08 — Pocket Cheat Sheet (screenshot this, keep it offline)
One page. The highest-value stuff. Format: Spanish — English — say it like — when.
Pronunciation is plain-English, stressed part in CAPS.
The 50 highest-value phrases
Survival / getting around
| Spanish | English | Say it | When |
|---|
| Hola, ¿qué tal? | Hi, how's it going? | OH-la keh TAL | default greeting, anyone |
| ¿Cuánto sale? / ¿Cuánto cuesta? | How much is it? | KWAN-to SA-leh | buying anything (sale = Argentina) |
| La cuenta, por favor | The check, please | la KWEN-ta por fa-VOR | restaurant/bar |
| ¿Dónde está el baño? | Where's the bathroom? | DON-deh es-TA el BA-nyo | everywhere |
| ¿Aceptan tarjeta? | Do you take card? | a-SEP-tan tar-HE-ta | paying |
| ¿Hay wifi? ¿Cuál es la clave? | Wifi? What's the password? | ai WEE-fee, kwal es la KLA-veh | every cafe/hostel |
| Quiero esto / esto, por favor | I want this / this please | KYE-ro ES-to | point + say, never fails |
| ¿Me ayudás? / ¿Me ayuda? | Can you help me? | meh a-yu-DAS | stuck anywhere |
| Estoy perdido | I'm lost | es-TOY per-DEE-do | lost |
| ¿Para ir a...? | How do I get to...? | PA-ra eer a | directions |
The lubricants (use these constantly)
| Spanish | English | Say it | When |
|---|
| Dale | OK / cool / let's go / "deal" | DA-leh | the all-purpose Argentine yes |
| Listo | Done / good to go / ready | LEES-to | "all set" |
| Buenísimo | Awesome | bweh-NEE-see-mo | reacting to good news |
| ¿En serio? | For real? | en SER-yo | reacting to anything |
| No pasa nada | No worries / it's fine | no PA-sa NA-da | brushing off a problem |
| Tranqui / Tranquilo | Chill / relax / no stress | tran-KEE | calming someone, "it's cool" |
| Más o menos | Sort of / so-so | mas o MEH-nos | answering "how are you/how was it" |
| Ni idea | No idea | nee ee-DEH-a | honest shrug |
| O sea... | I mean... / like... | o SEH-a | filler, buys thinking time |
| ¿Viste? | You know? / right? | VEES-teh | tag on the end of sentences (Arg.) |
Talking / not understanding (the learner's lifeline)
| Spanish | English | Say it | When |
|---|
| Más despacio, por favor | Slower, please | mas des-PA-syo | always |
| ¿Cómo se dice ___? | How do you say ___? | KOH-mo seh DEE-seh | point at the thing |
| ¿Qué significa ___? | What does ___ mean? | keh sig-nee-FEE-ka | heard a new word |
| No entiendo | I don't understand | no en-TYEN-do | obvious |
| ¿Podés repetir? | Can you repeat? | po-DES re-pe-TEER | missed it |
| Estoy aprendiendo español | I'm learning Spanish | es-TOY a-pren-DYEN-do es-pa-NYOL | unlocks patience + free lessons |
| Disculpá / Disculpa | Sorry / excuse me | dis-kul-PA | getting attention, apologizing |
| ¿Cómo? | What? / huh? | KOH-mo | didn't catch it (polite) |
Social / banter / nightlife
| Spanish | English | Say it | When |
|---|
| ¿De dónde sos? / ¿De dónde eres? | Where you from? | deh DON-deh sos | meeting anyone |
| Mucho gusto | Nice to meet you | MOO-cho GOOS-to | intro |
| ¿Salimos esta noche? | Going out tonight? | sa-LEE-mos es-ta NO-cheh | hostel plans |
| ¿Vamos por una birra/cerveza? | Grab a beer? | VA-mos por una BEE-rra | the universal opener |
| Salud! | Cheers! | sa-LOOD | drinking |
| Una más | One more | una MAS | round 2 |
| ¿Te invito un trago? | Can I buy you a drink? | teh in-VEE-to un TRA-go | flirting / being nice |
| Me caés bien | I like you (as a person) | meh ka-ES byen | making friends |
| Qué bueno verte | Good to see you | keh BWE-no VER-teh | seeing someone again |
| Cuidate | Take care | kwee-DA-teh | goodbye, warm |
| Nos vemos | See you | nos VEH-mos | casual bye |
| Chau | Bye | chow | everyone, everywhere |
Crude / swearing (use with friends, read the room)
| Spanish | English | Say it | When |
|---|
