The brutal physical misery after a night of overdoing it with alcohol: headache, nausea, and regret. It's universal across the Spanish-speaking world and always comes with the promise to never drink again.

A hill, mount, or natural elevation across all of Latin America. In many cities, cerros define the landscape and neighborhoods, especially where informal communities are built on the hillsides.

To be totally hooked on something and unable to stop. Think binge-watching a show at 3 a.m. or losing an entire afternoon to a game. You want to quit but the pull is too strong.

The natural style, charisma, or vibe someone projects through the way they move, speak, or dress. Having flow means radiating confidence and personality without trying too hard. You either have it or you don't.

Someone who performs or exaggerates a street or hood identity, adopting the fashion, slang, and attitude of urban marginal culture as part of their persona. Often applied to people who grew up comfortable but present themselves as tough or from the streets.

Someone who emotionally damages the people around them through manipulation, jealousy, constant drama, or behaviors that drain everyone's energy. The go-to word across Spanish-speaking social media to describe relationships and people that do more harm than good.

Expensive: a product or service that costs more than expected or more than the buyer can comfortably afford. Used across most Spanish-speaking countries.

To make a good impression on someone, to be liked immediately, to generate genuine warmth and sympathy in another person from the very first interaction.

To snitch on someone to a teacher, boss, or authority figure, telling what you saw or found out before anyone even asked. In Chile and Peru, the one who sapea runs to report the moment they get the chance.

To "warm the chair" at work: showing up every day without actually contributing anything useful. The classic office dead weight who arrives early, stays late, and somehow keeps their job while producing zero real results. Widely used across Spanish-speaking countries.

To set someone up or conspire against them behind their back. In Argentina, Chile, Spain, and Uruguay, when someone "makes your bed" for you it means they worked behind the scenes to get you removed, discredited, or caught off guard. The metaphor is the trap already laid and waiting.

Someone with shocking nerve, the audacity to ask for things or do things that normal people would be too embarrassed to attempt. Cara de palo (wooden face) is the person who shows up unbothered after doing something outrageous.

To heal emotionally, to work through past traumas and come out the other side healthier. Wellness culture across Latin America and Spain turned sanar into a movement word: everyone is either already healed, currently healing, or being told they need to heal something.

The legendary smack delivered with a flip-flop, the iconic Latin American parenting tool and universal symbol of maternal discipline. The chancletazo transcends borders and generations.

To connect with someone naturally, generate attraction, or fall in favor with them. In the Cono Sur region, if someone 'pega onda', there's chemistry, marking the beginning of a friendship or romance.

Tanned animal hide used to make shoes, bags, jackets, and accessories. Leather goods are a status symbol and a craft tradition across Latin America, especially in Mexico and Argentina.

A person who broadcasts live content on the internet as their main activity, profession, or serious hobby. From gamers to talk show hosts, streamers have turned live broadcasting into a legitimate career.

To annoy someone persistently, bugging them with complaints, requests, or endless conversations. It's that person who won't stop nagging until you lose your patience completely.

An obsessive fan who defends their favorite artist to the death on social media without accepting any criticism. Comes from the Eminem song about a deranged fan and became a universal term in pop culture.

A group collection where everyone chips in to cover a shared expense. Used across Latin America for gifts, meals, drinks, or any cost nobody wants to shoulder alone. The word literally means "cow," but the idea is everyone contributing their share into a common pot.

A difficult situation, serious problem, or something that takes enormous effort. In Costa Rica and Ecuador, yuca captures that feeling of being stuck in something complicated with no easy solution in sight.

To talk badly about someone behind their back, criticizing them when they are not present to hear it. The person who "raja" always has something to say about everyone but never says it to their face. Common across Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay.

An image, video, or piece of text that spreads across the internet and becomes a shared cultural reference. The basic unit of digital humor: it mutates, adapts to any context, and connects people from all over the world through the same joke.

A cute girl or attractive woman in Argentina and Chile. It's an affectionate diminutive of 'mina' used when talking about a woman you're into or who catches your eye.

To want two people to be together romantically, whether they're real people or fictional characters. The favorite hobby of fans who imagine couples and defend them with their lives on social media.

Dough stuffed with meat, chicken, cheese, or whatever you can think of, fried or baked to perfection. Every country has their own version and everyone swears theirs are the best.

A person with emotionally damaging behaviors: manipulation, extreme jealousy, control, and constant drama. Being tóxico is the biggest red flag in dating.

Boldness, audacity, or confidence to do or say things without hesitation or filters. This is a striking quality.

A lot, plenty, a huge amount, Chile's universal intensifier that supercharges anything. Harto cold, harto expensive, I like it harto. It's the Chilean version of 'very' taken to the extreme.

Something that was posted on Twitter/X and became public for the whole world to see and judge. Once a message is "tuiteado," there is no taking it back, because the internet never forgets and never forgives. Used across all Spanish speaking countries as the standard verb for tweeting.