Chilean Slang just got easier!

Before moving to Chile, you did your homework and signed up for some Spanish classes. Good for you! Funny thing is that on your first days around town you started noticing that the words were very different. Welcome to our world!

For example: “La Liebre” which means Hare, in Chile means the public bus. “La Guagua” which for Google translator means a bus, is actually a Baby in Chile. You will hear the word Cachay a lot, and also Weon. (They can be good or bad in the same sentence!) Easy right?!

Lucky for us foreigners, now there is a really cool App available to help us understand what folks are actually saying. The name of the App is Chilenismos, you can find it for IOs in the app store. It has over 300 Chilean expressions, with 500 different definitions. Click here to get the app.

Adam Teale, the creator of the app, wrote to us and we were interested right away. He is an expat, who came traveling to Atacama but instead fell in love and has now been living in Chile for over four years. =) =) Right away, he noticed  the constant use of slang, and in order to learn he started keeping track of all the expressions. This is how his app was born and a year after its launch it has doubled in the amount of phrases.

We downloaded the app and gave it a try. It is actually entertaining and FUN. It even has a Game to help you practice speaking like an actual Chilean (Try it with some Pisco, and a drinking game might be born!) Only downside is that the definitions are in Spanish, but with basic Spanish they are easy to understand.

Here are some of our favorite new expressions. Our minds were thinking one thing, but it turns out we were wrong…

1) A la suerte de la olla/To the pots luck: go with the flow, or let´s see how things go.

2) Bailar con la fea/Dance with the ugly one: to be unlucky.

3) Cabeza de Pescado/Fish Head:  someone who speaks non-sense.

4) Peinar la Muñeca/To Comb the doll: to be crazy.

5) Rayar La papa/to peal a potato: someone who is obsessed with one subject

6) Subir al columpio/To climb the swing: to be annoyed over something a person did.

7) Vacunar a alguien/To give someone a shot: to con a person, to rip someone off.

8) Darle con el palo al gato/To hit the cat with a stick: managed to pull something off that was very unlikely.

9) El dia del Nispero/The day of the Fig: a day that will never arrive. (No translation for a Nispero in English, OMG, what fruit is it??))

 What are your favorite Chilean Expression? Have anything to share? Leave it below on the comments!

What to consider when receving your property (“Pre-Entrega” Checklist)

If you have been living in Chile a little while longer, you probably decided to invest in a house or in an apartment. There are many projects in the city, with different price ranges, sizes and location. So, if you are thinking of staying here the long term, it might be a good decision to buy your own property.

If you have already bought it (Congrats!!!!) and are waiting to receive your new place, then it is very important that you CHECK every detail of it IN and OUT during the “Pre- Entrega”.

What happens is that the construction company writes down all the problems you found, from bad paint jobs, to water leaks and crooked doors, and then they will fix them before you officially get your key. It is very common; we actually had our shower plumbing missing, and ended up with a pool when we turned it on the first time!!

These tips apply more for a new property. But in Case it is a used place, this process is even more important, and it should be done with an inspector before you even decide on buying the place.

Besides the finishing details, here are some more practical and functioning points that you MUST check: (Pre- Entrega Check List)

–Electrical: turn on all electrical appliances at full throttle and check that the breakers don´t fall.

-Heating: Turn on the heater system. With hot water (floor or ceiling) within an hour if it is a strong leak you might see sign of leakage. If not make a note to ask the person in charge about the guarantees.

-Water: Leave all the faucets, showers and bath tub running, to make sure there are no leaks. Fill bath tubs completely to make sure they are correctly sealed. Empty them at once, to make sure they drain properly.

– Kitchen: Check the appliances. Turn on Oven and kitchen. Check cabinet doors to see if they open properly, and if they are aligned.

-Floors: If they are ceramic floors, use your hand or a wooden stick to tap on each of the tiles to find out if they are properly placed. A hollow sound means they were installed incorrectly and they have to be replaced.

-Windows: Check that they open, close or slide correctly. With PVC window frames make sure they don´t have cracks.

-Hot water: Turn on to make sure it works. Plug in all electrical water heaters in case it is necessary to double check. 

Have in mind, that with a new apartment you have three years to claim problems to the construction company: from finishing details, to more complex facilities issues.

Hope this was useful for the new property owners! =)