Top 15 Spanglish Words You Love And Hate As A Latino

Spanglish has pretty much permeated the Spanish language in nearly every Spanish speaking country. The new “language” seemed to have developed naturally through a blending of both Spanish and English, mainly due to the fact that most Latinos now speak (at least in part) both languages. The phrase “Spanglish” was introduced into literature by Salvador Tio. The Puerto Rican writer and poet popularized the term and now the perfectly combined title has stuck. So whether you love it or hate it, most likely you are guilty of it, especially if you are Latino and were born in the U.S. However, don’t blame yourself for your adoption of Spanglish because, most likely, it was your parent’s fault. Your parents are native Spanish speakers, but as you grew older, so did your vocabulary in both Spanish and English. So in order to make sure everyone understood each other, English and Spanish words started to morph together, creating some truly hilarious phrases that either make you laugh or make you cringe. Check out our top 15 Spanglish words. Lets us know do you love the combined “language” or are you a purist when it comes to your Spanish speaking?

Lonche, this Spanglish slang I am guilty of myself, indicating the best meal of the day lunch, the correct Spanish term is “almuerzo.”

Conflei, the English translation would presumably be Cornflakes, however Latinos end up calling all cereal this. The correct word is “cereal.”

Cojelo suave, while this is more of a phrase, it is Spanglish none the less. It means to relax and not to worry, which is a message I appreciate no matter the “language.”

Jamberger a true American delicacy, the hamburger, but the correct translation is “hamburgesa.”

Janguear everybody loves to hang out, but unfortunately there is no direct translation, the closest phrase is “pasar el rato.”

El parking is a parking spot, in the parking lot, the correct word is “estacionamiento,” but “El parking” is quicker to say!

¿Que es la que hay? Sort of Spanglish, more slang, this phrase is sort of a salutation roughly translating to what’s up?

Rentar is to rent, which most likely came to be due to apartment living in NYC, but the correct word is actually “alquilar.”

Parquear or to park a car, this term is a perfect example of Spanglish combining the “park” with “estacionar.”

¿Estás ready? Quite possibly my favorite Spanglish, mainly because the switching from Spanish to English is so seamless, most speakers don’t even realize. The phrase is a question asking are you ready? But the correct translation in “¿Estás listo?”

Googlear, if you have a question about this one, you can always “google” it!

Marketa is the Spanglish word for supermarket, the correct word is rather similar “el supermercado.”

Chilear has a similar meaning to Cojelo suave. However instead of relaxing, this translate more to chilling out.

Biles is Spanglish for bills. Maybe popularized by Destiny Child’s jam “Bills, Bills, Bills,” the Spanglish term has stuck around but the correct word is “cuentas.”

Parree means party. Everybody loves a good party and in both American and Latino cultures partying is important, but the correct word is “fiesta.”