If you’re walking through the streets of Bogotá, talking to a Colombian, or ordering a cup of coffee, you might catch some words or phrases that might not make sense. Here we’ll see some expressions that will help you understand a bit more about our culture.
Me regala
If you pay attention to a Colombian when ordering food, or asking for anything, you might have heard something like ‘Me regala un cafecito con leche’. Although ‘Me regala’ means ‘Would you gift me’ Colombians aren’t asking for a free coffee, it’s used as a nicer way of asking for things. It’s not only confusing to foreigners but even more to other Spanish speakers that want you to pay for your food. Here are some examples of how it’s used:
- ¿Me regalas tu nombre?
- Me regala esta camisa, por favor.
- Regálame la cuenta
Chévere
Every country has its own way of saying ‘cool’ in México they have ‘Chido’ in Costa Rica ‘Qué chiva’ and in Spain ‘Guay’. In Colombia, we use ‘Chévere’ it can be used to describe people, clothes, things, and situations. It’s used throughout the entire country, but in some regions, mostly in the Caribbean, you might hear ‘Bacano / Bacana’
- ¿Estás en Cartagena? ¡Qué chévere!
- Carlos es muy chévere, lo vas a amar.
- Esta camisa está muy chévere, la voy a llevar.
Every country has its own way of saying ‘cool’ in México they have ‘Chido’ in Costa Rica ‘Qué chiva’ and in Spain ‘Guay’. In Colombia, we use ‘Chévere’
Ñapa or Encime
Although I just said Colombians aren’t asking for free things with ‘Me regalas’ if they ask for ‘La Ñapa o el encime’ they are asking for something for free. ‘La ñapa’ it’s something extra that some bakeries, small stores, or food trucks might give you as a treat, and get you to come back again. You can ask for it or just wait to be surprised by it. ‘La ñapa’ comes from Quechua language, an Inca indigenous tongue, and it even spread to New Orleans as “lagniappe”.
- Vecino, me regala la ñapa
- Hay un pan de queso de ñapa
- ¿Y el encime?
Parce
The short form of ‘parcero’ is a word used for referring to a friend or someone close, it’s close to dude or homie. It’s used throughout the country, but it’s especially used in Antioquia and its surroundings.
- Parce, tengo mucha hambre, vamos a comer.
- Parce, venga, yo le digo una cosa hermano.
Miti-miti
Last but not least, my favorite expression of Colombian Spanish, ‘Miti-miti’ it’s a shorter form of ‘mitad y mitad’ and it means ‘fifty-fifty’ or ‘halfsies’. So if you want to split dessert, you can simply ask ¿Miti-miti?
- No tengo mucha hambre, compramos una arepa y miti-miti?
- Vamos a repartir nuestro dinero miti-miti
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve heard from a Colombian? Is your favorite expression not here? tell us in the comments.
