Peruvian Slang: 50+ words Peruvians actually use
Peruvian Spanish is one of the clearest accents in Latin America — but the slang ("jerga peruana") is wild. From Lima street talk to coastal expressions, here's the survival kit: causa, pata, chamba, asu, bacán, plus the words that make Peruvian Spanish sound like home.
Chatting with a Peruvian friend? Drop the convo into the conversation translator.
Open conversation translator →Essential Peruvian slang
The words you'll hear in every Lima conversation.
| Peruvian | Meaning |
|---|---|
| causa | bro / dude (close friend) |
| pata / pataza | buddy / good friend |
| chamba | work / job |
| jato / jatear | house / to sleep |
| asu / asu mare | whoa! / damn! |
| bacán | cool / awesome |
| chibolo / chibola | kid / young person |
| chela | beer |
| luca | 1 sol (or 1,000 in other contexts) |
| paltearse | to get embarrassed / freaked out |
| roche | embarrassment / awkward moment |
| habla | what's up / hey (greeting) |
| pe | filler — 'sí pe' = 'yeah obviously' |
| tono | party |
| broster | bro (anglicism) |
| mostro | awesome / amazing |
| piña | bad luck |
| yapa | a little extra (bonus) |
| monse | boring / lame |
| huachimán | security guard |
Street slang & jerga
The grittier stuff — money, cops, parties, and the words that fly around in real conversations.
| Peruvian | Meaning |
|---|---|
| misio | broke / no money |
| palta | embarrassment (lit. avocado) |
| tombo | cop (informal) |
| chongo | mess / chaos |
| chapar | to make out / hook up |
| florear | to BS / sweet-talk |
| huevear | to mess around / waste time |
| paja | great / cool |
| rico | delicious / good (food) |
| ñam | yum / food |
Top verbs behind Peruvian slang
Drill these high-frequency verbs to unlock most jerga peruana:
🇲🇽 Mexico
güey, chido, neta
🇨🇴 Colombia
parcero, chévere
🇨🇱 Chile
cachai, weón
🇦🇷 Argentina
che, boludo, posta