Mexico City slang: wey, neta, chido and more

People born in Mexico City are called chilangos, and chilango Spanish has its own vocabulary that turns up in every casual conversation. The short answer for anyone in a hurry: the most common slang words are ¿qué onda? (what's up?), wey (dude), chido (cool), neta (seriously, the truth), no manches (no way) and ahorita (in a moment, or not).

The expressions below come from the character files of the Pollyfriends friends who live in and around the Mexican capital. Each one has its meaning and an example of how it's used.

Saying hi

• ¿Qué onda? = what's up? The most common casual greeting. ¿Qué onda, wey?
• ¿Qué tranza? = how's it going? An old chilango greeting, used today half as a joke.
• ¿Qué pasó? = hey, what's up? It can just mean "hi"; nothing has to have happened.
• Quiubo = hey (from ¿qué hubo?). Toño, a subtitle editor from Santa María la Ribera, opens with Quiubo. Me dijeron que eres buena onda. Ya veremos. (Hey. They told me you're cool. We'll see.)

Wey and other ways to address people

• wey (also spelled güey) = dude, man. Among friends it shows up in almost every sentence. Never use it with someone older or in a formal setting.
• cuate = buddy, pal (the word comes from Nahuatl).
• carnal = brother, close friend. Stronger than cuate.
• la banda = the gang, your friends.
• jefe and jefa = boss, sir, ma'am. A respectful street term. Héctor, who has delivered gas cylinders for 18 years, arrives with ¿Qué pasó, jefe? A la orden. (What's up, boss? At your service.)
• güero and güerita = blondie. At the market it's a friendly term for any customer, whatever their hair color.
• joven = young man, young lady. Street vendors use it for people of any age.

Saying something is good

• chido = cool, great. Está bien chido.
• padre and padrísimo = cool, really cool. ¡Qué padre! is "how cool!"
• me late = I'm into it, sounds good. ¿Tacos? Me late.
• de pelos = excellent, awesome. Toño says está de pelos with a perfectly straight face.
• buena onda = a good person, nice.

Neta, no manches and a poco: reactions

• neta = truth, seriously. La neta is "the truth" and ¿neta? is "really?" One of the most chilango words there is.
• no manches = no way, come on. A polite version of a stronger expression.
• ¿a poco? = really? you don't say!
• qué oso = how embarrassing, what a cringe moment.
• chale = bummer, oh man.
• órale = okay, let's go, or wow. The meaning depends on the tone.
• ni modo = oh well, what can you do.

Paty, who sells cosmetics from a catalog, starts every piece of gossip with ¿Ya supiste? (Did you hear?) and ends with Pero no digas que yo te dije, ¿eh? (But don't say I told you, okay?)

Ahorita: Mexico's most elastic word

Ahorita is the diminutive of ahora (now), and precisely because of that, nobody knows how long it lasts. It can mean right now, in five minutes or someday. Ahorita voy can mean "I'm on my way" or "I'll go, just not now".

Context decides. At a hotel front desk, ahorita usually means right away. From the building caretaker, it can be pure irony. There's also ahoritita, which is more urgent, and ya mero, "almost".

Work, money and hurry

• chamba = work, a job.
• lana and varo = money.
• la feria = change, coins.
• de volada = in a flash, right away.
• a la de ya = right now.
• hacer un paro = to do someone a favor.
• no hay bronca = no problem.
• está cañón = it's tough, it's heavy.
• ¡aguas! = watch out!

Don Eusebio, who has run the corner store for 40 years, repeats No hay cambio, joven. Nunca hay cambio (There's no change, young man. There's never any change) and keeps tabs in a notebook.

Carrilla: chilango teasing

Echar carrilla means to tease, to give your friends a hard time. It's part of friendship, and chilango humor loves wordplay:

• ahí nos vidrios = see you (a pun on nos vemos).
• simón = yes.
• nel pastel = no (a pun on nel, no).
• sobres = okay, deal.
• no hay tos = no problem.

How slang looks in text messages

In messages, chilangos abbreviate even more. Three you'll see all the time:

• ntp = no te preocupes, don't worry.
• xq = porque or por qué.
• tmb = también, also.

A typical exchange between friends of the same age might go like this:

• ¿Qué onda, wey? ¿Vas a ir al rato? (What's up, dude? Are you going later?)
• Simón, ya mero salgo. Ntp. (Yep, almost out the door. Don't worry.)
• Va. Hay que hacer la vaquita para los tacos, banda. (Cool. We need to chip in for the tacos, guys.)

Street food and the market

• guajolota = a tamal inside a bolillo roll, breakfast for anyone running late. Doña Martha has sold them on a Narvarte corner for 19 years and lets you know when they're gone: Ya no hay, joven. Mañana tempranito. (All gone, young man. Tomorrow, nice and early.)
• el chesco = soda.
• el pilón = the little extra a vendor throws in for free.
• un chorro and un buen = a lot.

Watch out: words that change meaning

A few words catch English speakers off guard:

• ¿mande? is the polite way to ask someone to repeat, like "pardon?" It isn't an order.
• qué pena in Mexico means "how embarrassing", not just "what a pity".
• platicar means to chat. Vamos a platicar is "let's talk".

Hearing slang in context

Slang is learned by listening to people who use it. In Pollyfriends, the friends who live in Mexico City are AI characters with their own neighborhood, job and way of talking. Diego, who shares an apartment in Narvarte, fires off messages full of wey and qué onda, and Renata, a private Spanish tutor, explains anything that gets confusing.

Whenever you like, meet the Spanish-speaking friends. The conversation goes at your pace.