A little bit of Slang (Mexican) Spanish! 1

Hola amigos, ¿Qué onda?, ¿Cómo están?....WAIT A SECOND!!! ¿Qué onda? Isn't "onda" the spanish word for wave? Generally speaking, "onda" in spanish means wave, and well, a wave is "the disturbance or oscillation that travels through matter/space, accompanied by a transfer of energy." "Hey Cris! We came here for slang spanish, not complicated physics!"....haha! Sorry, my nerdy side sometimes shows off , I can't help it!...moving forward! Onda used in slang language, on the other hand, Is not as complicated to explain...or is it?...Well, first of all we use onda to describe a certain fashion, music or way of thinking kind of trend ...fashion wave? music wave? does it makes sense?... One can say...."Estás en la onda" or "La onda de hoy es dejarse (crecer) la barba", with the equivalent in english for..."You are in/trendy/fashionista" and "The new thing is to grow a beard". Other use of the word "onda" is when reffering to the actual state of someone or something, wheter is positive or negative, and I think it is better explained with an example.. "El es buena onda" (He is "cool") or also "Qué mala onda!" (How lame or uncool!). So, ¿Qué onda?, doesn't have a specific translation but it reffers to asking , in general, how are things going (similar to ¿Qué pasa? or¿ Qué pasó? ), how someone is feeling , similar to that 2nd definition I mentioned about "cool" and "uncool". What should I answer back? Well, it depends. Sometimes you could just answer "Nada".(Something like answering "What's up?- Not much"). You can also answer "Todo bien, y tú, ¿qué onda?" (everything good, what about you?). Someone could also answer 'Todo igual" (All the same) or also "Tranquis"(short for tranquilo, meaning that everything is calm or "chilling", "peachy"). Well, I hope you enjoyed this post and also hope I can read your comments, questions on this new "onda" i'm working on about slang mexican spanish! Saludos desde Baja California, Mexico! FELIZ VIERNES!

Cristian: muy interesante y informativo. Slang, or local colloquialisms, has to be one of the most challenging aspects of learning a new language. I think that one of the most interesting aspects of this quest I am on to learn your beautiful language is understanding how the language is used, perhaps in a more "pure" sense in Spain, and how it has been modified and adapted in the various American countries in which it is spoken. It would be easy for an English speaker like me to throw up my hands in frustration and think, "well, if those Spanish-speakers cannot agree on their vocabulary and grammar, why should I bother?" But if anything, I have come to appreciate the differences in "English" between people from the British Isles, North America, Australia, and other places my language is spoken. Having lived in the US midwest and now our south, I realize how different "English" is spoken in just this country! What I have learned is that Spanish, much like English, is not a single language. It has many similarities but also some significant differences that can seem daunting to the new speaker. I think that I am glad to be a native English speaker learning Spanish rather than the other way around! Saludos, Dan (who wishes his given name had a Spanish synonym!)

Hola Dan. We can Call you Daniel ( read in Spanish) which is a ver y popular name in Spanish speaking countries! ¡Gracias por tu importante aportación DAH-nee- el!

Hola amigos, ¿Christian, puede decirme que significa la palabra jiribila?

Hola Patrice! I know at least 2 or 3 meanings of jiribilla, to be honest I have never used this word, I think is either from Spain or Cuba and parts of southern Mexico use it too. 1)When a question or a statement has a double meaning or it is formulated with a different intention. e.g" Tu comentario tenía jiribilla" 2)It is the efffect a ball gets , either a curve or a weird movement. In Mexico we preffer the use of "chanfle" instead of jiribilla for this, but both are used a a lot for this. "El balón que patearon llevaba mucha jiribilla" 3)Another one I actually found on the web is that jiribilla is use to describe a hyperactive person or a person who is messy or disorganized. Saludos!

I can think of one English word that could meet all three of your definitions: screwball.

What would you guys like me to include on "A little bit of Slang (Mexican) Spanish! 2"? Nicknames?Other slang phrases? Bad words? Terms of endearment? Food? Please let me know!! And yes Dan, screwballs covers half of the definition of jiribilla haha Saludos!

Gracias Christian. Yo supe que ud. podría ayudarnos. Did I come close to saying? I knew that you would be able to help us. :)

Muy bien ,Patrice!. Felicidades. You can also use "sabía", as in "Yo sabía que usted podría ayudarnos" Remember we have different past time, for example, "pretérito" (simple past, like "supe") and "copretérito" (like "sabía"). Here is some more infor on copreterito, I found it difficult to explain it in english, since you have a different way of using this time. http://englishbridge.blogspot.com/2008/11/expresando-el-copreterito-al-ingls.html Saludos!

Gracias otra vez Christian y también por el eslabón. ¡Fue muy interesante!

De nada Patrice!!! Por cierto, ya publiqué la 2da parte de A little bit of Slang 2!!! Saludos!