| Term | Definition |
|---|
| agarrar papa | take advantage of a situation; get a project off the ground |
| a la pinta | to dress very well and appropriately; means perfect when used in exclamation |
| al tiro | immediately; right away |
| amoroso | sweet or cute |
| anotarse un poroto | "hit the nail on the head", a wise choice |
| bilz y pap (mundo de) | fantasy; dream world |
| bomba | gas station |
| buenmozo | good looking, attractive |
| buena pinta | physically attractive |
| cabeza de pescado | sheer nonsense |
| cacho | a problem; tricky or difficult situation |
| cachureo | junk; odd bits and pieces |
| cara de palo | poker-faced; deliberately oblivious to others' reactions |
| caracol | shopping centers built on a circular form with winding corridors or walkways |
| chacota/chacoteo | silly or friovolous behavior, fun; sort of a joke |
| chalas | sandals |
| chicha fresca | bubbly, vivacious personality |
| chirimoyo | bad check |
| chiva (meter una chiva) | make up a story |
| choreado (a) | angry, irritated; upset |
| choro (a) | equivalent of "cool" |
| chuchoca (estar en la chuchoca) | to be where the action is |
| chueco | dishonest; crooked |
| colectivo | a taxi that picks up several passengers and follows a specific route |
| compadre | buddy; good friend |
| copucha (copuchar) | gossip |
| corta el queque | to take the helm, to decide what to do |
| curado | intoxicated |
| dejar la crema | to leave a mess; to make a hash of things; to put one's foot in it |
| descubicado | to be lacking in good judgment |
| empanne | car break-down |
| escoba | disastrous situation |
| estar con el hacha | to have a hangover |
| estar lona | to be exhausted or weary |
| estriado (a) | extremely formal; stiff |
| fome | dull, boring, insipid |
| fregado | difficult, problematic |
| gallo (a) | guy (girl) |
| gauchada (or paletada) | a favor; give a helping hand |
| gringo | term to dientify non-hispanic individual or a chilean of foreign descent (not derogatory!) |
| guagua | baby |
| guata | belly, stomach |
| guaton | term of endearment used to imply a plump person |
| harto | used as an adjective to mean a lot, plenty, very, means fed up when used by itself |
| hasta las masas | knee-deep; up to one's neck |
| huaso | used as a noun refers to a farmer, countryside dweller or cowboy |
| huevon | friendly gesture among friends but can also mean loser or jerk |
| huevear | mess around or play with someone in a negative manner (no me hueves) |
| jardinera | overalls |
| juaja | bed of roses; piece of cake |
| junior | office boy |
| leso | silly, stupid; feign ifnorance or pretend to be oblivious |
| lolo (a) | teenager; youngster |
| luca | one thousand pesos |
| macanudo | great! |
| maestro | repairman; may also mean teacher |
| maestro chasquillas | handyman; someone who purports to be capable of doing anything |
| mala pata | bad luck |
| mentholatum | a cure all; also an individual who is adept to anything |
| meter la pata | put foot in your mouth |
| manito de gato | touch up; to make up |
| mano de monja | to have a good and gentle hand (only refers to cooking) |
| mate | mind; brain; old noodle |
| meter pata | press the car's accelerator all the way; drive fast |
| metete | busybodyl nosey |
| mijito (a) | term of endearment meaning my dear |
| micro | large pulic bus carrying 40 passengers |
| monos | drawing; doodles |
| monono (a) | dressed up; pretty; attractiv |
| mostrar la hilacha | reveal one's basic nature |
| muerte (mortal) | superlative; excellen |
| ni chicha ni limonada | not one thing or the other; undefined |
| once | light dinner |
| onda | individuals' style or type; essence or spirit of something |
| pagar el pato | pay the consequences |
| pajaron | absent- minded |
| palta | avacado |
| papa | baby food |
| pata (tener patas) | brash, bold |
| hacerle la pata | to be a brown-noser |
| patiperro | wanderer or explorer |
| patudo (a) | brash |
| payasada | something insignificant or silly |
| pega | work, job |
| pelambre | gossip |
| pelar al ajo | to work like a dog or slave |
| pepas | eyes |
| picada | favorite eating place, usually small, unknown and off the beaten track |
| picado de la arana | adjective describing a nmale who is fickle, flirtatious and falls in love easily |
| pichanga | friendly soccer; tray or set of dishes used to serve cocktail snacks |
| pieza | room in the house |
| pilucho | adjective tha tmeans half-dressed or naked; also a garment for infants |
| pinta (tirar pinta) | physically attractive or well-dressed |
| plata | money, cash |
| polera | t0shirt |
| pololear | to go steady |
| pololo(a) | boyfriend (girlfriend) |
| ponerle color | exaggerate or embellish the truth; put a great deal of effort into the task at hand |
| por las puras | for the heck of it |
| pororto | bean |
| porsiaca (por si acaso) | just in case, by the way |
| poto | buttocks |
| pu | shortened version of pues. used to add emphasis to end of a sentence |
| pucho | cigarette |
| quemado | have bad lucky constantly |
| rasca | tacky inferior quality |
| raspado de la olla | bottom of the barrel; the dregs |
| rayado | crazy; also fanatical |
| re | prefix used to add emphasis |
| regalonear | to pamper; dote on |
| regio (a) | great, fantastic |
| roto | may mean bad-mannered but also used in positive sense for the common man |
| ruca | mapuche word meaning hut or cottage; informally used to mean one's home or hideaway |
| sacarse la mugre | to work very hard; or to have a nasty accident |
| sacar pica | to arouse ency or anger deliberatly |
| sangre pato | improvised manner; cold blooded |
| sapo | nosy person |
| sepa moya | "god only knows" "have no idea" |
| soltar la pepa | to let the cat out of the bag; to spill the beans |
| sonado | in trouble |
| soplado | to drive fast or go quickly |
| taco | traffic jam; desk calendar; heel of your shoe |
| te vayas al chancho | you are exaggerating |
| tirado de las mechas | absurd; nonsensical |
| tirar pinta | to impress |
| todo trapo | in style, in a big way |
| tomar el pelo | to pull someone's leg |
| tranca | complex (neurosis) of some sort |
| velas (ir como las velas) | to go quikyl |
| ya | okay |
Combine with other sets
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