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LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Words and phrases you need to know to be a true Madrileño

If you're learning Spanish, one of most challenging things about learning a new language is the accents and street slang, which changes depending on which city you're in.

Published: 31 May 2019 16:57 CEST
Words and phrases you need to know to be a true Madrileño
Photo: Kasto/Depositphotos

The capital of Spain is no different! Madrid has lots of words and phrases that are just used there, as well as some that may be used elsewhere but are common to hear on the streets of Madrid. Knowing the meaning of this words and when to use them will make you sound just like a native, so here we give you some words and phrases to test out:

 

Chupa – leather jacket

 

  • Se ha comprado una chupa preciosa.

        He's bought a beautiful leather jacket.

 

Piba/pibe – girl or boy

 

  • Esta piba es muy rara.

        This girl is very strange.

 

Sobar – sleep

 

  • Me voy a sobar, estoy agotado.

        I'm going to sleep, I'm knackered.

 

Esfumarse – disappear or run away

 

  • Juan no hace más que esfumarse cada vez que le vemos.

       Juan keeps ghosting on us whenever we see him.

 

 

En zero coma – very fast

 

  • Salimos de viaje en 0 coma.

       We'll be en route in no time.

 

A pachas – go halves

 

  • Fuimos a cenar y pagamos la cuenta a pachas.

We went to have dinner and split the bill.

 

Mazo – a lot

 

Tengo mazo de tiempo libre últimamente.

I have had  a lot of free time lately.

 

Estar al loro – to be aware

 

Estoy al loro de todo lo que pasa en esta ciudad.

I'm aware of everything that happens in this city.

 

Keli – house

 

¿Quedamos todos en mi keli?

Shall we all meet in my house?

 

Pirado – crazy

 

Los que ponen su vida en peligro sin motivo están totalmente pirados.

Those that put their own life's in danger without reason are totally crazy.

 

Chachi – good or great

 

El Parque Warner es super chachi.

The Warner Park is really good.

 

Pipa – fool or silly person

 

Jorge es un pipa , nadie le toma en serio.

Jorge is a fool, no one takes him seriously.

 

Jeta – face

Tenía una jeta de asustado impresionante.

He had such a scared face.

 

Check out our other word of the day posts

This word of the day has been contributed by LAE Madrid, the leading Spanish academy in Madrid. Accredited by the Insitituto Cervantes, it offers Spanish courses for all levels and also has Spanish classes for kids and families.

OPINION: The Lonely Planet is wrong, Madrid isn't Europe's second best destination

 

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SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Spanish Expression of the Day: En el quinto pino

What on earth do Spaniards mean when they say they're 'in the fifth pine tree'?

Published: 18 September 2024 10:25 CEST
Spanish Expression of the Day: En el quinto pino

Spanish is a language full of rich and historical idioms. Often they can seem (to non-native speakers at least) completely random or unrelated to the point or conversation at hand, but learning a few is a good way to deepen your understanding and even show off to some Spaniards.

Showing that you’ve taken the time to learn a few colloquial phrases, of which The Local has explained loads and you can find them all here, will really endear you to locals and also help your comprehension skills. As is often the case in language learning, once you’ve learned a new word or phrase you’ll suddenly start hearing it everywhere you go.

On this occasion we’re looking at the expression en el quinto pino.

First, some translations. Literally speaking ‘en el quinto pino‘ means in/at the fifth pine or pine tree, but it’s actually colloquial phrase Spaniards use to mean that something is ‘far away’ or ‘miles away’. 

It could also be translated as ‘in the middle of nowhere’ or ‘out in the sticks’ and is generally used to mean somewhere physically far away from where you are and difficult to get to.

The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) defines quinto pino as ‘a very distant place’ or a place ‘very far away’.

There are other colloquial ways of saying this, including en el quinto coño (in the fifth c*nt, it sounds terrible but the Spanish C-word isn’t as bad as in English) and a tomar por culo (to be taken up the bum), but these as you can imagine are pretty rude, even though they are used a lot. We obviously recommend that you either say muy lejos (very far) or en el quinto pino.

So, what’s the history and etymology behind the expression en el quinto pino? Is it something to do with being lost in the woods, or having to travel through a forest to get somewhere far away?

Not quite. The origin comes from Madrid during the reign of Felipe V in the 18th century. He decided to plant five large pine trees in the city, the last of which was located on the outskirts of the capital.

This point soon became known as a meeting place for lovers, and this is how the expression ‘irse al quinto pino’ first became popular, referring to the specific location in Madrid.

With time it slowly changed in usage and eventually ended up meaning ‘far away’ in a more general way that could be in Spain or beyond.

 
Examples:
 
Pedro, no podemos volver andando esta noche. La casa está en el quinto pino.
 
Pedro, we can’t walk back tonight. The house is in the middle of nowhere.
 

Tengo que ir a una reunión esta tarde y está en el quinto pino.

I’ve got to go to a meeting this afternoon and it’s miles away.

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