Peruvian Spanish slang: 15 words you will hear in Lima
Textbooks teach you Spanish that works everywhere. Then you land in Lima and someone tells you «ya, al toque, causa». Here are the words you will hear in your first week, and how to use them without sounding like you read them in a list.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| chamba | work, a job | Tengo mucha chamba hoy. |
| pata | friend, mate | Es mi pata del colegio. |
| causa | buddy (when you talk to a friend) | ¿Qué tal, causa? |
| jato | home, place | Vamos a mi jato. |
| chévere | cool, great | ¡Qué chévere tu casaca! |
| bacán | great, awesome | La fiesta estuvo bacán. |
| al toque | right away | Te llamo al toque. |
| ¿ya? | OK? / all right | Nos vemos a las ocho, ¿ya? |
| jama | food | ¿Vamos por jama? |
| chela | beer | ¿Unas chelas? |
| roche | embarrassment | ¡Qué roche! |
| luca | one sol (money) | Cuesta cinco lucas. |
| yapa | a little extra, free | Caserita, ¿me da la yapa? |
| habla | hey (greeting) | ¡Habla, causa! |
| palta | avocado, and also awkward | Qué palta esta situación. |
How to use them
Slang is for friends. With a taxi driver, a shop assistant or anyone older, start with standard Spanish and usted; switch when they do. Listening to these words is more useful than saying them: if you understand al toque and ¿ya?, half of everyday Lima makes sense.
Words like chévere travel well across Latin America. Others, like causa or jato, are very Peruvian: in Mexico or Argentina people will understand you, but they will know where you learned your Spanish.