Spanish Dialects

The different kinds of Spanish out there will drive you crazy, but once you understand the differences you’ll enjoy recognizing the different dialects, cultures, etc. One way to recognize where a person is from is by listening to their "modismos" (idioms).

In the Caribbean, mainly in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, you’ll recognize their dialect from the way they say “para,” they simply say “pa.” Also, they pronounce their r’s like l’s. In fact, I once had a student from the Dominican Republic who told me her name was “Lozmelly”. When she wrote it, I realized that her name was actually Rosemary.

Venezuelans can be easily identified because they overuse the word “chevere.” They use it like the word “great” or “way to go.”

Argentineans often overuse the word “che.” It’s constantly thrown into their sentences. I have no idea what it means nor do I know where it came from. If you know, please leave a comment below and let me know.

Mexicans overuse the word “andale.” It means “let’s go,” roughly, but they always say it. Other Spanish speakers can be confused because they think the speaker means that they need to go somewhere, but Mexicans simply throw it into their speech.

Central Americans are famous for using the word “honda” (Remember the "h" is silent in Spanish). It’s kind of the word “deal” when you ask “What’s the deal here?”

As you can see, learning Spanish is a lot of fun, but it's important to study the particular dialect you're interested in. Start studying the language right now.