Mexican slang: 29 everyday words and phrases, and who you can say them to

What are the most common Mexican slang words?

The Mexican slang words you'll hear most are ¿Qué onda? (what's up?), chido and padre (cool), ahorita (right now, or in a bit), ¿Neta? (really?), ¡Órale! and ¡Ándale! (OK, come on), ¿Sale? (OK?), la chamba (work), la lana (money) and ¡Aguas! (watch out!). The last column says where the CiaoSpeak course teaches the word: a unit, or a speaking scene where a character says it.

"Who you can say it to" is the useful part. ¡Qué padre!, ahorita and ¿Sale? are fine with anyone, from a market vendor to your boss. ¿Neta?, la chela and ¡No manches! are for friends and relaxed moments, not for your boss. With strangers and older people, plain polite Spanish with usted always works.

Which Mexican slang does CiaoSpeak teach?

CiaoSpeak teaches the clean, everyday slang a visitor actually needs, each word in the lesson where it fits: ¡Qué padre! in Unit 6, ahorita in Unit 9, ¡Va! in Unit 11, ¿Sale? in Unit 17, ¿Neta? in Unit 29 and ¡Aguas! in Unit 32. Tap a phrase to hear the recording from the app.

• ¡Qué padre!Unit 6

  How cool! (Mexico; padre also means "father")

  Ana invites you to a posada (a December party), and a warm yes is ¡Sí, qué padre! In Colombia or Venezuela you'd say ¡Qué chévere! instead.

• ¡Sí, qué padre!Speak

  Yes, how cool!

• padrísimoUnit 28

  awesome (very Mexican)

  padre plus -ísimo ("very"), and it agrees like any adjective: La película estuvo padrísima ("The movie was awesome").

• ahoritaUnit 9

  right now; also "in a little while" (in Mexico)

  The famous one. Ahorita can mean right now, in a little while, or even later; context tells you which. If a waiter says ahorita, your food is coming; if a friend says ahorita lo hago, it may take a while.

• Ahorita vengo.Unit 9

  I'll be right back.

• ¿Neta?Unit 29

  Really? (Mexico, very informal)

  La neta is "the truth": La neta, no sé. ("Honestly, I don't know.") Keep it for friends.

• ¿Sale? / Sale.Unit 17

  OK? / OK. (Mexico)

  Very Mexican, spoken and in text messages. Ana ends a message with Avísame cuando llegues a tu casa, ¿sale? ("Let me know when you get home, OK?").

• ¡Va!Unit 11

  OK! Deal! (casual, very common in Mexico)

  The casual yes to a plan: ¿Vamos al cine el sábado? ¡Va!

• ¡Aguas!Unit 32

  Watch out! (Mexico, informal)

  Informal and very Mexican: what a friend shouts when you're about to step in front of a bike. With a stranger, ¡Cuidado! ("careful!") works everywhere.

The characters in the Speak tab use slang the same way. Tap to hear them:

• ¡Sale!Speak

  You got it!

  Don Chuy at the taco stand says this when you order: "You got it!"

• ¡Órale!Speak

  All right!

  Don Chuy again: another way to say "you got it".

• Ándale, pues.Speak

  All right then.

  Memo the taxi driver, agreeing to the way you want to go.

• ¿Qué onda? ¿Tienes mucho sueño?Speak

  What's up? Are you really sleepy?

  Ana, your language-exchange partner, uses ¿Qué onda? with you because you're friends; with an older stranger she'd start with Buenas tardes.

• Bueno, a trabajar. ¡Nos vemos al rato!Speak

  OK, back to work. See you in a bit!

  Diego, your coworker, heading back to his desk.

How do Mexicans say 'let's go'?

Mexicans say ¡Vámonos! ("let's go!", "let's get going") or just ¡Vamos!; to hurry someone along, ¡Ándale!; and to suggest going somewhere, ¿Vamos por…? ("shall we go for…?"): ¿Vamos por unos tacos?

• ¡Vámonos!

  Let's go! Let's get out of here.

• Vamos.Unit 5

  We go. / Let's go.

• ¿Nos vamos?

  Shall we go? Shall we head out?

• ¿Vamos por un café?Unit 11

  Shall we go for a coffee?

