casera / casero
- a warm, respectful address, like 'ma'am', also outside the market
- in business: the trusted regular client
Practise the situation
Where can I go this weekend?Plan a Trip in Bolivia, chapter 1
Start chapter 1 freeHow it is used in Bolivia
The vendor calls you casero or casera, and you call her casera back (casero to a man): roughly 'my regular'. Caserita and caserito are the affectionate forms. Use it at any stall, with the fruit seller as with the flower seller; the bargaining the word sometimes goes with belongs to craft stalls, not fruit.
It names a relationship, not just a sale. Come back to the same casera visit after visit and she remembers you; in the mercado, that memory is worth more than any single sale. Said warmly, the word changes the whole exchange: it carries its friendly tone and turns a one-time buyer into a regular.
It stays in usted, a warm usted, always so in highland Sucre. In La Paz (on calle Sagárnaga, say) she may use tú with you; in Cochabamba, vos («¿qué querés llevar, caserita?»). You keep usted with 'casera', never vos: warm and respectful. After a misunderstanding, the word in usted keeps the repair friendly rather than transactional.
It goes beyond the market: a técnico who comes to your home may call you casera. In business it is the highest compliment, the trusted regular who gets the best treatment and the first call; when a client calls you that, the relationship is the contract.
How to use it
The word works both ways: the dictionary records casero, casera for the regular customer of a stall and for the regular vendor of a customer, and more broadly for someone who keeps coming back to a place. Together you are caseros: a yapita is 'un regalo entre caseros'.
To become someone's casero, tell her you have just moved to the neighbourhood and are looking for 'your' stall. After a few visits many caseras call you by name and set the ripest fruit aside for you.
Examples
Buenos días, casera. ¿A cómo está la papa huaycha?
Good morning, casera. How much are the huaycha potatoes?
Greet first, then ask the price.
Casera, ¿qué es esto? ¿Y cómo se prepara?
Casera, what is this? And how is it prepared?
Asking her advice is welcome and builds trust.
¿Me da una probadita, caserita?
Will you give me a little taste, caserita?
Asking for a taste before you buy a kilo.
Disculpe, caserita, le di 30: me falta un boliviano de cambio.
Excuse me, caserita, I gave you 30: I'm one boliviano short in my change.
Counting your change at the stall is normal, never a sign of distrust.
Gracias igual, caserita.
Thanks anyway, caserita.
The warm way out when you do not buy.
A real exchange
La Cancha, Cochabamba, at a fruit and vegetable stall
Vendor
¡Buen día, caserita! ¿Qué querés llevar?
Morning, caserita! What would you like?
You
Buen día, casera. ¿Qué es esto? ¿Pica mucho?
Morning, casera. What is this? Is it very hot?
Vendor
Este pica harto, caserita. Si no querés que pique tanto, sacale las venitas.
This one is really hot, caserita. If you don't want it so hot, take out the little veins.
She speaks vos, as many Cochabamba caseras do; you answer in usted.
What to avoid
- Never tell her the price is wrong; ask for a moment to look instead.
- Do not haggle over everyday produce and food: they have set prices. A polite rebajita belongs to craft stalls.
- Once she has come down, or kindly said no, do not push on.
Good to know
- Register
- Warm and everyday. Said with usted, it is respectful enough for a first visit.
- Not to be confused with
- Away from the market, casero also means homemade (mermelada casera, homemade jam), and it can name a landlord or landlady, the owner who rents a home out.
Questions people ask
What does casera mean in Bolivia?
It names both people in a regular market relationship: the vendor you keep buying from and the customer who keeps coming back. Each calls the other casera (to a woman) or casero (to a man).
What is the difference between casera and caserita?
None in meaning. Caserita (caserito for a man) is the affectionate diminutive, the warmer way to say the same thing.
Sources
What this page says beyond the chapters of the course comes from these sources.
- ASALE, Diccionario de americanismos: casero, -aaccessed 21 October 2026
- WordReference, Spanish-English: caseroaccessed 21 October 2026
Learn it in a real situation
Food, Restaurants, and Dietary Needs