Lunfardo — The Slang of Buenos Aires
★★★ Lunfardo — The Secret Language of the Streets
Lunfardo is the unique slang of Buenos Aires — developed at the end of the 19th century in the port districts and Conventillos (tenement houses) from a mix of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Quechua, Romani (language of the Roma), and Gaucho language. Originally, Lunfardo was the secret language of the underworld — thieves and prostitutes used it to avoid being understood by the police. Today, it has entered everyday language, and many Argentines don't even know that certain words are Lunfardo.
A feature of Lunfardo: Vesre — the reversal of syllables (from "al revés" = reversed). Thus, "café" becomes "feca", "tango" becomes "gotán", "hotel" becomes "telo" (an hourly hotel!), and "mujer" (woman) becomes "jermu".
| Lunfardo/Argentinian | Meaning | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Che | Hey! / Buddy! | Universal address. Hence "Che Guevara" — he used it constantly (noticeable as an Argentine in Cuba) |
| Boludo/a | Fool OR best friend | Depending on the tone! Affectionately among friends: "Che, boludo!" = "Hey, buddy!". Angry: Insult! |
| Pibe/Piba | Boy/Girl, Guy/Woman | Colloquial for a young person. "Es un buen pibe" = "He is a good guy" |
| Laburo | Work | From the Italian "lavoro". "Tengo mucho laburo" = "I have a lot of work" |
| Guita | Money | "No tengo guita" = "I have no money" |
| Afanar | To steal | "Me afanaron el celular" = "They stole my phone" |
| Mango | One Peso | "No tengo un mango" = "I'm broke" (very common!) |
| Bondi | City bus (Colectivo) | "Tomé el bondi" = "I took the bus" |
| Birra | Beer | From the Italian "birra". Universally understood |
| Morfar | To eat | "Vamos a morfar" = "Let's go eat" |
| Fiaca | Laziness / No desire | "Tengo fiaca" = "I don't feel like it" — very Argentinian! |
| Quilombo | Chaos, mess | "Es un quilombo" = "It's a mess" — very common in conversations about politics |
| Bárbaro | Great, fantastic! | "¡Bárbaro!" = "Super!" — the enthusiastic praise |
| Copado/a | Cool, awesome | "Está re copado" = "That's super cool" |
| Re | Very, totally (intensifier) | Placed before EVERYTHING: "Re lindo" (super nice), "Re caro" (super expensive), "Re tarde" (super late) |
| Dale | Okay! / Go! / Do it! | The universal agreement: "¿Vamos?" — "¡Dale!" (Shall we go? — Let's go!) |
| Ni ahí | No way | "¿Vas a ir?" — "Ni ahí" (Are you going? — No way) |
| Al toque | Immediately, right away | "Vengo al toque" = "I'll be right there" (but: Argentine "right away" can take 30 minutes) |
| Bancar | To endure / To support | "No lo banco más" = "I can't stand him anymore" |
| Piola | Cool, clever | "Qué piola" = "How cool/clever" |
| Chamuyar | To chat / To flirt | "Es un chamuyero" = "He is a smooth talker/player" |