{"id":12372,"date":"2019-03-18T00:01:29","date_gmt":"2019-03-18T04:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/?p=12372"},"modified":"2019-03-17T18:04:58","modified_gmt":"2019-03-17T22:04:58","slug":"venezuelan-spanish-and-the-plethora-of-colloquialisms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/venezuelan-spanish-and-the-plethora-of-colloquialisms\/","title":{"rendered":"Venezuelan Spanish and the Plethora of Colloquialisms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Languages are much more than what books teach us. For example, English offers a more picturesque repertoire than just <em>OK<\/em>, <em>no problem<\/em>, or the well-known \u201cf-word\u201d<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Spanish\u2014and Venezuelan Spanish in this case\u2014has a colorful lexicon that, if used by a non-native, makes you sound more natural and closer to other speakers.<\/p>\n<p>In that sense, <em>ch\u00e9vere <\/em>is usually placed at the top of Venezuela&#8217;s most popular colloquialisms, as it is extensively used to express your happiness or delight about a situation. For example:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<em>Conseguiste el empleo. \u00a1Qu\u00e9 <strong>ch\u00e9vere<\/strong>!<\/em> (You got the job. What a good thing\/How nice!)<\/p>\n<p>However, this post is dedicated to the other colloquialisms that make the list of most common Venezuelan idioms. <em>Warning: Many of these words may be considered vulgar in certain social settings. Use them wisely!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12373\" style=\"width: 466px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12373\" class=\" wp-image-12373\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/677935443_66914ac214_z-350x263.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"456\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/677935443_66914ac214_z-350x263.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/677935443_66914ac214_z.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 456px) 100vw, 456px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-12373\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo taken by Rodrigo Suarez. Available on Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n<h1><em>Epa<\/em> and <em>mira<\/em><\/h1>\n<p>Let&#8217;s begin with <em>epa <\/em>and <em>mira<\/em>, which are employed to call attention to yourself at the start of any conversation:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Epa<\/em><\/strong><em>, \u00bfqu\u00e9 pas\u00f3?<\/em> (Hey, what&#8217;s up?)<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Mira<\/em><\/strong><em>, cu\u00e9ntame de tu d\u00eda.<\/em> (Hey, tell me about your day.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><em>Vale<\/em><\/h1>\n<p><em>Vale <\/em>is a word that gives emphasis to your yes-or-no statements:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>\u00bfLlegaste bien a casa?<\/em> (Did you get home well?); <em>S\u00ed, <strong>vale<\/strong>, llegu\u00e9 bien.<\/em> (Yes, of course I did.)<\/li>\n<li><em>\u00bfConseguiste lo que buscabas?<\/em> (Did you find what you were looking for?); <em>No, <strong>vale<\/strong>, nada. <\/em>(No, not at all.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><em>Co\u00f1o<\/em><\/h1>\n<p><em>Co\u00f1o <\/em>is one of those &#8220;nice&#8221; words that began as a swear (it literally means &#8216;female genitalia&#8217;) and ended up being used everywhere to &#8220;spice up&#8221; your phrases:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Co\u00f1o<\/em><\/strong><em>, \u00a1qu\u00e9 sorpresa!<\/em> (What a surprise!)<\/li>\n<li><em>Pero, <strong>co\u00f1o<\/strong>, no seas impaciente!<\/em> (Don&#8217;t be impatient!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can use <em>co\u00f1o <\/em>alone or alongside <em>vale <\/em>to create an untranslatable expression that clearly shows how deep your discomfort is towards a situation:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Co\u00f1o vale<\/em><\/strong><em>, \u00a1qu\u00e9 problema tan grande!<\/em> (What a problem!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Because some people consider <em>co\u00f1o <\/em>too rude, they rely on its milder versions, <em>c\u00f3nchale <\/em>and <em>coye.<\/em><\/p>\n<h1>Interjections for every need<\/h1>\n<p>In cases where you need to show how amazed you are by something\u2014be it positively or negatively\u2014 <em>no joda<\/em> and its variations will be there for your linguistic needs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>No joda<\/em><\/strong><em>, mi celular se da\u00f1\u00f3 <\/em>(Damn, My cellphone broke!)<\/li>\n<li><em>Perd\u00ed el autob\u00fas, <strong>no hombre<\/strong><\/em> (Heck, I missed the bus!)<\/li>\n<li><em>\u00a1Gan\u00f3 mi equipo! As\u00ed se juega, <strong>no jo<\/strong><\/em> (My team won! That&#8217;s how you play, damn it!)