Cuba
10 Cuban slang terms for emotion & reaction, each with its meaning, how it is pronounced and an example of it in use.
Surprise, exasperation, delight, disbelief. Often interjections rather than nouns — words that do something rather than name something.
interjection · Vulgar · KOH-nyoh
Damn! Bloody hell! The general-purpose Cuban exclamation, for surprise, pain, delight, exasperation and emphasis alike. Its frequency in ordinary Cuban speech is far higher than the literal translation suggests.
+2 more senses
Use with care
noun · Informal · ah-CHEH
Good fortune, blessing, the invisible charge that makes things go well for someone. Tener aché is to be lucky in a way that looks slightly supernatural.
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noun · Informal · ah-loom-BROHN
The brief stretch when the electricity is actually on. A sarcastic coinage that inverts apagón, 'blackout': if the power is off most of the day, the notable event is the light, not the dark.
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noun · Informal · BEH-rroh
A fit of rage. Coger un berro is to lose your temper, comprehensively and visibly.
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adjective · Informal · broo-TAHL
Brilliant, amazing, outstanding. The most common clean superlative in Cuban speech, and the one you can safely use in front of anyone.
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noun, adjective · Colloquial · kahn-DEH-lah
Estar en candela: to be in serious trouble, or for a situation to be dire. Applied to a person, a marriage, the economy or the weather.
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interjection, phrase · Informal · DAH-leh
Go on, go ahead, okay. The default Cuban agreement particle — it accepts a proposal, ends a phone call and gives permission, depending on intonation alone.
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adjective, phrase · Vulgar · deh PEENG-gah
Superb, outstanding. Está de pinga about a film, a meal or a party is high praise.
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noun, verb · Informal · des-KAR-gah
A jam session: musicians playing together without a set arrangement. The term is Cuban and gave its name to a whole recorded genre in the 1950s.
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phrase, idiom · Colloquial · noh es FAH-seel
The national sigh. Deployed at the end of any account of a difficulty — transport, prices, queues, the power, a relative abroad — as a way of closing the subject without pursuing it.
+1 more sense
Cuba