Among friends, porteños (people from Buenos Aires) speak lunfardo -a slang started by European immigrants more than a century ago. Even if you have taken Spanish lessons for a long time, you may still feel baffled at a conversation involving lunfardo words. It is something that you won’t usually learn in classes. It is the way people speak in their day-to-day interactions. So if you want to understand porteños a 100 %, you should become familiar with some lunfardo terms. Let’s learn a few of them in this first lesson:

Bancar: tolerate, stand/ support

For example: “No me banco a tus amigos” (I can’t stand your friends); “Ella banca al gobierno” (she supports the government)

Che: Hey! (to catch someone’s attention)/ pal (to say hi)

For example: “Che, cómo te llamás?” (Hey, what’s your name?); “Hola, che” (Hi, pal)

Fiaca: lazy

For example: “No voy a trabajar, tengo fiaca” (I’m not going to work, I feel lazy)

Mina: woman

For example: “Ayer conocí a una mina increíble” (I met an incredible woman yesterday)

In the next Lunfardo Spanish classes, we’ll explore some more aspects of the fascinating porteño slang. Hope you can practice this words right away.