<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>No juegue<\/em><\/strong><em>, yo aprovech\u00e9 y me met\u00ed en la fiesta <\/em>(Damn, I just saw the chance and broke into the party)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Meanwhile, <em>broma<\/em>, <em>vaina <\/em>and <em>verga* <\/em>are chiefly used as a ruder way of referring to an indeterminate object, or even your own mood facing an unfortunate event:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>\u00bfQu\u00e9 <strong>broma <\/strong>es esa?<\/em> (What is that thing there?)<\/li>\n<li><em>\u00bfY esa <strong>vaina<\/strong>?<\/em> (What is that thing?\/What just happened?)<\/li>\n<li><em>\u00a1No entiendo esta <strong>verga<\/strong>!<\/em> (I don&#8217;t understand this thing!)<\/li>\n<li><em>\u00a1Qu\u00e9 <strong>broma<\/strong>!\/\u00a1Qu\u00e9 <strong>vaina<\/strong>!\/\u00a1Qu\u00e9 <strong>verga<\/strong>!<\/em> (How unfortunate!\/What a bad thing to happen!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>*It is worth mentioning that <em>verga <\/em>is another word for male genitalia.<\/p>\n<p>Coming back to the subject of amazement and frustration, in Venezuela there are many more ways of expressing yourself:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Na guar\u00e1 de <\/em><\/strong><em>dif\u00edcil esta tarea<\/em> (What a difficult homework!)<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Na guar\u00e1<\/em><\/strong><em>, est\u00e1 haciendo mucho fr\u00edo <\/em>(It is very cold right now!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are other useful expressions for many more situations. Say you want to dismiss something as being too unbelievable to be true: just say out loud <em>eche<\/em>; <em>s\u00ed, Luis<\/em>; or <em>ponte a creer<\/em> to make your point clear.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8211; <em>Termin\u00e9 el proyecto en dos d\u00edas nada m\u00e1s. <\/em>(I finished the project in just two days.); <strong><em>S\u00ed, Luis<\/em><\/strong> (Yeah, \u201cright\u201d!).<\/li>\n<li>&#8211;<em>\u00bfTe ganaste la loter\u00eda?<\/em> <em>\u00a1<strong>Eche<\/strong>! <\/em>(You won the lottery? Yeah, I &#8220;believe&#8221; that.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What about a frightening event? Just say out loud the word <em>susto <\/em>and you&#8217;ll be conveying how afraid the people around you should be.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8211; <em>\u00a1<strong>Susto<\/strong>! Acabo de ver un fantasma<\/em> (What a shock! I have just seen a ghost)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1>Regionalisms within Venezuela<\/h1>\n<p>Regional expressions aren\u2019t just limited to countries in Latin America\u2014even within Venezuela expressions vary. People coming from Zulia state (on the western part of the country) love to show off their roots by using <em>qu\u00e9 molleja <\/em>and <em>vergaci\u00f3n <\/em>in the same manner as <em>no joda<\/em>, <em>verga <\/em>or <em>na guar\u00e1.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>\u00a1<strong>Qu\u00e9 molleja de<\/strong> casa la tuya!<\/em> (What an awesome house of yours!)<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Vergaci\u00f3n<\/em><\/strong><em>, \u00bfviste esa vaina?<\/em> (Did you see that thing?)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On the other hand, inhabitants of <em>los Llanos<\/em> like to say <em>caracha<\/em>, their own version of <em>caramba<\/em>, when surprised.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Caracha<\/em><\/strong><em>, ese caballo s\u00ed es bonito.<\/em> (That&#8217;s a pretty horse.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With its myriad idioms, Venezuelan Spanish is one of the most flavorful Spanish variants.<em> \u00a1Na guar\u00e1, tremendo idioma, no jo! \u00a1Qu\u00e9 ch\u00e9vere es hablar espa\u00f1ol, vale!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"263\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/677935443_66914ac214_z-350x263.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/677935443_66914ac214_z-350x263.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/677935443_66914ac214_z.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Languages are much more than what books teach us. For example, English offers a more picturesque repertoire than just OK, no problem, or the well-known \u201cf-word\u201d. Similarly, Spanish\u2014and Venezuelan Spanish in this case\u2014has a colorful lexicon that, if used by a non-native, makes you sound more natural and closer to other speakers. In that sense&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/venezuelan-spanish-and-the-plethora-of-colloquialisms\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":12373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[509951,143,358369,402310],"class_list":["post-12372","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vocabulary","tag-informal-speech","tag-spanish","tag-vocabulary","tag-venezuela"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12372"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12377,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12372\/revisions\/12377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}