Puerto Rican slang is some of the most diverse, original and interesting slang on the planet. It is also one of the most widely used, being used not only on the island of Puerto Rico, but also all throughout the US!
As of the time of writing, Spanish is one of the world’s most spoken languages, being spoken by around 580 million. Of that 580 million, six million speak Puerto Rican Spanish, mostly in Puerto Rico.
15. Boricua – Puerto Rican
In several other languages’ slang, there is a slang way of describing what nationality you are. In Australia, it’s Aussie. In New Zealand, it’s Kiwi. Whilst in Canada, it’s Canuck.
For Puerto Ricans? The term they often use to describe themselves is boricua. The term itself derives from what the native Taíno people used to call the island itself: Boriken or as the Spanish wrote it, Boriquín.
When the Spanish conquered Puerto Rico, it brought settlers of its own, many of whom interbred with the native Taínos. Over time, they began to refer to themselves as Boricua, meaning “From Boriquín” in Spanish, to remember their history.
Example:
“Que tal, Boricua”
14. Duro / Dura – Good (at Something)
Out of all the Puerto Rican slang words, duro and/or dura is potentially one of the hardest to get your head around, especially if you aren’t a native Spanish speaker!
When you were learning Spanish, you probably learned that duro means “hard”. However, Puerto Ricans generally use it to describe how good someone is at a particular thing.
The difference between duro and dura is dependent on gender. If you’re describing how good a guy is at something, you’d use duro, whilst if you’re describing a woman, you’d use dura!
Example:
“Isabel es muy dura cantando, ¿La has escuchado?”
13. Tirar – To make fun of
When you were learning Spanish, chances are that you learned that tirar is the Spanish verb meaning “To throw away”. Whilst this way is still common, most Puerto Ricans will use it to mean something like “to make fun of” instead!
Generally speaking tirar isn’t used to mean something akin to bullying. Instead, it’s more like when you’re with a close friend and you recount a really embarrassing story, that makes your friend look incredibly stupid.
Alternatively, tirar can also be used in a related albeit different, way: To tease. This latter interpretation is naturally more commonly used with small children, rather than with adults.
Example:
“Deja de tirar de Raúl”
12. Nene / Nena – Boy / Girl
Likely, one of the first things you were taught in Spanish, was how to say “boy” and “girl” those being niño and niña. Whilst this is grammatically correct, chances are you’ll never hear Puerto Ricans use it.
Instead, they’ll likely use the Puerto Rican slang words of nene and nena, to describe a little boy or a little girl. Most commonly, this is used by adults to small children, usually those who are related to each other.
Especially among older generations, nene and nena have another, somewhat related meaning: As a term of endearment. Here, it is used similarly to “honey” in English, although , this is generally an antiquated term.
Example:
“Hola Carlos, ¿Qué pasa nene?”
11. Corillo – Friend
Perhaps the most famous way of saying friend in another language is Spanish’s amigo. Whilst many Puerto Ricans may use that, chances are that you’ll hear corillo just as often!
Literally speaking, corillo has no meaning whatsoever. However, most Puerto Ricans will use it to describe a friend of theirs, be it someone who they’ve just met or one that they’ve know their entire life.
With that being said, it isn’t just use to describe one singular friend. It can also be used to describe a group of friends, and you don’t need to add an extra “s” on the end to make it plural!
Example:
“Este es mi corillo Juan”
“¡¿Qué pasa?!”
10. Embuste – Lie
It’s nice to know that regardless of what language you speak, you will never escape liars. In practically every language there are many slang terms to describe both liars and what they tell, even if there aren’t that many in English.
Regardless, most Puerto Ricans refer to those outlandish statements that liars make as embustes. The singular form of embustes is just embuste, meaning something like “Lie” roughly akin to “Fib” in British slang.
A word of warning with this one. Whilst it often has the same connotations as “Lie” in English, some people may get upset about you calling them a liar, so only use it if you’re 100% sure!
Example:
“Sofia, decir los embustes está mal, siempre di la verdad”
9. Broki – Dude
If the first three letters of this Puerto Rican slang word looks familiar, it’s for good reason! The English slang term “Bro” actually inspired the Puerto Ricans to start using broki to mean the same.
As you can probably imagine, broki has no literal meaning. The only reason it entered Puerto Rican slang was due solely to English speaking Americans using “bro” with them.
Over time, this evolved to broki, and is used between friends as an term of endearment, roughly akin to “Bro” or “Dude” in English. You’ll commonly hear this said by the “Cool” kids to one another.
Example:
“Hola Enrique, ¿Qué pasa broki?”
8. Gufear – Goof around
Have you ever just messed around for a good ten, fifteen, maybe even twenty minutes? In English, we’d describe it as “Messing around” or more commonly, “Goofing around”.
In Puerto Rico, they’d describe it with a different verb: gufear. This has actually become quite popular over the last five years or so, being used by other Latin Americans, not just Puerto Ricans.
