Colombiaberraco
adjective, noun · Colloquial · beh-RRAH-koh
Tough, gutsy, formidably good at something. 'Es un berraco' is high praise for someone who works relentlessly or has come through something hard.
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Colombia
Colombian Slang for People
13 Colombian slang terms for people, each with its meaning, how it is pronounced and an example of it in use.
Labels for social types: the show-off, the country cousin, the city sophisticate, the freeloader. These words tell you what a culture notices about its own members.
cucho
noun · Informal · KOO-choh
An old person, or anyone older than the speaker by a generation. Not polite, but not cruel either — it sits about where English 'old boy' does.
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dar papaya
idiom, verb · Colloquial · dahr pah-PAH-yah
To leave yourself open to being robbed, cheated or taken advantage of — flashing a phone on the street, leaving a bag on a chair, telling the wrong person what you earn.
+2 more senses
gomelo
noun, adjective · Colloquial · goh-MEH-loh
A rich, preppy young person — private school, brand names, a particular drawled accent, a north-Bogotá postcode. Mildly derisive but not an insult you would be punched for.
+1 more sense
gonorrea
noun, adjective · Vulgar · goh-noh-RREH-ah
A contemptible person. At full force this is close to the strongest insult in Colombian Spanish and has started fights.
+2 more senses
Use with care
lobo
adjective, noun · Colloquial · LOH-boh
Tacky, gaudy, in poor taste. Applied to clothes, decoration, cars, weddings and people, and almost always about excess rather than cheapness — too much gold, too tight, too loud.
+1 more sense
Use with care
man
noun · Informal · MAHN
A guy, a bloke — but grammatically Colombian, not English: it takes a Spanish article and is nearly always el man, referring to a specific man already in view.
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ñero
noun, adjective · Colloquial · NYEH-roh
A person read as poor, rough and streetwise, or anything associated with them — clothes, music, manners. The word is class contempt in one syllable, and it lands that way.
+1 more sense
Use with care
parcero
noun · Informal · par-SEH-roh
Mate, buddy. Both a term of address and a noun for a friend. The clipped form parce is far more frequent in speech than the full word.
+1 more sense
parche
noun · Informal · PAR-cheh
The crew you habitually hang around with. 'Mi parche del colegio' is my school lot.
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pelado
noun · Informal · peh-LAH-doh
A kid, a young person. Covers roughly ages five to twenty-five depending on how old the speaker is.
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sapo
noun, adjective · Colloquial · SAH-poh
A snitch — someone who reports you to the authorities, the boss or your parents. In some contexts this is the most dangerous accusation in the language, and Colombians are careful with it.
+2 more senses
Use with care
teso
adjective, noun · Informal · TEH-soh
Extremely good at something; an expert. 'Un teso del Excel' is the person the whole office asks.
+1 more sense