Can we just take a second to acknowledge that Dominicans are some of the funniest people on the planet? It doesn’t matter what we’re going through, you can always count on us to come through with the playful jokes and Dominican comedy. With that said, part of our humour is rooted in how we play with language. There’s no denying that Dominicans have their own version of Spanish – that’s why, why when other Latinxs find themselves in a room filled with chatty Spanish-speaking Dominicans, they can’t always keep up or understand what we’re saying.
We love to break up words and even merge English with Spanish. For instance, while most Latinxs refer to gum as goma, Dominicans like to refer to it as chicle, which comes from the gum brand Chiclets. Most of us grew up hearing our parents refer to cereal as conflé, which comes from the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal brand. So much slang (like vaina and vacano) has become a part of everyday language – Dominican comedians like Aida Rodriguez regularly drop our slang words in their standup. While these words and phrases aren’t officially in the dictionary, they might as well be – you won’t find a Dominican who doesn’t frequently use most of the slang terms ahead. If you’re Dominican, you’ll nod along, and if you’re not, you’ll feel like you’re legit learning a new language. But one thing’s for sure: you’ll laugh at the meanings and find yourself obsessing over a word or two.
–Additional reporting by Johanna Ferreira
Fox
Dominican Slang Words: Vaina
What it means: A thing; anything
In a sentence: Coje esa vaina de mi escritorio.
Giphy
Dominican Slang Words: Vacano
What it means: Dope or cool
In a sentence: Eso zapatos son vacano.
Fox
Dominican Slang Words: Carajo
What it means: Crap, or go to hell
In a sentence: Carajo, se me olvido.
Giphy
Dominican Slang Words: Disparate
What it means: Useless or nonsense
In a sentence: Todos esos programas son disparate.
Giphy
Dominican Slang Words: Moto Concho
What it means: A motorcycle cab
In a sentence: Necesito un moto concho para ir para Brooklyn.
NBC
Dominican Slang Words: Hartura
What it means: Eating too much
In a sentence: Yo me di una hartura de papitas ayer.
Fox
Dominican Slang Words: Pana
What it means: Homie, or really good friend
In a sentence: Stevie es mi pana.
Dimension Films
Dominican Slang Words: ¿Qué lo que?
What it means: What’s up?
In a sentence: ¿Qué lo que? ¿Vas a venir or no?
Lionsgate
Dominican Slang Words: Tiguere
What it means: Thug
In a sentence: Ese muchacho es un tiguere de lo peor.
Giphy
Dominican Slang Words: Un Chin
What it means: A little bit
In a sentence: Solamente dame un chin.
NBC
Dominican Slang Words: Coño
What it means: Damn or f*ck
In a sentence: ¿Coño, tu eres estupido o te haces?
RKO Radio Pictures
Dominican Slang Words: Baboso
What it means: Talking too much
In a sentence: Tu eres una babosa.
NBC
Dominican Slang Words: Chevere
What it means: Awesome
In a sentence: ¡Qué chevere!
CBS
Dominican Slang Words: Diache
What it means: Darn
In a sentence: Diache, se me olvido la sal.
New Line Cinema
Dominican Slang Words: Dique
What it means: Supposedly
In a sentence: El dique quiere gobernar el planeta.
Bravo
Dominican Slang Words: Fiebre
What it means: Thirsty, but it literally translates to fever
In a sentence: Ella tiene una fiebre que yo hable con ella.
Bravo
Dominican Slang Words: Jablador
What it means: Bullsh*tter
In a sentence: Tu eres un jablador al que le encanta hablar cosas que no van.
Screen Gems
Dominican Slang Words: Pariguayo
What it means: Lame person
In a sentence: El es un pariguayo que no entiende nada.
Disney
Dominican Slang Words: Ratreria
What it means: Doing or being involved with something dirty
In a sentence: El segurito que está involucrado en alguna ratreria.
Giphy
Dominican Slang Words: Tato
What it means: It’s all good
In a sentence: No te preocupes, tato.
Giphy
Dominican Slang Words: Zumbón
What it means: To throw something far
In a sentence: Yo lo que quiero es darle un zumbón a ese papel.
