Costa Rican Spanish
Commonly Used Costa Rican Expressions and Slang
Even if you are fluent in Spanish, you may get a little lost in conversation when speaking Spanish in Costa Rica. Every country has its own expressions; words and phrases particular to the country and its people. When it comes to Costa Rica, Ticos use lots of slang expressions!! So better to know the meaning of some of the most widely used slang expressions in Costa Rica because we are sure you’ll come across a few of them during your travels in Costa Rica.
Tico or Tica: How people of Costa Rica are warmly called. It’s believed it comes from a Colonial saying “todos somos hermaniTICOS”, meaning we are all little brothers.
Alo or A lo: No, they are not speaking English and saying hello, but this is how many Ticos will greet you when answering their phones.
Tuanis: The Tico way to say “Cool!”, whether referring to a thing or something that’s happened. This is especially used in the Caribbean towns of Costa Rica.
¡Jale!: Used in Costa Rica and other Latin American countries, it’s an expression meaning “Let’s go”. It could also be used in a more rude way to tell someone to leave; the most common expression would be “¡Va Jalando!” meaning “Get out of here!”
Chiva: Slang expression used to describe that something is pretty or pleasant. For instance, “this is a very nice beach” would be “esta playa es muy chiva!” Chiva or similar variations of this word are used in a few other Latin cultures as well.
Al chile: Like the American expression “For Real!”, used to explain that something is the way it is.
Plata or Harina: A slang expression commonly used throughought Costa Rica, harine means money. Harina, which literally means flour, is used like the expression “dough” in the U.S. Plata is silver.
¡Que madre!: Costa Rica slang meaning “What a shame!”, like in regret.
Jama: A common Costa Rica expression meaning food.
Chante: Costa Rica slang for house or home.
Mae or Maje: Maje is widely used and maybe a bit abused in Costa Rica conversations. More or less Mae or Maje is an informal manner to call someone but not disrespectful, like the American expression “dude” or “man”. A funny story, it was said that upon visiting Costa Rica, the King of Spain thought the Tico’s were super nice people and mistook the “Maje” as an abbreviation of “your majesty”. See, if they King of Spain doesn’t get the Tico slang, the rest of us surely are not expected to understand immediately either!
Ydiay, Idiay, or Diay: Just about everyone in Costa Rica uses this slang term and in many different ways as is common with many expressions in the Spanish language in general. One way Diay is used as a polite way to say “whatever”. The other more common way Diay is used is as a question asking more or less what is next. I guess the best way to describe this in English is “so…what?” or “so what next?” or “so….how is it?” There is a similar word in several Latin American countries, in Mexico “pues” has a similar function.
¡Pura Vida!: The most characteristic saying among Ticos, and the best way to define their way of life, “Pura Vida!” or “Pure Life”. It’s an expression that can be used in many different ways; it could be used to express something is great; it could be a question meaning “is everything alright?”(Pura vida?) and as the answer “everything’s alright!” (Pura vida!). It is also used interchangeably as “Thank you!” as a way to say “Nice meeting you!” and as farewell. If you’d like to learn more about the use of this characteristic Costa Rican saying, you can read our previous blog on the meaning of Pura Vida!
In short, everything in Costa Rica is “Pura Vida!!!” With you newly learned Costa Rican expressions, we hope you have a great time communicating with the local Ticos in Costa Rica!!