As with broki, gufear similarly has no literal meaning in Spanish. In fact, its origins are rather similar! Gufear is the Puerto Rican pronunciation of the word “goof” that has then been turned into a verb.
Example:
“Vamos a perder 20 minutos a gufear”
7. Chavos – Money
When you were being taught Spanish, you were likely taught that dinero was the Spanish word for money. However, you’ll rarely hear this in Puerto Rico. Instead, you’ll hear the word chavos instead!
The word chavos comes from the Spanish word ochavos, meaning “piece of eight” or rather “an eighth”. This comes from the Spanish colonial currency, the real, otherwise known as the “pieces of eight” in English.
Whilst the real would later disappear, eventually making way for the dollar used today, the word chavos stayed. It’s generally used quite informally just like buck(s) in American slang and quid in British slang.
Example:
“Ehh … ¡mira todos estes chavos que estoy ganando!”
6. ¡Ay bendito! – OMG!
The phrase ¡Ay bendito! has been used in Latin America for about as long as the Spanish language has been. For some reason, it is most commonly, but not exclusively, used in Puerto Rico.
Literally speaking, ¡Ay bendito! translates as “Oh blessed” however, is more commonly used to mean something like “Oh my God” or its abbreviation, “OMG!” It can be used interchangeably with dios mio, which is also quite popular.
Occasionally, you may also hear ¡Ay bendito! reinforced with gracias a dios (“Thank God”) to emphasize how shocked, happy and/or surprised you are with something or someone.
Example:
“Quiero dar el siguiente paso … quiero que te mudes conmigo”
“¡Ay bendito! ¡Pensé que me ibas a pedir que me casara contigo!”
5. Wepa – Yay!
Imagine that you just found out some great news. Perhaps you got into a great college, a good exam grade, or you found out that you’re pregnant! If you were Puerto Rican, you’d probably shout “wepa!” at that news!
If you were to look up wepa in the Spanish Dictionary, chances are that you wouldn’t find it. That’s because it was completely made up by the Puerto Ricans, as their own little way of exclaiming joy and/or happiness.
Wepa could translate as a number of things. If you were surprised at something, you might use it to say “Wow!” although you’d more commonly use it to say something akin to “Yay!”
Example:
“¡Estamos embarazadas!”
“¡Wepa!”
4. Come mierda – Arrogant person
This Puerto Rican slang phrase has a number of different meanings. Depending on tone and context, the phrase can have a number of different meanings, ranging from mildly insulting, to completely vulgar!
Literally speaking, come mierda translates as “Eat sh!t”. However, is used by most Puerto Ricans as an insult, usually used to call someone out for having an overly trashy and/or arrogant personality.
On the one end, come mierda is used to tell someone that they’re acting like a bit of a douche, usually trying to impress someone. On the other, it’s used to tell someone that they’re a d!ck and you hate them with every fiber of your body!
Example:
“¡Oye, deja de ser una come mierda, no estás impresionando a nadie!”
3. Janguear – To hang out
English slang has seen the phrase “To hang out” become quite popular, especially in the US. Although Puerto Rico is a part of the US, it hasn’t seen this become as popular, instead, it has seen another phrase: janguear become quite popular!
If you were to look for janguear in the Spanish dictionary you will never find it. This is because it was taken from another language: English. Janguear is the Puerto Rican pronunciation of the English phrase “hang out”.
Recent years have also seen janguear, already a relatively new Puerto Rican slang term, get another meaning. This is roughly akin to the English “Netflix and chill” although this is the least common way it’s used.
Example:
“¿A dónde vas?”
“Jangueo con Pablo”
2. Gato / Gata – Handsome / Beautiful
Yes, I’m sure that you’re familiar with this. The concept of gato and/or gata are not unique to Puerto Rico. In fact, much of the rest of Latin America use it too, even in non-Spanish speaking countries like Brazil!
When you were learning Spanish, you were probably taught that gato was a male cat, whilst gata was a female cat. In Puerto Rican slang? It is used to describe someone as being attractive or good looking.
Generally speaking, gato is used to describe a man who is particularly good looking and/or handsome. Gata, on the other hand, is used to describe a particularly attractive and/or hot woman.
Example:
“¿Ves ese mujer?”
“¡Es gata!”
1. Acicalao – Good looking
If gato and/or gata isn’t really your style, then perhaps acicalao is! Generally speaking, acicalao can be used interchangeably with gato and gata, including as a verb, acicalar.
However, acicalao goes beyond the “he/she is hot”. Most Puerto Ricans use it to say something along the lines of “he/she is perfect”. He/she is not just hot, but he/she dresses well, smells great and always looks immaculate.
You may describe your crush as always being acicalao. You may describe you boyfriend/girlfriend as acicalao. You may describe your significant other as being acicalao. Or you might just call a close friend, acicalao.
Example:
“¿Has visto a manuela?”
“Ella es muy acicalao”
Which are your favorite Brazilian slang words? Tell me in the comments!