  Vamos por + something is the everyday way to suggest going to get it: ¿Vamos por tacos?

• Oye, ¿vamos al cine el sábado?Speak

  Hey, shall we go to the movies on Saturday?

• Vamos a comer.Unit 11

  We're going to eat. / Let's eat.

What does 'qué tranza' mean?

¿Qué tranza? is a very casual Mexican way to say "what's up?" between friends. Transa (often spelled tranza) is slang for a scam or a shady deal, and the greeting plays on it a bit, like "what's the deal?", but nobody means anything by it: it's just hello. It sounds street-level, so use it only with friends who talk that way, and answer it like any "what's up": Nada, ¿y tú? ("Nothing, you?").

Is güey a bad word?

Not between friends: among young Mexicans, güey (often written wey) just means "dude" and can come up in every sentence. But it started as an insult (from buey, an ox, meaning "dumb"), and to a stranger, an older person or in an argument it still means "idiot". As a visitor, know it, don't use it. The same goes for anything stronger: if you hear a word you don't know laughed about between friends, don't try it on a taxi driver.

Which Mexican words surprise visitors but aren't slang?

Some everyday Mexican words sound like slang to a learner but are just normal Spanish in Mexico: ¿Mande? for "pardon?", el camión for the city bus, el popote for a straw and platicar for "to chat". Use them freely; they're polite.

• ¿Mande?Unit 5

  Sorry? Pardon? (a polite Mexican way to ask someone to repeat)

  What people say when they didn't catch you. It's polite, and you can use it too.

• el camiónUnit 5

  the bus (in Mexico); also "truck"

• el popoteUnit 6

  drinking straw (in Mexico)

• platicarUnit 23

  to chat, to talk (very common in Mexico)

• el depaUnit 20

  the apartment (casual, short for el departamento)

• Me da pena.Unit 10

  I'm embarrassed. (the usual way in Mexico)

  Not "it gives me pain": in Mexico this is how you say you're embarrassed or shy. In many other countries it means "I feel sorry".

• ¿Bueno?Unit 17

  Hello? (answering the phone in Mexico)

  How Mexicans answer the phone. In person, say hola.

• jovenUnit 4

  young man; also a polite way to call a waiter in Mexico

  Call a waiter joven whatever his age: ¡Joven! ¿Me trae la cuenta, por favor?

• ¿Qué se le antoja?Speak

  What do you feel like?

  Sofía at the café asking what you feel like. Antojo is a craving, and antojitos are Mexican snacks and street food.

How can you practice Mexican Spanish out loud?

Practice it the way you'll use it: by answering people. In CiaoSpeak's Spanish course, the lessons teach each word with a recording and a note on when to use it, and the Speak tab puts you in Mexico City scenes where a character asks you one question at a time: Don Chuy at the taco stand, Memo in his taxi, Ana at a café in Coyoacán. You answer out loud (or type), and the app tells you whether a person would understand you, with one gentle fix if not. Lessons are free; in the Speak tab, today's questions (up to five a day) are free too, and CiaoSpeak+ adds practice in any scene whenever you like.

More in the same style: Mexican Spanish phrases for a trip to Mexico City and Spanish small talk.

Frequently asked questions

What does chido mean in Mexico?

Chido means cool or great: ¡Qué chido! is "how cool!" and Está bien chido is "it's really cool". It's casual but not rude, so it's fine with friends and coworkers. ¡Qué padre! means the same and works with anyone.

What does órale mean?

¡Órale! is an all-purpose Mexican exclamation whose meaning comes from the tone: "OK!" when you agree, "wow!" when you're impressed, and "come on!" when you're hurrying someone. Ah, órale is a mild "oh, cool".

Is Mexican slang the same in other Spanish-speaking countries?

No. Most slang is local: ¡Qué padre! and chido are Mexican, while in Colombia or Venezuela "how cool!" is ¡Qué chévere! People elsewhere may recognize Mexican slang from TV and music, but use the words of the place you're in.

Should beginners use Mexican slang?

Use a few friendly words that work with anyone, like ¡Qué padre!, ahorita and ¿Sale?, and keep the rest for understanding. With strangers, older people and anyone serving you, plain polite Spanish with usted always works.