La Raza
Chicano Slang in Old-School Hip-Hop: The Words Kid Frost, Cypress Hill and Mellow Man Ace Put on the Radio
/Sounds like "HAY-nah"/
A Chicano and Pachuco word for girlfriend, chick, girl. It comes from the English "honey" adapted with Chicano phonetics and a feminine ending. "Mi jaina" means my partner, my girl, the one who rides with me. It's used among cholos, barrio folks, and in the Pachuco culture of the 1940s and beyond. It's one of the most legit words in Chicano caló and shows up in Cypress Hill, Kid Frost, and the whole old-school Chicano hip-hop canon.
Example
"Esa es mi jaina, trátame con respeto. → That's my lady, show some respect when you talk to her."
"Mi jaina me va a matar. → My girl is gonna kill me."
Regional synonyms:
Ver en español →
/Sounds like "HAY-nah"/
A Chicano and Pachuco word for girlfriend, chick, girl. It comes from the English "honey" adapted with Chicano phonetics and a feminine ending. "Mi jaina" means my partner, my girl, the one who rides with me. It's used among cholos, barrio folks, and in the Pachuco culture of the 1940s and beyond. It's one of the most legit words in Chicano caló and shows up in Cypress Hill, Kid Frost, and the whole old-school Chicano hip-hop canon.
Example
"Esa es mi jaina, trátame con respeto. → That's my lady, show some respect when you talk to her."
"Mi jaina me va a matar. → My girl is gonna kill me."
Regional synonyms:
Articles featuring this word
Dar cran
To kickstart something with energy, to get the ball rolling and just go for it. In Mexico, "dar cran" comes from the sound of cranking an engine to life, so it means giving a project or task that initial burst of momentum. You use it when someone needs to stop hesitating and start doing.