An informal pickup soccer game among friends in Peru and Chile, no referee, no proper uniforms, just pure love for the sport. It's the weekend ritual that keeps friendships alive.

To choose a character or champion at the start of a match in a competitive game. Picking well can determine whether you win or lose before the game even starts.

In Chile, a persistent and annoying person who won't take no for an answer and keeps pushing non-stop. From "catete" meaning a hand drill, with the idea of someone drilling through your patience.

Something is intense, shocking, or emotionally overwhelming. It's the go to reaction across Latin America and Spain when a situation, piece of news, or story hits you so hard you don't even know what to say about it.

An unpleasant person, a negative situation, or an attitude that ruins the mood. Mala onda is the opposite of buena onda and describes everything that brings you down.

To cause such intense secondhand embarrassment that you want to disappear from the face of the earth. When something gives you cringe, it's so awkward, so painful, or so out of place that it physically hurts to witness.

An extremely boring situation with absolutely zero fun or interest in Chile. It describes that moment where the boredom is so intense that even yawning feels like too much effort.

A metal grill structure where meat is cooked over direct fire, the heart of Argentine and Uruguayan asado. Also refers to a restaurant specializing in grilled meats that you can smell from three blocks away.

To get out of something, dodge a commitment, or escape an awkward situation with cunning. It's the art of avoiding what you don't want to do without making it too obvious you're running from responsibility.

The fall-winter season when people look for a partner just to not be alone during the cold months and holiday season. Seasonal relationships that last as long as winter and melt away with spring.

To mooch off others, getting free stuff by taking advantage of people's generosity without ever returning the favor. The gorrero is a professional freeloader who always shows up empty-handed.

An upper-class snob who looks down on anyone they consider socially inferior. In Chile and Peru, the pituco lives in a different world and wouldn't lower themselves to mix with ordinary people under any circumstance.

To feel intense secondhand embarrassment from seeing or hearing something painfully awkward. An anglicism from 'cringe' that was quickly adopted across Spanish-speaking social media.

Really pissed off, furious, wanting to break everything and tell everyone to go to hell. It's the vulgar but absolutely honest way of saying you're fed up beyond all limits.

Clothes or clothing in several Spanish-speaking countries. A colloquial way to refer to garments, especially when talking about your wardrobe with either pride or shame.

When content explodes online and goes from zero to millions of views in a matter of hours. The verb that describes that magical moment where something you uploaded spirals out of control and reaches people you never imagined.

To broadcast content live over the internet, usually playing video games or doing live shows on platforms like Twitch or YouTube. The dream job of an entire generation of gamers.

A Chilean informal greeting used between friends as a quick, casual hello. It's as universal in Chile as breathing, heard on every corner, every phone call, and every text.

A thief or street criminal in Peru and Chile. It's the word you use when someone snatches your phone or wallet, the street-level term for the criminals you avoid in sketchy neighborhoods.

To make someone really angry, provoke an intense rage that makes them lose control. It's a vulgar but very common way to describe pushing someone past their boiling point.

That exact moment when something the person you liked does grosses you out or makes you cringe so hard that all your interest vanishes instantly. One tiny detail can ruin all the attraction you felt.

A personal period of disillusionment, sadness, and pessimism, borrowed from English internet culture and fully adopted by Spanish-speaking Gen Z. The dark inner era before the glow up, when nothing feels exciting and everything feels pointless.

Beyond just your partner's sibling, on the internet 'cuñado' is that guy at every gathering who has an opinion on everything despite knowing nothing. He's a self-proclaimed expert on politics, soccer, and life in general.

Doing the absolute bare minimum at work without formally quitting: showing up, checking the boxes, and nothing more. The term, borrowed from English, became widespread after the pandemic as a response to burnout, toxic workplaces, and the realization that overdelivering for no reward was a losing game.

A bus or minibus for public transit that runs through city streets. It's the daily transport for millions of people in Chile, Mexico, and Argentina, those packed vehicles where you ride squeezed but you arrive.

An expression of secondhand embarrassment in Chile, when something is so awkward you feel bad for the other person. You want to look away and pretend you didn't see anything that just happened.

A one-thousand peso bill, the most commonly used informal monetary unit in Chile and Argentina. When they say 'five lucas,' do the math: five thousand pesos. And if you don't have a single luca, you're truly broke.

Belly or gut in Chile, the body part that betrays your weekend food excesses. When the guata grows, it's a sign that the empanadas and beers are winning the battle.

A person with a massive social media following who can sway their audience's opinions, purchases, and trends. Some are genuine content creators, others are just walking advertisements.

To beat someone up badly, or to bust your own ass working extremely hard. In Chile, sacar la cresta covers both violence and extreme effort. The crest (a rooster's comb) is what gets knocked off when someone truly gets destroyed.