Life is not as simple as we wish. Sometimes things do not work out the way we planned. This is when colorful language flies and we use curse words/phrases to relieve stress. In this post I will teach you some useful Puerto Rican profanities, with a twist. I’m featuring seven swear phrases from my beloved […]

Ever stop to think how Spanish slang words develop? It’s a fun experience since their history will often teach you about major historical influences in a culture. These 5 Puerto Rican words do just that. A colony of Spain for 400 years, we Puerto Ricans adopted words that are still alive today. For example, we […]

As in most countries, several unique grammar adaptations have appeared over the years in Puerto Rico. While sometimes these usages are grammatically incorrect, they are so widespread that they are accepted as being correct. Below are examples of Puerto Rican Spanish grammar: 1. The most common “mistake” in Puerto Rican Spanish is to mix English […]

Puerto Rican Spanish Slang for Penis: A Bug or a Guy’s Dick? What does bicho means in Puerto Rico? The example here is a COMMON mistake that Spanish speakers make in Puerto Rico. A recent restaurant visit in Peru reminded me of one of my first encounters with Puerto Rican Spanish. I had just moved […]

Piragua is the Puerto Rican Spanish word for snow cone. This refreshing pyramid shaped ice treat is popular all year long and I had the opportunity to have one on a recent visit. For the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries a piragua is a boat similar to a canoe. The word piragua is the result […]

Take a look at the photo of this sign I took recently in Puerto Rico that reads NO ESTACIONE EN RIVERSA. Instead of riversa the correct Spanish word should be reversa. The use of the word riversa is a good example that shows two characteristics of the Puerto Rican Spanish: 1. The use of words […]

For my fellow brothers and sisters from Puerto Rico that want to learn more about our unique vocabulary, and the others who are wondering what are those goofy words we use sometimes, here is a cool sample of some of our common Spanish words. The following Puerto Rican Spanish audio clips are from a radio […]

I spent this past weekend really sick with la monga. Whether you are a Spanish-speaker or not, you might be wondering, What the hell is la monga? Is it contagious? YES. Is it life threatening? NO. La monga or simply monga is the Puerto Rican Spanish slang for a strong cold. According to the Tesoro Lexicográfico […]

“Más de un siglo después de uso de la moneda estadounidense, seguimos buscando el peso, tramitando la peseta, pidiendo el medio peso, luchando el vellón, sudando los chavos…” -Luz Nereida Pérez from the book Puerto Rico y el lenguaje   Puerto Ricans say chavos instead of dinero Puerto Rico is a United States territory since […]

Here’s a photo of a pack of mantecaditos taken in a store in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mantecaditos is the local Puerto Rican Spanish Slang Word for a type of butter or shortbread cookie. Mantecaditos and polvorones are similar and many people use both names interchangeably. Know of any other words for cookies used throughout […]

Photo: Puerto Rican Spanish Slang Word for a Rice Flour Fritter Almojábanas are fritters made of rice flour, cheese, Parmesan cheese, milk and egg. This mixture is used to make a dough that is fried in a ball. Other Latin American countries make their own versions of almojábanas with different ingredients, sizes and cooking methods. […]

Photo: Puerto Rican Slang Word for LOLLIPOP Above is a photo I took one day at the grocery store in Puerto Rico. The word Pilón or Pilones in plural is the Puerto Rican Spanish word for a type of “lollipop”. Here are two more pictures of how a pilón looks: Do you know any other […]

Today Puerto Rico commemorates the date when Christopher Columbus arrived to the Island in 1493. Referring to this historical event as a “discovery” has become controversial recently. A “discovery” or not, we can say without any doubt that this was the date that Borikén –native name of the island of Puerto Rico- met the Spanish […]

Although the Spanish slang words from Puerto Rico bicho, bicha, bichería, and bichote seem to have the same “root” they don’t mean the same. For foreigners this will be confusing to the point that I consider them “false friends”. The two similarities these four words have are the root bich- and that they all have […]

When I started learning to read at 5 or 6 years old we used the traditional Cartilla Fonética or a phonetics booklet. The Cartilla Fonética is a tool used at school to teach the name and particular sound of each letter, how to make the consonant and vowels liaison to form syllables and how to […]

If you are in the process of learning Spanish and plan to travel to Puerto Rico, keep in mind the following list of words and phrases. These 10 sayings are common in Puerto Rican Spanish but are too strong to be taught in school. You need to know them. If you find them useful, download […]