More diversity in our Chatterbug Instagram!

[MariaJSalmeron]

¡Hola!
I’m sure most of you know our Instagram account but if you don’t go and check it out here. Spanish is a very diverse language and it’s full of expressions and idioms, so much that it’s impossible to know them all!

Why don’t we take advantage of the diversity we have in our Chatterbug Community and show it off on our Instagram profile? We have tutors and students from all over the world and I think that deserves to be shown off. I would like to encourage both Spanish tutors and Spanish learners to become part of our Instagram posts!

Let’s brainstorm ideas and maybe they will end up receiving thousands of likes!! I’m sure we can come up with expressions from different countries that are easy to illustrate and both funny and helpful for students.

• Can you think of expressions that you often use in your country that could be helpful for Spanish learners?
• What are the most typical expressions from your country?
• Which type of expressions would you like to learn in Spanish?
• What expression or phrases in Spanish changed your life when you learned them?
• Are there any phrases or expressions that you have not stopped using since you learned them?

[Janina]

I love the expression “quilombo” from Argentina. And I think it’s origin is also very interesting.

I also love how every country addresses a “friend” differently. In Argentina it’s “Boludo/a”, in Spain “Tío/a”, in Mexico “Carnal” … there are so many!

Also, how do you make someone pay attention? “Oye”, “Che”, …?

[Michi]

There is an expression I use a lot. More than Colombian, it is a Caleño (from Cali) expression : “calmáte, ventarrón”. The literal translation is “calm down, strong wind”. We use it when a person is unsettled or upset… or too excited about something that is not worthy.

Also, referring to what @kjanina mentioned, we use "ve", “mirá”, "oís-oíste" a lot in Caleño Spanish.

[Maddy11]

I’m searching for some advice from tutors or students who know Chilean Spanish!

@SarahBK @Charlotte_K @css Can you help?

D you know this phrase “se te arrancaron las cabras pal monte” ? What does it mean?

I came across it online but I want to make sure it is actually used in real life…

¡Gracias!

[css]

hi @Maddy11, it’s a saying to use in an informal conversation when the other person tells you something crazy he did/said and it was unexpected. Then you can reply “Se te arrancaron las cabras/pavos/enanos pal monte” and both laugh.

It could also used about a person if he’s a bit crazy: “a él se le escapan las cabras pal monte”.

It’s not used often in real life, it’s just a saying that you can pull out of the hat in those circumstances.

[SarahBK]

Hi Maddy! “Se te arrancaron las cabras pal monte” means that someone has gone insane/crazy. I understood it immediately, although I don’t remember actually hearing it. My Chilean boyfriend said it’s really old (and comes obviously from rural areas). People rarely use it nowadays, but everyone knows it and you might eventually hear a reference to it.
“Rallar la papa” is a commonly used expression that means something similar (but not the same). It is used when someone does or says something inappropriate.

[Charlotte_K]

Hi @Maddy11 I also had to ask my chilean husband. I heard the expression before but never really got the meaning! There are so many in and most of them are related to animals My two favorite ones are " pasarla chancho" which means to have a great time (Chancho means pig in chilean Spanish) and “Echar la foca” means “to challenge someone” but literally means “to throw a seal”

[Maddy11]

Thank you @css @SarahBK and @Charlotte_K for your input! You helped us create this post on our Instagram account. Have you seen it yet?

If you have any other ideas for interesting words or expressions we could share with our audience, please let us know! Thanks