An instant evaluation of the energy or vibe a person, place, or situation gives off at a given moment. Does it feel right or is something off? That's a vibe check, Gen Z's social thermometer.

Scrolling through TikTok for hours without realizing time has completely disappeared. It's the modern black hole of entertainment that swallows entire evenings without warning.

An apartment or flat inside a building in Mexico and Argentina. It's what Spain calls a 'piso', a living space stacked above or below other people's living spaces.

A traffic jam where cars get trapped and can barely inch forward. It's the daily torture of living in any major Latin American city during rush hour.

A romantic female partner in a committed relationship. In most Latin American countries, calling someone your novia implies exclusivity and seriousness, it's several steps beyond just dating.

A positive sign in a person that shows they're worth getting to know and things are going well. The opposite of a red flag: those details that make you fall for someone and confirm you found a good one.

Being at your peak, full of energy, and doing everything right with no apparent effort. When you're unstoppable and everything you touch turns to pure success, nobody can beat you.

When someone did something amazing, absolutely crushed it, or exceeded all expectations with their own style. From 'ate that up,' it's Gen Z approval for someone who totally owned the situation beyond any doubt.

A very physically attractive person who's hot and knows it. In Peru and Mexico, calling someone churro is a direct compliment that works for men and women, the kind of flattery friends toss around naturally.

A penalty kick in soccer, awarded when a foul happens inside the box. The most nerve-wracking moment in any match, where the entire stadium goes dead silent before the kicker steps up.

To send text messages or chat with someone constantly. An anglicism from the English 'text' that became a verb in Spanish and is used all across Latin America.

A cop, a police officer. An informal, generally derogatory term used in Peru and Colombia when you spot the law enforcement authorities and want to warn others, often with a negative connotation towards the police and their presence.

The energy, feeling, or atmosphere a person, place, or situation gives off immediately. When something has good vibes you feel great without knowing why; when it has bad vibes you want to run.

A person who seems to have no personality of their own, just repeats what everyone says and acts like a background character in a video game. Zero originality, zero opinions, they just exist to fill space.

A completely positive, clean energy with no toxicity or negativity, the best possible energy.

A turn or twist when walking or driving, the movement you make at a corner to change direction. In Mexican directions you'll hear 'dale vuelta a la derecha' (give it a turn to the right) to mean 'turn right.' It's the verb you'll hear most when someone tries to guide you somewhere.

An own goal in soccer, when a player accidentally scores against their own team, the worst possible moment in a match. Beyond the field, autogol is used figuratively to describe any situation where someone sabotages themselves, like sending an angry text to the wrong person or accidentally CC'ing your boss on gossip.

To figure it out, to hustle and make money or solve a problem with whatever you have on hand and pure creativity. It's the verb of Latin survival: when there are no resources, there's ingenuity.

A horse, especially a working or riding horse. In the Southern Cone pingo is an affectionate, slightly nostalgic term for a good horse, the kind gauchos depend on.

To feel embarrassed, to get flustered, to turn red from shame over something cringeworthy you did or witnessed. In Peru, paltear is the standard way to express that something mortifies you.

To cancel someone, meaning to publicly reject and collectively withdraw support from a person because of something they said or did. This is the Spanish equivalent of cancel culture, a social media phenomenon where someone can lose massive public support overnight. Used across all Spanish-speaking countries, especially on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.

Internet connection delay that causes stuttering, freezing, and jumps in video games or video calls. The gamer's invisible enemy that makes you die unfairly, and the most reliable excuse when you lose an online match.

Toasted, crunchy corn kernels eaten as a salty snack in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. From the Quechua word for toasted corn, cancha is the ancestral companion to ceviche and one of the most satisfying things you can munch on between meals.

A person who's extraordinarily good at something, especially in football or sports in general. It's the highest compliment to recognize pure talent and natural ability that can't be taught.

When two people mutually like each other on a dating app like Tinder and can start chatting. The match is the first step of modern digital romance, that virtual spark that can lead to a date or ghosting.

The pain of unrequited love or a broken heart that drives you to do crazy things. Despecho is the fuel behind the best ranchera, vallenato, and bachata songs ever written.

The US dollar, named after the green color of the bills. In Peru and Venezuela, lechuga is the street slang for American currency, the one everybody wants to have.

To cheat on your partner. Used across Spain and Latin America, the "cuernos" (horns) imagery comes from an old European tradition where a betrayed husband was said to grow horns. The betrayal rarely stays secret for long and almost always ends up as the group chat's main topic for weeks.

To give up, to quit trying because you've run out of strength and motivation to keep fighting. It comes from boxing, where the trainer literally threw in the towel to save their fighter from more damage.

Something unexpected, out of nowhere, with no apparent reason. An English loanword adopted across the entire Spanish-speaking world, especially among young people on social media.