A skincare technique that involves sealing the skin with a thick layer of petroleum jelly or another occlusive product at night to lock in moisture. A widely popular facial care trend across Spanish-speaking countries.

Embarrassment or paralyzing shyness that stops you from doing what you want to do. In Argentina, having 'batata' means your nerves took over, you wanted to speak, to act, to approach someone, but the embarrassment froze you solid right when you needed to move.

A casual romantic or sexual encounter in Argentina, usually a one-time thing with no strings attached. A "transe" is that hookup or makeout that is not meant to become a relationship.

A Latin music genre born in Puerto Rico that conquered the entire planet and changed the music industry forever. Perreo, dembow beats, and lyrics your mom doesn't approve of but everybody dances to.

A casual, low-key plan in Argentina. The diminutive gives it a relaxed feel: a plancito is a chill hangout with no big production - mate, movies, and good company.

In Argentine nightlife slang, someone who is high on pills or drugs, glassy-eyed and moving in slow motion. Being "engomado" means being completely out of it on substances at a party or pregame.

Argentine lunfardo for drugs in general, especially cocaine. By extension, "falopa" also works as an adjective for something of terrible quality or fake.

In Argentine youth slang, someone who is very skilled, quick, and sharp at something, especially in sports or street situations. Being una mecha means you handle things with speed and cleverness.

To download files, apps, or content from the internet to your device in Latin America. Downloading from the cloud is the everyday act of grabbing music, movies, or apps that fill your storage until nothing else fits.

A hard punch thrown with a closed fist, the kind that can knock someone down. In Argentina and Spain, a piña is that solid hit that settles arguments the old-fashioned way.

A shady deal, murky situation, or unclear mess, sometimes with connotations of deception. In Argentina, having un fato or saying "qué fato" points to something suspicious or tangled going on.

To have extreme, deep, immovable laziness, when you absolutely refuse to do anything that requires the slightest effort. It's Argentina's most relatable state of being, especially on winter mornings.

The endless loop of scrolling through bad news, disasters, and depressing content even though it makes you feel worse with every post. Doomscrolling is the digital-age habit that keeps you glued to your phone at midnight reading about everything going wrong in the world, knowing you should stop but unable to.

To discuss a topic in circles, passing responsibility back and forth like a ball without ever making a decision. In Argentina, Uruguay, and Spain, pelotear is the favorite sport of unproductive meetings where everyone talks and nothing gets resolved.

Secretly, on the down low, or with low intensity, when you want to admit something without making it public. It's the same English word "lowkey" adopted into Spanish slang by Gen Z across Latin America and Spain, used exactly the same way as in English internet culture.

People or traditions from previous generations who resist change and are often opposed to innovation.

In Argentine soccer, to go in hard on a tackle, risking your body and playing with intensity without holding back. Meter pierna is synonymous with grit and commitment on the field.

The promotion playoff that decides whether an Argentine football club stays in their division or gets relegated, pitting the weakest team against one from the division below. Playing "la promo" is a nerve-wracking nightmare.

A dangerous football (soccer) tackle in Argentina where a player goes in with the sole of their boot aimed at the opponent. A planchazo is a serious foul that usually means a red card and a lot of outrage.

To bother, pester, or insist on something so heavily that it drives someone crazy. In Spain and Latin America, dar la lata is the art of being insufferable, repeated, persistent, pointless nagging at its finest.

To cuss someone out, hurl insults at them, to let loose a merciless barrage of the worst words possible. It's unleashing an endless waterfall of insults that leaves no corner of the other person's dignity intact.

Popcorn in Argentina and Uruguay. No movie trip is complete without pochoclos, and the eternal debate over sweet versus salty never has a clear winner, though sweet actually outsells salty there, which surprises most visitors from countries where butter and salt are the default.

The response time of your internet connection, measured in milliseconds and critical for online gaming. The lower the number the better: anything under 50ms is smooth, once it climbs past 100 you start feeling every delay and losing fights you should have won.

A stomach ailment caused by overeating, bad digestion, or eating something that didn't sit right. In Latin American folk medicine, empacho is treated with traditional massages and herbal remedies.

Excessive, over the top, exaggerated. In Argentina it can be positive or negative depending on context: something insanely good or someone who crossed the line with bad behavior.

A mess, stain, or physical disaster that leaves something in terrible shape. Used in Argentina. The verb enchastrar means to create or leave that kind of filth or disorder. Can be literal, like a trashed kitchen, or figurative, like a situation someone left in complete disarray.

To generate massive hype and excitement around something, often more than it actually deserves. When marketing or social media inflate something so much that reality can never compete.

Someone who makes things up and exaggerates to impress, a bullshitter with a flair for storytelling. In Argentina and Uruguay, a versero tells tales, invents exploits, and stretches the truth with such charm that you almost believe them.

To feel so embarrassed you genuinely wish you could disappear from the planet at that exact moment. Used across the Spanish-speaking world to describe the peak of social embarrassment, when you do not know where to look or what to do with yourself.

A short-statured person. In Argentina 'petiso' is used more naturally than 'bajito' and can be affectionate or just descriptive, not necessarily offensive. The Argentine petiso usually takes it with humor.