# List of Puerto Rican slang words and phrases

This article is a summary of common slang words and phrases used in Puerto Rico. Idiomatic expressions may be difficult to translate fully and may have multiple meanings, so the English translations below may not reflect the full meaning of the expression they intend to translate. This is a short list and more may be found on the Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española website.

## List
### ataque de nervios

    a sudden nervous reaction, similar to hysterics, or losing control, experienced in response to something

### ¡Bendito!

    variants are ¡Ay bendito! and dito - “aww poor you” or “oh my god”; “ay” meaning lament, and “bendito” meaning blessed.

### abombao / abombá

    Referring to food; rotten or damaged.

### al garete

    Wild, off the rails, disastrous. Doing something rash. Comes from the Arabic phrase meaning "adrift" (Arabic: على غير هدى (/ʕa.'laː.ɣajr.'hu.dan/), romanized: ealaa ghayr hudaa).

### asicalao

    flawless, clean, immaculate. From standard Spanish acicalado

### bembé

    a big party.

### bichote

    Important person. From English big shot.

### birras

    Beer.

### bochinche

    gossip

### boricua

    The name given to Puerto Rico people by Puerto Ricans.

### bregar

    To work on a task, to do something with effort and dedication.

### broki

    brother or friend.

### cafre

    a lowlife. Comes from Arabic (Arabic: كافر (/kafir), romanized: Kafir).

### cangri

    A badass, hunk or hottie. An influential person. From English congressman.

### cariduro

    person who should be ashamed of their actions but isn't; a stubborn person

### chacho

    short for muchacho - Guy, male,

### chavo

in mexico this can mean dude or guy relating to someone younger but in puerto rican slang, it is used in replacement of dinero/money

### chulería

    While in other countries this word means "insolence", in Puerto Rico it has an entirely different meaning and is used to describe that something is good, fun, funny, great or beautiful.

### corillo

    Friend, or group of friends.

### dura

    Normally means “hard”, but in Puerto Rican slang means that someone is really good at what they do.

### embustería

    series of lies, something that is completely false, a "pack of lies"

### ¡Fo!

    literally translates to "eww!" or "yuck!" it is often used as an exclamation in reaction to a bad smell.

### fregao, fregá

    shameless person

### guajana

    The flower of the sugarcane.

### guinda

    steep slope

### gufear

    to act goofy.

### janguear

    “to hang out”. Comes from the American expression “hang out”.

### jartera

    to be full.

### jevo/a

    boyfriend / girlfriend

### jíbaro

    A person who lives in the countryside, mountain people, the agricultural worker, who cuts sugarcane, for example. From a Taino compound word ("Jiba" meaning mountain or forest, and "iro" meaning man or men) though commonly mistaken for originating from the Arabic (Mofarite Arabic: جبري (Jabre), romanized: Jabre), in the Mofarite related Ethiopian Semitic languages ገበሬ(Gabre), romanized: Gabre).

### jumeta

    Drunk

### lambeojo

    Lackey,brownoser;toady,sycophant.

### ligar

    to peep

### ligón

    Peeping Tom

### limber

    Also, "limbel". A home-made flavored frozen treat usually made from natural fruits or sweet milk mixtures and often served on a small piece of water-resistant paper, a plastic or paper cup, or a popsicle stick.$^{:45}$ The name is said to have originated from the last name of Charles Lindbergh after the islanders noticed how "awfully cold as ice" he was as compared to the warmth of the locals during Lindbergh's visit to the Island in 1928.

### mamey

    Used when referring to something that is easy to do.

### mami, papi

    Terms of endearment; mami when referring to a cute woman, papi when referring to a handsome man, or to address a lover

### nene, nena

    Boy/girl In standard Spanish it means "baby".

### panna, pana

    Friend / Buddy$^{:57}$ ("pana" is also a name for breadfruit in Puerto Rico)$^{:45}$ From partner.

### pasárselas con la cuchara ancha

    to get away with murder or to get away with it

### perreo, perrear

    A way of dancing ("grinding") or a danceable song.

### pichea

    “forget about that”, Disregard.

### por encima de los gandules

    Expression of admiration, to say that something is outstanding or beyond good.

### revolú

    Used to describe chaotic situations.

### servirse con la cuchara grande

    to get away with murder or to get away with it

### soplapote

    a nobody, or a worker low on the hierarchy, or an enabler

### tapón

    traffic jam. In standard Spanish, "a bottle top" or "a clog".

### tráfala

    a lowlife.

### wepa

Typically used at parties, dances, or general hype events to express of joy or excitement, hence the direct translation "That's awesome!"