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This article is a summary of common slang words and phrases used in Puerto Rico. Idiomatic expressions may be difficult to translate fully and may have multiple meanings, so the English translations below may not reflect the full meaning of the expression they intend to translate. This is a short list and more may be found on the Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española website.
a sudden nervous reaction, similar to hysterics, or losing control, experienced in response to something
¡Bendito!
variants are ¡Ay bendito! and dito - “aw man” or “oh my god”; “ay” meaning lament, and “bendito” meaning blessed.
abombao / abombá
Referring to food; rotten or damaged.
al garete
Wild, off the rails, disastrous. Doing something rash. Comes from the Arabic phrase meaning "adrift" (Arabic: على غير هدى (/ʕa.'laː.ɣajr.'hu.dan/), romanized: ealaa ghayr hudaa).
asicalao
flawless, clean, immaculate. From standard Spanish acicalado
The name given to Puerto Rico people by Puerto Ricans.
bregar
To work on a task, to do something with effort and dedication.
broki
brother or friend.
cafre
a lowlife. Comes from Arabic (Arabic: كافر (/kafir), romanized: Kafir).
cangri
A badass, hunk or hottie. An influential person. From English congressman.
cariduro
person who should be ashamed of their actions but isn't; a stubborn person
chacho
short for muchacho - Guy, male,
chavo
in mexico this can mean dude or guy relating to someone younger but in puerto rican slang, it is used in replacement of dinero/money
chulería
While in other countries this word means "insolence", in Puerto Rico it has an entirely different meaning and is used to describe that something is good, fun, funny, great or beautiful.
corillo
Friend, or group of friends.
dura
Normally means “hard”, but in Puerto Rican slang means that someone is really good at what they do.
embustería
series of lies, something that is completely false, a "pack of lies"
¡Fo!
literally translates to "eww!" or "yuck!" it is often used as an exclamation in reaction to a bad smell.
fregao, fregá
shameless person
guajana
The flower of the sugarcane.
guinda
steep slope
gufear
to act goofy.
janguear
“to hang out”. Comes from the American expression “hang out”.
A person who lives in the countryside, mountain people, the agricultural worker, who cuts sugarcane, for example. From a Taino compound word ("Jiba" meaning mountain or forest, and "iro" meaning man or men) though commonly mistaken for originating from the Arabic (MofariteArabic: جبري (Jabre), romanized: Jabre), in the Mofarite related Ethiopian Semitic languages ገበሬ(Gabre), romanized: Gabre).
jumeta
Drunk
lambeojo
Lackey,brownoser;toady,sycophant.
ligar
to peep
ligón
Peeping Tom
limber
Also, "limbel". A home-made flavored frozen treat usually made from natural fruits or sweet milk mixtures and often served on a small piece of water-resistant paper, a plastic or paper cup, or a popsicle stick.: 45 The name is said to have originated from the last name of Charles Lindbergh after the islanders noticed how "awfully cold as ice" he was as compared to the warmth of the locals during Lindbergh's visit to the Island in 1928.
mamey
Used when referring to something that is easy to do.
^"bochinche". Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
^"embustería". Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
^"fregado, da". Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
^"guajana". Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-08.
^"mami". Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
^"papi". Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico (in Spanish).
^Sánchez, Marta E. (2009). Shakin' Up Race and Gender: Intercultural Connections in Puerto Rican, African American, and Chicano Narratives and Culture (1965–1995). University of Texas Press. p. 155. ISBN9780292774780.
^Little, Elbert Luther; Marrero, José (2001). Árboles comunes de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes (in Spanish). La Editorial, UPR. ISBN9780847703838.