El Diccionario

Chilean Spanish is unlike any other Spanish you'll find. Obviously every Spanish speaking country has its own slang and accent, but the Chileans take it to a completely new level. When you first listen to them speak, you wonder if they are just saying one extremely long word, but once they stop for breath, which is rare, you realize that they actually just told an entire story. They have also managed to create an entire sub-language comprised of completely unique slang words, hence this handy dictionary. As I hear and learn new words, I'll list them here:

A fondo-Literally meaning "to the back" this also translates to "to the maximum" or something that was absolutely the best, or most awesome, that it could be

Arriba la pelota-You're feeling pretty good after a couple of drinks! I.e. tipsy or buzzed

Bakan-The Chilean version of "sweet" or "awesome" when referring to how great a person, place, thing, or situation is or was

Cachai-Used as a filler, cachai generally means "get it?" or "understand?", but to avoid looking like a gringo (see below), know that this usually a rhetorical question

Carrete-A party. And if you want to party with Chileans, you should know that the party doesn't start until around 1 (or until Ke$ha walks in), and if it doesn't go all night, then it's not a real carrete

Carretear-To go out at night and party it up

Una gringa-note the look of naivety
El colectivo-Like a shared taxi, these guys will pick you up and take you wherever you need to go. Like the micros, they are everywhere, and not terribly expensive

Copete-An alcoholic beverage

De lujo-An Argentinian slang word meaning wonderful or divine

Discoteca-A dance club. You should never have to pay to get into a discoteca, unless there's an open bar

Guatito/a hermoso/a-A loving way to call someone a little round around the middle

Gringo/a-An inoffensive label for those who aren't from Chile, i.e. me

Filete-Another version of "sweet" or "awesome", but this one ranks above bakan in degree of awesomeness

Halucinante-Actually Argentinian, this slang word means that something is so amazing that it practically feels like a hallucination. Sort of like the Argentinian version of filete (see above)

El micro-the Chilean buses that run throughout the entire area of Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, and Reñaca. Even though they often have a Mercedes Benz logo, expect the smooth drive of a Gremlin. Driven much like the Knight Bus, these have no sense of personal space and the drivers could care less if you are slammed into the seat in front of you because they had to screech to a halt once they realized that they couldn't run the red light. However, they are extremely cheap (300-400 pesos) and they're everywhere, making them a fantastic way to get around

Pisco-The alcohol of choice in Chile. Made from grapes, it has around the same alcohol concentration of vodka, but with a lovely fruity flavor. Mix it with Coke for a piscola, or lemon juice for a pisco sour and you're good to go

Poh-A Chilean filler word used at the end of short sentences to confuse gringos. The equivalent in English would be the phrases "like" or "ya know?". Example: If you ask a Chilean if they would like another pisco sour, their answer is most often "Sí po", but rarely "no po"

El taco-Yes, this is a delicious Mexican dish, but in Chile it also translates to a traffic jam 

Weon(a)-This is another of the words that constitutes 1/3 of the entirety of spoken Chilean Spanish because it is used so often. Most of the time it means something akin to "dude", but can also be said with more intensity and serve as an insult

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