How to Speak Chileno (According to a Far-From-Proficient Gringa)

By: Anna O'Neil

March 24, 2015

Before going abroad, I thought Chile was a Spanish-speaking country, but if I had a peso for every time someone has said, “You may speak Spanish, but not chileno,” in the past month, I would be able to buy… well, not much, since a Chilean peso is worth about a sixth of a penny.

When people say chileno they are not talking about regional slang. This goes way beyond my tendency as a New Englander to say “wicked” instead of “really.” Chileno truly is its own language.

Let’s begin with the basics, starting with vocabulary. Chileans tend to end nearly every sentence with “¿Cachai?” It technically means “Do you understand?” but it’s more of an automatic reflex than an actual question. Perhaps a more accurate translation would be “ya know?” This is a good start to any lesson in chileno. Now someone can explain that luca means one thousand Chilean pesos, cachai? Or that pololo means boyfriend, cachai? Weón can mean anything from friend to jerk (or less polite synonyms). Palta (rather than aguacate) is what Chileans call avocados. Bakaan (the spelling of which is up for debate) is a word for cool. Guata (not estomago) is the stomach—in fact, Chileans have their own words for nearly every body part; my host brother offered to draw a diagram. The list of uniquely chileno phrases is never-ending.

And vocabulary is just the beginning. Let’s take another look at cachai. This is actually a verb conjugated in the vos form. If you learned Spanish in the United States, you’ve probably never even heard of vos or voseo, which is not unique to Chile but adds to the general distinctness of chileno. I don’t know enough to explain vos, but I do know that verb endings here tend to sound a bit different from what I’m used to in Spanish classes at Georgetown. A lot of nouns also have different endings in Chile. For one thing, the “s” sound is usually dropped; gracias (thank you) becomes gracia. Chileans also make EVERYTHING diminutive using the suffixes ito or ita (meaning something is little). This makes sense when you’re turning perro (dog) into perrito (puppy), but at dinner (or onces) I always wonder why sopa (soup) is sopita, aqua (water) is aquita, and sal (salt) is salito. Another frequent addition to Chilean words is po. In Spanish, yes is , but in chileno it’s almost always sí po. Po doesn’t have meaning on its own, but my host mother said that when added to (or a number of other words) the additional syllable allows speakers to be more expressive.

What I have learned so far about the chileno language I have learned through conversations with Chileans in which they eagerly offered up definitions, explanations, history, and commentary on their country’s way of communicating. I’ve been told the people who speak true chileno are those from the campo—the rural, less sophisticated citizens. And the Spaniards who first came here were less-educated than those who went to neighboring Peru, with its more traditional use of Spanish. But I haven’t sensed any disparaging tones in the sharing of this information. Indeed, what I hear sounds more like pride. Chile is a diverse country that has had its share of political and ideological conflict in recent history. I think speaking in—and about—the chileno language provides a sort of national identity, a way to unify Chileans while setting them apart from the rest of the Spanish-speaking Latin American countries.

When planning to study abroad, I knew I wanted to immerse myself in a language to the extent that I could truly connect with another place and another population. I thought reaching a certain level of Spanish comprehension would unlock an ability to connect more thoroughly with local people. It turns out learning a language and learning about people comes simultaneously. With every new chileno word, I discover a bit about what it means to be chileno. Language is not just a tool for cultural exposure but is itself a fundamental aspect of culture. And I think that’s wicked bakaan, cachai?

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