THE Buenos Aires Blog

Beginner’s Lunfardo

boludez — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:28:25 +0000

Now that you are living in Bs As you MUST learn this so-called “slang” called lunfardo. However, lunfardo is much more than just a type of jargon – since EVERYONE now uses it in every day language (once upon a time it was only used by tango singers and the lower classes – those who developed it). Enough said, get started with these:

che: an interjection often used to get someone’s attention (“hey, you!”); also very commonly used between sentences as a segue

colectivo: bus — here “autobus” is not used; not technically lunfardo (the lunfardo name is bondi)

pibe: muchacho in the rest of LA

plata: money (literally “silver”)

mina: mujer (woman)

laburar: trabajar (to work)

morfar: comer (to eat)

quilombo: a hectic situation, or a mess (“Llegué tarde porque el tránsito es un quilombo hoy” – I arrived late because traffic is terrible today.)

boludo/a: dumb or stupid (when used literally); however, often used among friends affectionately

pelotudo/a: idiot, dumbass — somewhat similar to boludo, but much stronger!

Brand new to Bs As? Life-saving websites:

boludez — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:16:04 +0000

I’ve been here for over a year now and I still use these on a daily basis (if only I had them when I first got here…)

http://www.comoviajo.com — Need to get somewhere and don’t know how? Just type in the addresses!

http://www.buenosairesherald.com — Don’t speak much castellano (local name for Spanish)? News in English!

Si ya sabés castellano, the two most popular diarios (the word periódico isn’t used here) are Clarín & La Nación.

As far as online dictionaries go, http://www.spanishdict.com is probably the most user-friendly.

Living here you will hear tons of words that you never learned in Spanish class. The local slang, lunfardo, is used by EVERYONE. I recommend these dictionaries: http://argentineslang.wordpress.com & El Portal del Tango.

OK, amigos. That’s enough to get you started. If I missed any good ones, leave them in the comments below!

Welcome (Bienvenido)

boludez — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:32:05 +0000

The sole purpose of this blog is to help YOU adjust to life here in Buenos Aires.

I will provide you with advice & tips on: jobs, housing, transportation, food, etc.

Along the way you will learn about la cultura porteña (Bs As culture) and surely pick up plenty of lunfardo (Bs As slang).

Bienvenidos a todos. Welcome to THE most helpful Buenos Aires blog on the net.