#Mate translate colombian full#

Except that in recent years, “sumercé” has also started to shift and to be used between friends and lovers. In the department of Boyacá (north of Bogotá), people use “ Su merced” (also spelt “ sumercé“), an archaic – and royalist – form that was generally abandoned when the Spanish conquistadors were sent back home. This creates a shift, so something must be found for the polite form. In many regions, people also apply it to friends and family, as you would of “tu” (or “vos” in Argentinian Spanish… and in the south of Colombia!). In some parts of the country, it is still used as courtesy. Well, in Colombia, its use varies from region to region, and the meaning can also change! in shops, while the Argentinians save it for special occasions. Its use can vary from country to country: the Spaniards and the Bolivians (for example) employ it with most strangers eg. You surely know “ usted” as the polite form for ‘you’, said when addressing someone with courtesy. Many Colombians, being very warm and outgoing, use them also when addressing strangers. Despite coming from the words meaning ‘mum’ & ‘dad’, they’re used as nicknames for your friends and relatives, whatever their age. “ Papi” and “ Mami” are such sweet-sounding words! You can definitely hear them all around Latin America, but not half as much as in Colombia. No, this is the way you ask about someone as soon as you meet them. Don’t get it wrong: you don’t say that in the middle of the conversation, when the person has already told you something. This is how people usually ask their friends and relatives how they’re doing in Colombian Spanish. Colombia is famous for its wonderful fresh exotic fruit, so go on and indulge! Ah, the delicious “fruver” of Colombia! One of those shops might well be a “ Fruver“, a shop selling “ Frutas y verduras” (Fruit and vegetables). It might result in something like this: “ Alaordencaballerobienpuedabienvenidohaypulserashayponchoshaychompassincompromiso…”.

#Mate translate colombian full#

Note that these phrases will often be sunk into a full sentence telling you how happy they are to see you and everything they have for sale. In the Antioquia department of Medellin, it is usual to add “ Bien pueda“, which can loosely translate as ‘Be my guest’. So much so that they also use it as “you’re welcome”, along with “ con (mucho) gusto“. But in Colombia, the army of shop assistants, market sellers and street vendors have appropriated it.

In the other Spanish-speaking countries we’ve been to, it’s probably only used by the military. It is originally a military sentence meaning “ At your command“.

You’re sure to hear this sentence a dozen time each day! This is a singsong sentence used to call potential customers’ attention and is the favourite of basically every single seller in Colombia.

This article is intended for people who already speak Spanish or have some secure notions of it, to introduce them to some handpicked particularities of the Spanish spoken in Colombia. If that is your goal, you will need more than a blog post: rather a mix of study book/online app, class and tandem practice.