Na'atik Language & Culture Institute

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Popular Mexican Spanish Expressions

Below are ten Spanish words or expressions you might not find in your phrasebook, but will hear on your travels in Mexico.

1. Mande!

You may be speaking your best Spanish but in Mexico when someone doesn't understand you or hasn't you, they will ask, ¿Mande? It's a way of saying“what?" or "I beg your pardon?"

¿Sabes que donde está la farmacia?

¿Mande?

Do you know where the pharmacy is?

What?

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2. Padre

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Qué padre literally translates into English as "what father".  However, what this Mexican slang term actually means is “how cool”.

3. Qué onda

¿Qué onda? is a question friends in Mexico often ask each other.  An informal greeting, this expression can be roughly translated into English as “what’s up?”. Responding to your Mexican friends in Spanish, then, is similar to how you would answer the same question in English.

"¿Qué onda?"

“Nada.”

“Todo bien.”

“What’s up?”  

“Nothing.”  

“Everything's good.”

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4. Dar un paseo

In Spanish, when you are going out to do something for fun, whether by foot or any other transport, you can use this phrase.So, if you are taking a leisurely ride on your bike, a wander around the plaza or just heading out for a drive, you can use 'dar un paseo'.

!Para Semana Santa vamos a dar un paseo a la playa!

For Easter vacation, we're going to go to the beach!

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5. Vente Pa'ca

As well as being the title of popular Ricky Martin song, vente pa'ca, or ven pa'ca, translates to English as  "come here".

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6. Desde luego

This phrase doesn’t translate literally from Spanish to English but idiomatically means "of course”.

“¿Quieres una pizza para cena?”

“¡Desde luego!”

“Do you want a pizza for dinner?”

“Of course!”

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7. Tener Coco

A common phrase you'll hear in Spanish in our little corner of Mexico is tener coco, which means "to be smart or clever"

"¡Ese alumno tiene coco! Aprende super-rápido."

"That student is so smart! He learns very quickly."

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8. Buscar

Here in the Yucatán peninsula, the Spanish word buscar  mean more that just only mean "to look for". It is also used express  "to get," "to pick up," or "to collect," and it refers to both people and objects. To make it even more confusing, in Maya, "to look for" and "to find" is the same verb and many people use it the same when they speak Spanish!

“Voy a buscar mi bici.”

"I'm going to get my bike.”

"Favor de buscar a mi amiga a las 8."

"Please pick up my friend at 8."

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9. ¡Qué bochorno!

Here in Mexico,

this Spanish phrase describes the suffocating summer heat mixed with the intense humidity that follows the rain. All we can do is drink something cool and swing in our hammocks like and exclaim:

"¡Qué bochorno!"

"It's HOT!"

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10. Echar a perdar

Echar a perder

 is used to describe something as spoiled, ruined, or broken. This term is often used Mexico to describe fruit that is beyond its best, or to explain when something has been spoiled, for example:

"¡Ella se dijo como la película terminó, y echó a perder la sorpresa!"

"She told me how the movie ends and ruined the surprise!"

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 To learn more useful phrases and improve your Spanish, join our

online classes! We also offer a Study Abroad Yucatán (SAY) program where we provide an immersive Spanish or Maya language experience, tailored to help you achieve your language goals.

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