Spanish is spoken in approximately 31 countries and has about 600 million native speakers. It is the second language with the largest number of native speakers in the world, behind Mandarin Chinese.
Therefore, it should not be surprising that there an incredible variety of accents and expressions typical of certain regions and countries. It would be difficult to confuse the River Plate accent with that of Bogotá.
Throughout Latin America, a surprising diversity has developed in the ways of calling the same everyday object, event or idea.
These examples show how varied Spanish is when it comes to naming objects that we use every day.
Popcorn
They can not miss a gathering of friends to watch movies, but depending on who attends, their name can vary a lot. In Ecuador they call them canguilIn Venezuela popcorn and in Argentina, popcorn. In Colombia they would say crispettesbut in Chile they have the curious name of little goats.
Beans
There are many varieties of beans, but black beans are among the most common and popular. In Argentina you can hear something like “How rich were the beans!”, something incomprehensible for a Venezuelan, who has called them beans during all his life. In the Dominican Republic and Peru, on the other hand, they are told string beans.
jacket
That cotton jacket that we wear when it’s cold is also not exempt from the immense diversity of Spanish. In Colombia they would call her sweaterin Peru jacketin Mexico they would call it jacketbut in Venezuela they say jacket.
Blond
In Venezuela they are told catswhile in Mexico they are told güeros either blondesin Chile they say grayand finally in Colombia they are called cute either monkeys.
T-shirt
If you have a very diverse group of friends and everyone likes your shirt, everyone will tell you differently. For example, in Venezuela they will flatter your flannelwhile in Ecuador they will tell you that they like your T shirtbut in Argentina they will call it T-shirt.
Sherbets
For years there has been a fight against plastic straws, due to their polluting effect. Everyone calls them after him in his country. In Chile they call them light bulbssomething that would confuse an Argentine, who knows them as straws. In Venezuela they call them cigarettesin Peru caneand in Dominican, camilet.
Those who care about appearance
No matter where we are, there is never a word missing to refer to those who care excessively about their appearance and think they are more than others when other people are not on the same social or economic level. In Mexico that word is strawberrywhich in much of the continent is primarily associated with fruit.
In Venezuela they call them sifrinoswhile in Argentina the word is cheto either cheta. In Dominican it is used little guy either jevitabut in other countries it is used cuico (Chili), bigwig (Ecuador), pitucazo (Peru) and gome (Colombia).
Kids
Even the way children are affectionately referred to varies surprisingly from country to country. In Ecuador it is used guambrawhile in Venezuela they are told kids either chamitosbut in Argentina they are called kids.
Each country has its own: guy either girl (Mexico), tiguerito (Dominican Republic), kid (Chili).
kites
Who has not flown a kite as a child? Almost everyone, but depending on who you talk to, they will call her in very different ways. In Venezuela they are told parrots either leakswhile in Mexico they are called kitesand in Chile kite.
In Ecuador, Peru and Colombia they are called kitebut kites is the name in Argentina, and chichigua In Dominican.
cheating on the exam
In Argentina it is called machete to the hidden leaf that some students sneak into the classroom to cheat during the exam. In the rest of Latin America it has names as diverse as chop (Venezuela), poya (Ecuador), copialin (Colombia), plagiarism (Peru), accordion (Mexico), goats (Dominican Republic) and torpedo (Chili).
Bus
All the big cities have bus lines that move you from one place to the other, but while in Argentina they call them collectivein the Dominican they call it busin Chile they say microand finally in Mexico they call it truck.
Hangover
Almost all of us have suffered from a hangover at some point, but while in Venezuela they would call it mousein Chile they would say caneand a Colombian says he has guava. In Mexico they say raw and in Ecuador drunks complain of having chuchaqui the next day.
What other expressions would you add to the list? Tell us in the comments!
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