Deliberately taking time to care for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It's the modern practice of prioritizing yourself, from face masks to therapy sessions to just turning off your phone.

An extremely cold-sensitive person who feels cold before anyone else does. A friolento wraps up in layers during mild weather and reaches for a blanket the moment any air conditioning turns on.

Cheap, costing little or less than expected. The magic word when you are shopping, bargaining, or just trying to make your budget stretch. Everyone is always looking for the barato option, and the vendor will always insist the price cannot go lower. It usually can.

An exclamation of total disgust and revulsion in Ecuador and Peru. When something grosses you out so badly you need to express it with sound, "atatay!" comes out before you can even think about it.

To show off or brag about your achievements, money, or possessions intentionally and publicly. Flexing is the Gen Z art of displaying your success on social media, whether it's designer clothes, trips, or bank screenshots.

In soccer, the movement a player makes to break away from their marker and get open to receive a pass. Without good desmarques, even the best passes go nowhere.

A spectacular, jaw dropping goal in soccer that makes the commentators scream for thirty seconds straight. The kind that goes viral instantly and gets replayed in slow motion all week long. Adding the suffix 'azo' to 'gol' turns it into something epic and unforgettable.

To eat with a lot of appetite and not much table manners, basically to chow down or stuff your face. While "tragar" literally means "to swallow," in everyday slang across Latin America and Spain it means eating fast and enthusiastically because hunger is in charge.

Hot pepper or chili, the general South American term for what Mexico calls chile and Spain calls guindilla or pimiento. From the Andes to the Southern Cone, ají is the spice that gives life and depth to the cooking. Peruvian ají amarillo is a classic example.

The sacred scream of soccer. When the ball hits the back of the net, the word erupts from every throat in the stadium. It does not matter if you are watching from the nosebleeds or your living room, a gol makes you lose your voice and your composure.

To play competitive or ranked matches in a video game to climb the leaderboard and improve your rank. It's the serious mode where every win and loss counts toward your status.

The involuntary yelp that escapes when something burns you, rooted in Quechua. In Ecuador and Peru, "arrarray" is pure reflex: not a word you choose but one that comes out before you even process the pain. Wired into the culture through centuries of Quechua influence, still heard daily in kitchens and accidents all across the Andes.

At maximum level, with all possible power or energy, holding nothing back. The anglicism all of Latin America adopted without a second thought to describe when something or someone is giving a hundred percent.

To sleep, especially a long nap or a deep sleep. Literally "to iron your ear," picturing someone pressing their ear into a pillow. Used casually across Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, and Peru for any serious napping session.

To go out partying, hit the night with friends, drinking and dancing until sunrise. Used in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru, it comes from "farra" (party) turned into a verb. Monday conversations in these countries are basically just people comparing their farreo stories.

A complete set of clothes you're wearing, from shoes to accessories. This fashion anglicism became part of the daily vocabulary of young people, used to describe a carefully curated and coordinated look, often with an emphasis on style and personal expression.

A phase or stage you're going through in your life, your current moment defined by your attitude and style. When someone says they're in their 'gym era' or 'villain era,' it means they've adopted a new temporary personality.

A perfect assist that leaves a teammate alone in front of goal to score unopposed. The pase de gol is the art of seeing what nobody else sees and putting the ball exactly where your teammate needs it.

A Peruvian expression meaning 'you get it?' or 'you feel me?' Used at the end of an explanation to check if the other person understood what you just said.

A little freebie the market vendor throws in as a bonus for being a loyal customer in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. It's the Andean tradition of generosity that keeps customers coming back.

A purification ritual using herbs, eggs, incense, or candles to remove negative energy, bad luck, or spiritual illness. Limpias are deeply rooted in Latin American indigenous traditions and folk medicine.

The change you get back after paying for something in Argentina, Chile, and Peru. It's the coins and bills the cashier hands you, always count them before walking away.

A strong seismic event that shakes the earth and everything on it. In countries like Chile and Mexico, earthquakes are a part of life, everyone knows the drill and has a story to tell.

Thousands of pesos in several South American countries where one luca equals a thousand. It's the most informal, quick, and everyday way to talk about prices and money without saying the full numbers.

Small colorful glass balls used in a classic childhood game where players flick them to knock opponents' marbles out of a circle. Playing canicas is a generational tradition across Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, the kind of game you learned from an older kid in the schoolyard and passed down yourself.

Watching many episodes of a series back-to-back without stopping, the perfect weekend plan. It's the modern way of consuming TV: no waiting, no commercials, just pure binge-watching.

An expression of pain so intense it goes beyond physical and reaches emotional and spiritual levels. When it hurts you to the soul, the suffering is total, body, heart, and mind are all equally wrecked.

To mug or rob someone with direct threats on the street. Common in Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Peru, an atraco is the classic street holdup that leaves you without your phone, your wallet, and with a scare that stays with you for weeks. This is robbery with intimidation, not a sneaky pickpocket job.

A knit sweater or pullover for staying warm in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. It's the quintessential warm garment of the Andean highlands that your grandma knitted with love and nothing compares to.

The short, affectionate way to call a teacher in all of Latin America. It's the natural, respectful yet casual way students address whoever teaches them every day.