Bolivian Spanish word
la yapa
Other forms: yapita
Meaning: a little extra a vendor adds for free
Other meanings
- a small free extra with a purchase
Start with lesson 1
Greeting at any hour and saying your nameLesson 1, level A0
Start lesson 1How it is used in Bolivia
The small extra a casera slips into your bag for a good customer: a handful more, a few potatoes, some habas or a sprig of parsley, a little something free. It is relationship currency, not a discount: it rewards loyalty and is a gift, not a right. A pueblo mercado runs on relationships, not prices, and a casera who has known a customer for decades adds it unasked.
It closes a deal warmly and seals the price, so the paying moment is for thanks, not for reopening the number. Thank it warmly, by name.
You can ask for it: '¿y mi yapita?' with a smile is warm and expected, never rude, a sign of the relationship, for example after a rebajita is declined. It stays a gift received with thanks: asking with a smile is fine, insisting is not.
Learn it in a real situation
Your First Trip to Bolivia Together