Chilean Slang: 50+ words Chileans actually use
Chilean Spanish is famously the hardest accent in Latin America — fast, full of dropped 's' sounds, and packed with unique slang ("chilenismos") you'll hear nowhere else. If you can understand a Chilean, you can understand any Spanish. Here's the survival kit: cachai, weón, bacán, al tiro, plus the voseo verb forms that make Chilean Spanish sound nothing like your textbook.
Got a chat with a Chilean friend? Drop it into the conversation translator.
Open conversation translator →Essential Chilean slang
The words you'll hear in literally every Chilean conversation.
| Chilean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| cachai | you get it? / you know? |
| weón / hueón | dude / idiot / guy (tone decides) |
| bacán | cool / awesome |
| fome | boring / lame |
| al tiro | right away / immediately |
| po | filler — 'sí po' = 'yeah obviously' |
| pololo / polola | boyfriend / girlfriend |
| pega | job / work |
| carrete | party |
| filete | awesome / amazing |
| la raja | the best / awesome (vulgar) |
| paco | cop (slightly negative) |
| luca | 1,000 pesos |
| gamba | 100 pesos |
| once | afternoon tea / light dinner |
| guata | belly / stomach |
| pucha | darn! / aw man |
| la firme | the truth / for real |
| agarrar papa | to take advantage |
| andar pato | to be broke |
Carrete & street slang
Party, drinks, money, and the words that fly around any Santiago carrete.
| Chilean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| wena / wena weón | what's up / hey dude (greeting) |
| sipo / nopo | yes (emphatic) / no (emphatic) |
| achuntar | to get it right / guess right |
| chamullar | to BS / sweet-talk |
| copete | alcoholic drink |
| curado | drunk |
| lata | drag / annoying thing |
| paltón / paltona | embarrassed / awkward |
| chao pescao | bye! (playful) |
| buena onda | good vibe / cool person |
Chilean voseo — verb forms that confuse everyone
Chileans use tú with -ái / -ís / -ói endings instead of standard -as / -es / -as. Native Spanish speakers from other countries get tripped up too.
| Chilean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| tú cachái | you get it (voseo form) |
| tú soi | you are (instead of tú eres) |
| tú venís / vení | you come / come! |
| tú querís | you want (instead of tú quieres) |
| tú estái | you are (instead of tú estás) |
Top verbs behind Chilean slang
Most chilenismos hang off the same handful of verbs. Drill these first:
🇲🇽 Mexico
güey, chido, neta
🇦🇷 Argentina
che, boludo, posta
🇨🇴 Colombia
parcero, chévere
🇪🇸 Spain
tío, vale, guay