Index / Language / Records / Spanish / Regional dialects
Mexican Spanish
The largest Spanish-speaking country and the most exported accent in the Americas. Every s is kept, unstressed vowels get swallowed instead, and politeness is built into the grammar.
Mexico City (chilango)
6sound rules23words and phrases14everyday lines
Neutral fine anywhere Casual friends, street Vulgar swearing Insult aimed at a person
How it sounds
Left: the sound, in pine. Middle: standard spelling. Right: meaning.
S1Every s is kept
The opposite of the Caribbean. The s at the end of a syllable stays a full, crisp s, and it is what makes Mexican Spanish easy for learners to follow.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| los amigos | los amigos | the friends |
| ¿estás listo? | ¿estás listo? | are you ready? |
| más o menos | más o menos | so-so |
S2Unstressed vowels next to s get swallowed
Where the Caribbean drops consonants, Mexico City drops vowels. Pues becomes pos or pus, and short vowels before an s almost vanish.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| pos sí | pues sí | well, yes |
| ¿nec'sitas algo? | ¿necesitas algo? | do you need anything? |
| ent'nces | entonces | so, then |
| much's gracias | muchas gracias | thanks a lot |
S3The x sounds like a j or a w
Place names keep an old spelling. The x in México and Oaxaca is the Spanish j sound, and many Nahuatl names keep tl.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Méjico | México | Mexico |
| Guajaca | Oaxaca | Oaxaca |
| tlapalería | tlapalería | hardware store |
| Popocatépetl | Popocatépetl | the volcano by the city |
S4¿Mande? instead of ¿qué?
Asking someone to repeat with ¿qué? sounds abrupt in Mexico. ¿Mande? (literally "command me") is the polite default, and usted is used more than in most of Latin America.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| ¿Mande? | ¿Qué? / ¿Cómo? | sorry? come again? |
| ¿Me pasa la sal, por favor? | ¿Me pasas la sal? | could you pass the salt? (usted) |
| Con permiso | Con permiso | excuse me (passing someone) |
| Provecho | Buen provecho | enjoy your meal (said to strangers eating) |
S5Diminutives everywhere
The -ito ending softens almost anything, including time and requests. Ahorita in Mexico leans towards "soon", but it still stretches.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| ahorita | ahora | in a moment (or later) |
| tantito | un poco | a little bit |
| un cafecito | un café | a coffee |
| ¿Me esperas tantito? | ¿Me esperas un poco? | can you wait a second? |
S6Ustedes for everyone, and a sing-song finish
There is no vosotros. The rise and fall at the end of a phrase, the cantadito, is the tell from across a room.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| ¿Ustedes qué van a querer? | ¿Qué vais a querer? (Spain) | what will you all have? |
| ¿Cómo están? | ¿Cómo estáis? (Spain) | how are you all? |
Words and phrases
23 entries, each tagged by register.
W1Greetings and reactions
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| ¿Qué onda? | ¿Qué onda? | what's up?casual |
| ¡Órale! | ¡Órale! | OK! / wow! / come on!casual |
| ¡No manches! | ¡No manches! | no way! (the clean version)casual |
| ¡No mames! | ¡No mames! | no way! (the strong version)vulgar |
| ¿A poco? | ¿A poco? | really?casual |
| ¡Aguas! | ¡Aguas! | watch out!casual |
| neta | neta | for real, the truth (¿neta?)casual |
| güey / wey | buey | dude (between friends)casual |
W2Describing things
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| chido | chido | coolcasual |
| padre / padrísimo | padre / padrísimo | great / brilliantneutral |
| fresa | fresa | posh, preppycasual |
| naco | naco | tacky (classist; careful)insult |
| un chorro de | un chorro de | loads ofcasual |
| está cañón | está cañón | it's tough, it's a lotcasual |
| pinche | pinche | damn, lousyvulgar |
W3Daily life
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| chamba | chamba | work, a jobcasual |
| lana | lana | moneycasual |
| cuate | cuate | buddycasual |
| chela | chela | beercasual |
| estar crudo | estar crudo | to be hungovercasual |
| checar | checar | to checkneutral |
| camión | camión | busneutral |
| el súper | el supermercado | the supermarketneutral |
Everyday lines
Scenes and the lines that go with them.
L1At the taco stand
Ordering is fast. Con todo means onion and coriander.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Me da tres de pastor con todo | Me da tres de pastor con todo | three al pastor, with everything |
| ¿Para aquí o para llevar? | ¿Para aquí o para llevar? | for here or to go? |
| ¿Con salsa verde o roja? | ¿Con salsa verde o roja? | green or red salsa? |
| ¿Cuánto le debo? | ¿Cuánto le debo? | what do I owe you? |
| Joven, ¿me trae la cuenta? | Joven, ¿me trae la cuenta? | excuse me, could I have the bill? |
L2Getting around
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| el metro / el metrobús | el metro / el metrobús | the metro / the bus rapid transit |
| el pesero / la micro | el pesero / la micro | minibus on a fixed route |
| ¿Este camión pasa por el Zócalo? | ¿Este camión pasa por el Zócalo? | does this bus go past the Zócalo? |
| Bajan en la esquina, por favor | Bajan en la esquina, por favor | I'm getting off at the corner, please |
| Hay un tráfico horrible | Hay un tráfico horrible | the traffic is awful |
L3Being polite
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| ¿Mande? | ¿Mande? | sorry? (answering a call or a question) |
| Con permiso / Propio | Con permiso / Propio | excuse me / go ahead |
| Provecho | Buen provecho | enjoy your meal |
| Para servirle | Para servirle | you're welcome / at your service |