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Rioplatense Spanish
Spanish with an Italian melody. Vos replaces tú with its own verb forms, ll and y sound like sh, and the street vocabulary comes from lunfardo.
Buenos Aires and Montevideo
5sound rules21words and phrases11everyday 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.
S1Ll and y sound like sh
In Buenos Aires today it is a clear sh; older speakers and Montevideo use a buzzier zh. Calle, yo and lluvia all change.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| cashe | calle | street |
| sho | yo | I |
| shuvia | lluvia | rain |
| me shamo | me llamo | my name is |
NoteThis one sound places you in Buenos Aires instantly.
S2Vos replaces tú, with its own verb forms
Vos is not just a different pronoun. The present tense moves the stress to the end and drops the stem change.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| vos tenés | tú tienes | you have |
| vos querés | tú quieres | you want |
| vos sos | tú eres | you are |
| ¿vos qué pensás? | ¿tú qué piensas? | what do you think? |
S3Commands end on a stressed vowel
The voseo imperative drops the final -s and stresses the last syllable, so the little words that follow attach to it.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| vení | ven | come |
| mirá | mira | look |
| decime | dime | tell me |
| fijate | fíjate | check, look out |
S4The s before a consonant is breathed
Softer than the Caribbean: the s turns into an h sound before a consonant but usually survives at the end of a phrase.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| loh pibes | los pibes | the kids, the guys |
| mihmo | mismo | same |
| ehtá bien | está bien | it's fine |
S5Italian melody
Millions of Italian immigrants changed the intonation, not the grammar: long falling contours, and gestures that go with them.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| ¿Qué hacés, che? | ¿Qué haces? | what's up, mate? |
| Dale, dale | Vale | OK, sure |
| ¡Mamma mía! | ¡Madre mía! | oh my God! |
Words and phrases
21 entries, each tagged by register.
W1Greetings and fillers
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| che | che | hey, mate (to get attention)casual |
| ¿todo bien? | ¿todo bien? | all good?neutral |
| dale | dale | OK, go oncasual |
| boludo | boludo | dude (friends) or idiot (anyone else)casual |
| re | re | very (re lindo, re cansado)casual |
| posta | posta | for realcasual |
| bárbaro | bárbaro | greatneutral |
W2Lunfardo for daily life
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| laburo / laburar | trabajo / trabajar | work / to workcasual |
| guita | dinero | moneycasual |
| bondi | autobús | buscasual |
| pibe / piba | chico / chica | kid, guy, girlcasual |
| mina | mujer | womancasual |
| chabón | tipo | guy, blokecasual |
| morfar | comer | to eatcasual |
| birra | cerveza | beercasual |
| garpar | pagar | to pay (syllables swapped)casual |
W3Reactions
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| quilombo | lío | a mess, chaoscasual |
| copado | genial | cool, nicecasual |
| ¡qué garrón! | ¡qué faena! | what a dragcasual |
| ¡la puta madre! | ¡la puta madre! | damn it!vulgar |
| pelotudo | idiota | idiotinsult |
Everyday lines
Scenes and the lines that go with them.
L1At the café
Breakfast is coffee and pastries. Facturas is the word for all of them.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| ¿Me traés un cortado y dos medialunas? | ¿Me traes un cortado y dos medialunas? | can I get a cortado and 2 croissants? |
| Un café con leche, por favor | Un café con leche, por favor | a white coffee, please |
| ¿Me cobrás? | ¿Me cobras? | can I pay? |
| ¿Aceptás tarjeta? | ¿Aceptas tarjeta? | do you take cards? |
L2Mate
Shared, passed round, and governed by rules.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| ¿Tomás mate? | ¿Tomas mate? | do you drink mate? |
| Cebame uno | Sírveme uno | pour me one |
| Gracias | Gracias | means "no more for me", not just thanks |
| Está lavado | Está lavado | it's gone weak, change the leaves |
L3Getting around
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Tomo el bondi / el subte | Tomo el autobús / el metro | I'm taking the bus / the underground |
| ¿Me cargás la SUBE? | ¿Me recargas la tarjeta? | can you top up my transit card? |
| ¿Me dejás en la esquina? | ¿Me dejas en la esquina? | can you drop me at the corner? |