In Latin America, the word often used to mean “cool, man!” is: “chevere!” But Latin American Spanish ain’t Spain-y Spanish, baby. Therefore, you have to do your research before you bandy about your old slang in a new country.
Here’s what happened when I asked my lovely host family in Barcelona to explain the Spain-y Spanish version of “cool, man!”
“Do you know what means ‘chulo’?” asked Anna.
“No, please explain,” I said.
“It is the man who is selling the prostitutes,” said Anna innocently.
“PIMP?!” I exclaimed.
“Maybe,” said Anna. “So the word for ‘cool’ in Spain is often: “Chulo!‘”
“Ok, wait,” I gasped, “are you telling me that the most common word for ‘Neat! Nice! Excellent!’ in Spain is… PIMP?”
“Yes,” said Anna. “You can also say ‘chulisimo,’ ‘una chulada,’ and so on. It has many exciting forms.”
“‘Super-Pimpy?’ ‘Pimpish?’ ‘Pimpesque?’” I choked out. “Are you serious?”
“Yes,” said Anna.
“So could I use this word in front of, say, a very conservative grandmother in a fluffy pink dress?”
“Definitely,” said Anna. “But you have to be careful when using it with a person, because with a person it can mean ‘too cool’ or stuck up.”
“Pimp?!” I hollered.
“It doesn’t mean like that when you say it with the right context and intonation,” said Anna confidently. “In Spain, you can also say ‘guay‘ to mean ‘cool.’”
“Gay?”
“No, ‘guay,’ pronounced like ‘way,’” corrected Anna.
I chuckled, shook my head, and said, “Guay. Gracias por explicar. El espanol de Espana es muy chulo!“
Such are the joys of language.
Photo Note: All pictures in this article are from the lovely Monastery and Museum of Pedralbes in Barcelona, Spain, which has one of the largest surviving cloisters in all of Europe. It also, incidentally, was nearly empty of tourists, in calming contrast to the sights in Barcelona’s center.
I love languages!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I didn’t know that ‘chulo’ could mean ‘pimp’. But she was right, you really have to be careful with what you say to others because they might take it differently and you don’t even know it.
Ms.Marshall, I think this is very funny. Over here (America), we would think ‘chulo’ as gross, illegal pimps and would be easily offended if someone called us a pimp. But since I read this article or post, ‘chulo’ is actually a complement and it’s okay to say about a grandmother’s dress! I still can’t believe the word ‘chulo’ actually means pimp in Spain but is considered to be the word for ‘cool’. So this made me wondered if a pimp in America is considered ‘cool’ by the Spain people?
Ms.Marshall, I happen to know Spanish myself! When Anna taught you the word “chevere” what did you think it meant? Sometimes people think that that word is only said in Mexico, but that is a misconception because the rest of the Spanish world says the same thing. Somehow I cannot imagine you talking Spanish with an accent because you look like an Espaniola yourself, so if you go back to Spain people might confuse you with a hispanic person than an American person.
“Chevere” Colombians are also very fond of that word. I remember using it back in Colombia when I was around 5.
That is funny, but asking for a lot of trouble. It raises the question though…can a pimp be nice?
This made me laugh!!! Ms.Marshall I can imagine your face and hear your voice in my head as I read this article. I would have never figured that “Spainy-Spanish” people would use such a term! They seem so classy.
This is very funny. In my language some of the words are like this too! I find the part that is very funny is the “chulo” part. But I think that I have heard this word before on a Dora episode.
Haha this is hysterical..”super pimpish!” it’s fun to know what words can mean in other languages. My friend Carlos always uses the word chulo..now I get what it means:)!
Haha this is awesome! I wish I could speak another language!
Hilarious! I think I remember this about "chulo" when I was in Spain and got very confused about the whole concept.
The first time I visited Spain upon seeing "tortillas" on the menu; the crafty Californian ordered three tortillas for breakfast. The Waiter, shaking his head and uttering something about "crazy gringos", rushed to the kitchen. When the waiter returned to deliver my order, there before me were more eggs fluffed into omelets then I had ever seen. So much for my California Spanish. Tim
Then of course there is the difference in word choice when saying you are going to take the bus. Here in Spain the verb generally used is "coger," but if you go almost anywhere else they use "tomar," and the former word means something drastically different!
I was also confused at the beginning of the year when I first got asked if I lived in a "piso." It seemed to me as though they were referring to an entire floor of a building, until at last somebody explained that "piso" means apartment here!
That's so funny. I think each culture has a completely different set of words that are and aren't appropriate. I've wanted to visit Barcelona for so long, love reading about your time there
I believe the correct translation is http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pimpin%27