Que??

After classes today, five of us went downtown together to explore and shop in the artisan market. It was an awesome time getting to know these other students more and striking up Spanish conversations with the artisan shop owners. We came across one camiseta (t-shirt) hanging in the market that had muchos frases (many phrases) in different fonts on it.

Que significa...? And I began to ask what the phrases on the shirt meant. The elderly lady at the stand had a little difficulty explaining what the phrases meant, until my friend (a student at ILE who had lived in Costa Rica before) came up to me and told me that the phrases were "pachucos" or "tiquismos" (Tica slang). My two friends who had lived here before began explaining some of the phrases. Little did I know I would need to practice them very soon!

When we took the bus back, a friend invited us to meet his Tica family. Soon, we began discussing the "pachucos" and the night was one big lesson in Tica slang, plus I learned some other Spanish too. I felt a little on the spot though because when the Tica mom asked me a question, the entire household stopped to listen. Ay! Mi cara era roja.

Pues, lo pasé bien. And the family even invited us to share coffee y postres with them! Muy amable!

Here are some "pachucos" I learned:

*Disclaimer: These only work in Costa Rica; don't say them elsewhere or people will give you very strange looks and wonder if you're making up words.

¿Qué mae? (kay-my); mae = dude in English, so this means something like "What's up dude?"

Puros dieces -- very well, in response to "Como estás?" A play off of their more common phrase:
Pura Vida--the pure life. Costa Rica's top tequismo.

Qué torta!--What a mess!

Ufa!--what you say when something smells bad; there is a joke I heard recently about a famous soccer player and this word.

la choza--another name for house (casa)

un pichazo--a large blow, or when you hit something (ie: car crash)

chunche--slang for thing (cosa)

Adding -ita or -ito to the end of someone's name to be endearing.
Por ejemplo: My Tica parents sometimes call me: Laurita.

Want to know more? Check out this website:
http://www.costaricaspanish.net/tiquismos-costa-rican-street-spanish/