Cancha
Quechua in South American Spanish: The Inca Words That Survived the Conquest
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Add a word/Sounds like "GWAH" (as in "Guam") + "gwah" (as in "Guam")/
Meaning
In Chile and Bolivia, a baby or very young child. Worth knowing: in the Caribbean (Cuba, Puerto Rico), "guagua" means a bus, which makes for some entertaining misunderstandings between Spanish speakers from different countries.
Examples
“La guagua no paró de llorar en toda la noche, menuda noche.”
“The baby did not stop crying all night, what a night that was.”
“Cuida a la guagua un momento mientras voy al mercado.”
“Watch the baby for a minute while I run to the market.”
/Sounds like "GWAH" (as in "Guam") + "gwah" (as in "Guam")/
Meaning
A public bus in Puerto Rico and Cuba, the main form of urban transport in those countries. You catch the guagua at a stop, it follows a fixed route, and it fills up fast during rush hour. The word's origin is debated, with possible roots in African languages or Quechua "wawa," though the Caribbean use for buses developed its own separate meaning.
Examples
“I was late because the guagua was completely packed and did not stop at my corner.”
“How much does the guagua cost to get to the center of town?”
/Sounds like "GWAH" (as in "Guam") + "gwah" (as in "Guam")/
Meaning
A baby or newborn, the most tender and ancestral way to refer to a little one in the Andes. It comes from Quechua and is used with pure love in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Chile.
Examples
“The baby is sleeping, don't make noise.”
“She had her baby last week and it's adorable.”
Regional synonyms
/Sounds like "GWAH" (as in "Guam") + "gwah" (as in "Guam")/
Meaning
A public transit bus that runs fixed routes in the Caribbean and Canary Islands. It's the everyday way to refer to the transport that takes you around the city.
Examples
“I'm gonna take the guagua because I don't have a car.”
“The guagua comes every fifteen minutes at this stop.”
“I missed the guagua and got to work late.”
Word family
Showing 4 definitions, sorted by votes
Community
Your word isn't here yet
Join Hablaaa and add the expression no one else has documented.
/Sounds like "GWAH" (as in "Guam") + "gwah" (as in "Guam")/
Meaning
In Chile and Bolivia, a baby or very young child. Worth knowing: in the Caribbean (Cuba, Puerto Rico), "guagua" means a bus, which makes for some entertaining misunderstandings between Spanish speakers from different countries.
Examples
“La guagua no paró de llorar en toda la noche, menuda noche.”
“The baby did not stop crying all night, what a night that was.”
“Cuida a la guagua un momento mientras voy al mercado.”
“Watch the baby for a minute while I run to the market.”
/Sounds like "GWAH" (as in "Guam") + "gwah" (as in "Guam")/
Meaning
A public bus in Puerto Rico and Cuba, the main form of urban transport in those countries. You catch the guagua at a stop, it follows a fixed route, and it fills up fast during rush hour. The word's origin is debated, with possible roots in African languages or Quechua "wawa," though the Caribbean use for buses developed its own separate meaning.
Examples
“I was late because the guagua was completely packed and did not stop at my corner.”
“How much does the guagua cost to get to the center of town?”
/Sounds like "GWAH" (as in "Guam") + "gwah" (as in "Guam")/
Meaning
A baby or newborn, the most tender and ancestral way to refer to a little one in the Andes. It comes from Quechua and is used with pure love in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Chile.
Examples
“The baby is sleeping, don't make noise.”
“She had her baby last week and it's adorable.”
Regional synonyms
/Sounds like "GWAH" (as in "Guam") + "gwah" (as in "Guam")/
Meaning
A public transit bus that runs fixed routes in the Caribbean and Canary Islands. It's the everyday way to refer to the transport that takes you around the city.
Examples
“I'm gonna take the guagua because I don't have a car.”
“The guagua comes every fifteen minutes at this stop.”
“I missed the guagua and got to work late.”
Word family
Showing 4 definitions, sorted by votes
Articles featuring this word
Quemarse el foco
In Mexico, to mentally exhaust yourself trying to solve a problem until your brain just gives out with nothing to show for it. The image is a lightbulb that has burned out: it used to illuminate things, now it is just dark.