List Of Spanish Expressions In Common English

Here are some words or phrases from the Spanish that are sometimes used in English.

A

  • Adis - farewell
  • Amigo - friend

B

  • Buenas noches - good night
  • Buenas tardes - good afternoon
  • Bueno - nice
  • Buenos días - good day

C

  • Caon - canyon
  • Caramba - expression of dread, displeasure, or disapproval
  • Chica - girl
  • Chico - boy
  • Chipotle - a smoked jalapeo, used in cooking and sauces for its flavor
  • Chocolate - of New World origin, pronounced in Spanish with four syllables
  • Corrida - a bullfight
  • Costa (lit. "coast") - a coast specialized in sun and beach tourism.

E

  • El Dorado (lit. the golden one) - a mythical golden city
  • El Nio (lit. the boy child (referring to the Christ child) - a major temperature fluctuation in the tropical Pacific Ocean, so named because it often started around Christmas time near Peru

F

G

H

  • Hasta la vista - see you later
  • Hasta maana - see you tomorrow
  • Hombre - slang term for a man

J

  • Jalapeo - a type of spicey chilli
  • Junta - a group of leaders, usually military officers in a coup d'etat.
  • Juzgado (cf. "hoosegow") - a place of confinement, literally "Judge court"

L

  • Llano - plains, grassland

M

  • Machete - a large broad-bladed knife used as a cutting tool or weapon
  • Macho - masculine man (also Machismo, the abstract noun form)
  • Maana (lit. "tomorrow") - I'll do it later.
  • Mano a mano (lit. "hand to hand") - a confrontation with cooperation
  • Matador (lit. "killer") - a bullfighter whose task it is to make the kill
  • Mesa - flat-topped mountain
  • Mi casa es su casa - (lit: my house is your house) - make yourself welcome
  • Mulatto (from mulato) - a person of mixed race

N

  • Nada - nothing
  • No comprende - Do(es) not understand
  • No problema - Okay (no hay problema in Spanish), often misspoken by English speakers as "No problemo"
  • Nmero uno - Number one

O

  • Ol - an interjection, an expression of approval or triumph, similiar to the Italian bravo

P

  • Patio - an open paved area adjacent to a home (from the Spanish word for an inner courtyard)
  • Piata - a game using a colorful suspended candy-and-toy-filled container that children try to break open with a stick
  • Picaro - hardened rogue; star of the picaresque novel
  • Pion - pine nuts
  • Plaza (lit. "place") - a public square
  • Pronto - immediately
  • Pueblo (lit. "village") - the distinctive towns of the Pueblo people, tribes of native Americans.

R

S

  • Salsa - a spicy Mexican-style usually tomato-based sauce (in Spanish, any kind of sauce or gravy), also a style of Latin music or dancing
  • Sangra - a wine cooler drink.
  • Seorita - ("Miss", dim. of Seora - "Mrs.") unmarried girl or woman
  • Sierra (lit. "saw") - a mountain range
  • Siesta - a nap
  • Sombrero - a very large-brimmed hat (in Spanish, it refers to any kind of hat)
  • Suave - smooth
  • Supremo (lit. "supreme") - the top man

T

  • Tapas (lit. "covers") - finger food
  • Toreador or torero - bullfighter

V

  • Vamos - let's go
  • Vaquero - cowboy (cf. "buckaroo")

W

  • Wop - insult for olive-skinned people (from guapo - goodlooking through Italian guappone, "bravado man")

Y

  • Yo quiero - I want (popularized by the "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" campaign)

See also

Spanglish

External links

Spanish Words Become Our Own

 

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