![]() Office number 3.” Funny, isn’t it?Ī German friend always practicing his Spanish, was continually confused each time he asked for directions, because he always heard a word that he thought was “Cigarretto”. Due to this, directions are usually given using distance in meters from one point of reference to another.įor instance, typical Tico directions sound something like this: “From the ex-Toyota Building, 150 meters South and 80 meters East, on the two floors house with black fence in front of the mango tree. Chunche: Any object with a difficult or unknown name.ĭirections in Costa Rica are pretty hard, since most of the streets are not named and most houses not numbered. When locals are asked, “How are you?”, the most common answer will be “Puuuura Vida!” In the process of fully speaking and understanding the “Pura Vida language” these are other basic words that you will frequently hear: Pura Vida is used to show appreciation for life but is also used to describe positive people and nice situations. It is equivalent to saying “Everything is great!” or “Life is so good!”. They are joined as an expression of the pleasure and satisfaction about life that is characteristic of Costa Rican citizens. Together, these two words represent Costa Rica worldwide. The “Tico” Spanish is rich in variations and unique expressions well worth learning. One of the tasks that await us when we visit a new country is familiarizing ourselves with the expressions and nuances of the particular language of the area and Costa Rica is no exception. tuanis(too-ahn-ees): Said to be a Spanish adaptation of “too nice,” this popular phrase means “cool.Tico Glossary : The essentials for visitors and newcomers. tome chichi!(toe-may chee-chee): Though this phrase has no direct translation, it’s essentially a teasing form of “take that!” If someone is giving you directions, however, una teja refers to “100 meters,” or one block. una teja (oo-nah tay-hah): Una teja is 100 of anything, usually money (100 colones). soda (soh-dah): a small, family-run typical restaurant que tigra! (kay tee-grah): ugh, what a drag! (synonym of “que pereza!”) que pereza!(kay pay-ray-sah): ugh, what a drag! (synonym of “que tigra!”) que m’iche? (kay mee-chay): what’s up? / what do you have to tell me? pulperia(pool-pehr-ee-ah): a small corner store por dicha(poor dee-chah): thank goodness pinche (peen-chay): Despite its meaning in Mexico, pinche means “stingy” in Costa Rica. pura paja(poor-ah pa-hah): crap bullshit no joda!/no jodás!(no hoe-da/no hoe-das): don’t bother me! / leave me alone! no entender ni papa (no en-ten-der nee pah-pah): to not understand a word mucho gusto (moo-choh goo-stoh): Translating directly as “ much pleasure,” Costa Ricans use this in lieu of “de nada,” or “thank you.” macha (mah-cha): a blond female, usually a foreigner que mala nota! (kay mahl-ah no-tah): what a bad person! hijueputa (ee-who-ay-poo-tah) (vulgar): son of a bitch guila(gwee-lah): Despite its meaning in Mexico, a guila in Costa Rica is merely a “girl.” fijate/fijese(fee-hah-tay/fee-hey-say): Another phrase with no exact translation, this is best thought of as an interjection, approximately meaning “would you believe it?” estar de goma (es-tar day goh-mah): to have a hangover estar de chicha(es-tar day chee-chah): to be angry el chante (el chahn-tay): home (house) place ![]() dolor de jupa (dole-or day hoop-ah): a headache di/diay(dee/dee-ay): With no exact translation, diay is best thought of as an interjection at the beginning of a sentence, similar to “um” or “well.” como amanecio? (coh-moh ah-mahn-es-ee-oh): how are you this morning? bostezo (boh-stes-oh): bored or boring (a synonym of aguevado) apuntarse (ah-poon-tar-say): to sign up (for something, like a tour) aguevado (ah-gway-va-doh): bored or boring (synonym of bostezo) 100 (cien) metros (see-en met-ros): Always remember that “cien metros” means “one block.” Likewise, “doscientos (200) metros” means “two blocks,” and “cincuenta (50) metros”, “half a block” – all regardless of the actual length of the block. Since Spanish uses gendered nouns, a Costa Rican man is a Tico, and a Costa Rican woman is a Tica. Tico / tica(tee-ko/tee-ka): Due to a quirk of speech, Costa Ricans are called Ticos. Use it as an answer to “como estas?” (“how are you?”), or to say “thank you” or “you’re welcome.” This phrase symbolizes the Costa Rican idea of letting things go, and simply enjoying life. pura vida(poor-ah vee-dah): Pura vida means “pure life,” but more than anything, it’s a way of life. mae (my): Mae can be used to mean “dude” between friends, or simply to refer to any man or woman (“ese mae te esta llamando” = “that guy is calling you”).
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