| Boludo / Boluda | Dude / idiot (affectionate or not) | bo-LU-do | Argentina's word for "bro"; tone is everything |
| Che, boludo | Hey man | cheh bo-LU-do | the most Argentine phrase alive |
| ¡Qué quilombo! | What a mess/chaos! | keh kee-LOM-bo | when everything's gone sideways (Arg.) |
| La concha de la lora | "Holy sh*t" (lit. vulgar) | la KON-cha deh la LO-ra | strong frustration, Arg. — among friends |
| Mierda | Sh*t | MYER-da | dropped your phone |
| ¡Qué cagada! | What a screw-up! | keh ka-GA-da | when something went wrong |
| Hijo de puta | Son of a b*tch | EE-ho deh POO-ta | anger, or "you bastard" joking w/ friends |
| Está de la verga / de la concha | It's f***ing great/awful | (context) | very strong, very casual; context flips it |
| Pendejo | Punk / kid / dumbass | pen-DEH-ho | varies by country — careful |
| No seas pelotudo | Don't be a dumbass | no SEH-as pe-lo-TU-do | ribbing a friend (Arg.) |
Numbers (the ones that actually come up)
| # | Spanish | Say it |
|---|
| 0 | cero | SEH-ro |
| 1 | uno | OO-no |
| 2 | dos | dos |
| 3 | tres | tres |
| 4 | cuatro | KWA-tro |
| 5 | cinco | SEEN-ko |
| 6 | seis | says |
| 7 | siete | SYE-teh |
| 8 | ocho | O-cho |
| 9 | nueve | NWE-veh |
| 10 | diez | dyes |
| 11 | once | ON-seh |
| 12 | doce | DO-seh |
| 15 | quince | KEEN-seh |
| 20 | veinte | VAYN-teh |
| 30 | treinta | TRAYN-ta |
| 40 | cuarenta | kwa-REN-ta |
| 50 | cincuenta | seen-KWEN-ta |
| 100 | cien | syen |
| 200 | doscientos | dos-SYEN-tos |
| 500 | quinientos | kee-NYEN-tos |
| 1000 | mil | meel |
Combine: 23 = veintitrés, 45 = cuarenta y cinco (kwa-REN-ta ee SEEN-ko),
150 = ciento cincuenta, 2000 = dos mil. Money comes in thousands fast in
Argentina — get comfy with mil.
Regional swap-words (same meaning, changes by country) — THE map of your trip
| Meaning | 🇦🇷 Argentina | 🇨🇱 Chile | 🇵🇪🇧🇴 Peru/Bolivia | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
|---|
| "you" (singular) | vos (sos, tenés, querés) | tú (but voseo creeps in) | tú | tú / vos (regional) |
| dude / bro | boludo, che | weón (WEH-on) | causa, pata, brother | parce, llave |
| cool / awesome | copado, genial | bacán, la raja | chévere, bacán | chévere, bacano |
| "get it? / right?" | ¿viste? ¿entendés? | ¿cachái? (ka-CHAI) | ¿ya? ¿no? | ¿sí o qué? ¿cierto? |
| OK / cool | dale | ya po | ya | listo, de una |
| money | plata, guita | plata, luca (=1000) | plata, lucas | plata, billete |
| party | joda, previa (pre-party) | carrete | tono, juerga | rumba, parranda |
| awesome (food/etc) | un golazo | la zorra / la raja | de la puta madre | una chimba |
| job / work | laburo | pega | chamba | camello |
| filler "like, um" | eh..., o sea | po (tag: "sí po") | pe ("ya pe") | pues, parce |
| nice/good person | buena onda | buena onda | buena gente | bacano, buena gente |
The accent cheat (so you're not blindsided)
- 🇦🇷 Argentina: ll and y = "sh". calle → "CA-sheh", yo → "sho",
pollo → "PO-sho". Sing-songy, Italian rhythm. Vos not tú.
- 🇨🇱 Chile: they eat the 's' (¿cómo estái? → "KOH-mo es-TAI"), talk fast,
tag "po" on everything, "cachái" = "y'know?". Hardest accent on the
continent — don't take it personally.
- 🇵🇪🇧🇴 Peru/Bolivia: clearer, slower, more "neutral" — a relief after Chile.
Tag "pe" ("ya pe" = "ok then").
- 🇨🇴 Colombia: clean, clear, famously easy to understand. Parce = bro,
chévere = cool, ¿qué más? = "what's up?". You'll feel fluent here.
The 5 you'll say a hundred times a day (memorize cold)
- Dale — ok / cool / let's go
- ¿Cuánto sale? — how much?
- Más despacio, por favor — slower please
- No pasa nada — no worries
- ¿Cómo se dice ___? — how do you say ___? (+ point)
Lead with vos and che in Argentina, swap to weón/po attitude in Chile, relax
into parce/chévere by Colombia. Same language, new costume each border.