Cuban Popular Glossary, the Cuban way of speaking

Our slang popular is very rich and used by the majority regardless of school level or social class.  

In alphabetical order the main terms used in Cuba

There are currently 262 names in this directory

abakuá

generally designates the ñáñigo, a member of a male brotherhood, initially composed only of blacks and today of men of any race (Cuba).

acere

friend, friend, buddy, comrade, comrade, companion, companion

aché

to have aché: special gift, special power. It is a voice of abakuá origin, incorporated

annotate

accommodate at any cost

crouched

undecided , cowed

aguaje

boastfulness, ostentation, boasting. Collected in the D.R.A.E. as "false affirmation that is said to impress". (Cuba and Santo Domingo).

ajiaco

dish composed of vegetables, corn, meats, all cooked (collected by the D.R.A.E.: Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Peru). Figuratively it is used to denote mixture, integration (America).

alabao!

exclamation of astonishment something desired (Cuba)."

ambia

friend, companion, trustworthy person in general (Cuba). -ambientoso/a: a bullying person (Cuba).

anapista

small farmer, member of the Small Farmer's Association

anirist

member of the National Association of Innovators and Rationalizers

anja

¡ajá!, interjection of approval (Cuba)

antiluchín

supposed medicine to combat worry, stress (Cuba).

chagrin

acobardarse (Cuba). Collected in the D.R.A.E. as apendejarse and con

get off

acobardarse (America).

areito

musical, dance and religious manifestation of the Indo-Cubans, whose original rhythms are unknown today. Accepted by the R.A.E. (Cuba).

Argentina

Bolivia and Puerto Rico). It is also said to those who do not know how to dance (Cuba)."

above the ball

to be on top of the ball: to be up to date, up to date with something, in the

asere

friend, companion; it is usually used as an appellative in general, and although of

chip

money. The D.R.A.E. states "to draw a sliver: to make a profit, profit or gain."

ataja

shout to stop a thief or any wrongdoer (Cuba).

aircraft

blow, punch. To bring down a plane: to give a blow (Cuba).

sugar!

expression of joy

babalao

priest in Santeria: Búscate un babalao: go for someone who will listen and solve a problem (Cuba).

bachata

joke, game among friends, jamboree, revelry. Accepted by the R.A.E.

bajichupa

women's blouse with low and short neckline, with exposed belly

bullet

cigarette (Cuba)

balance

from the French balant;oire. So they call the rocking chair in the eastern provinces of Cuba (Cuba).

baracutey

alone, without company (Cuba).

barbecue

construction as a mezzanine to gain space in the dwellings, artificially creating an additional floor. Accepted by the R.A.E. (America)."

boat

This is the name given to the individual from whom nothing serious is expected, to the one who is inconstant for a performance; not reliable (Cuba).

baro

The peso, the monetary unit (Cuba).

barretín

unpleasant situation, start of an argument. Arm oneself with a barretín: to create a

batá

type of drum of African origin, used as a percussion instrument.

batting

blockbuster

batting

confusion, quarrel, protest, anger. Dar bateo: to cause trouble (Cuba).

batey

small community of dwellers related to the sugar industry

bayou

quite old and accepted by the RAE: prostíbulo (Cuba).

behique

among the Cuban Indians, the priest in functions of doctor. Accepted by the RA.E. (Cuba).

creeper

telephone (Cuba).

bembé

festivity in the syncretic religions (Cuba).

berocos

testicles (Cuba).

tantrum

bad mood, bitterness. Collected in the D.R.A.E. as anger (Spain and America). It also designates the characteristic plague of the goat (as in other countries that of the wild boar) (Cuba).

watercress

displeasure, anger. Coger berro: to get upset, to get angry (Cuba).

bilongo

evil spell, spell. Echar bilongo: to provoke a certain effect on a person by means of an enchantment or an evil spell. It is of African origin (Cuba).

hamster

trader in shady business, trafficker. From business (Cuba).

blanconazo

the white of skin and features, but with palpable black ancestry in some physiognomic feature. It is used in the expression "mulato 1;>lanconazo" (Cuba).

snack

emparedado (Cuba). In the D.RA.E., "bocadillo".

big mouth

Insolent and contentious person

ball

tendentious rumor (Cuba).

bolus

Russian. It is also used for tailless roosters (Cuba).

bonbon

the exquisite, particularly in reference to women (Cuba and Spain").

bonche

game, relaxation, joke (Cuba).

bongo

(voice of African origin) membranophone musical instrument of two inseparable drums, for percussion. Accepted by the RA.E. (Cuba).

boniatillo

sweet dessert made from sweet potato and sugar. Accepted by the RA.E. (Cuba).

boquibajo

pork, among peasants (Cuba).

bottle

sinecure, to earn a salary without working. In its beginning, prevenda. Accepted by the RA.E. (Cuba). To take bottle, to hitchhike.

bottle rack

who enjoys a salary without working. In the beginning, public employee who charges a bottle (Cuba).

botero

one who transports people in a private vehicle (Cuba).

brete

confusion, disorder, commotion, sometimes caused by the presence of gossip (Cuba).

bretero

who practices brete (Cuba).

bugarrón

bujarrón, the so-called "active pedophile" (Cuba).

bulge

hacer bulto: to form a group to give the impression of a larger gathering, as in hacer comparsa (Spain and America).

horse

motorized police (Cuba)

cachanchan

assistant, helper; also flatterer and idler (Cuba).

Cagalitroso

(vulgar) person in very poor health and appearance: "cagalitroso viejo cagalitroso".

Submitted by: Andrés


cagua

sombrero (Cuba)

pack

the teeth, the dentition. To put the pack away: to close the mouth (Cuba).

little box

coger cajita: to take advantage of, to be included in a distribution (Cuba).

camaján

has a pejorative nuance, and identifies a profiteer, a person who exploits others (Cuba).

camel

the bus of two levels of height and a single floor, destined for the public transport. Its gibado appearance has earned it the name, extremely generalized (Cuba).

bell

estar campana: to be in excellent health (Cuba).

cana

preso. Estar en cana: to be in prison. Accepted by the R.A.E. (America).

canangazo

the drink of rum or other alcoholic beverage (Cuba).

court

ser cancha: to be good at something; estar en cancha: to be in good condition for something (Cuba).

candanga

annoying insistence, concern (Cuba).

faucet

the calf when it is very thin or bony. Accepted by the R.A.E. (Spain and America).

sing the peanut tree

dying (Cuba).

caritate

dar caritate: to cause envy, to boast (Cuba).

Carmelita

Brown color in other countries. It is due to the color of the clothing of the Order of the Camelitas in Cuba.

Submitted by: Mario Castillo


forklift truck

light, easily accessible woman (Cuba).

cart

In Cuba we do not use the words automóvil, nor coche, but carro and máquina (accepted by the R.A.E.: América). A beautiful woman is called carro (Cuba).

catao

automatic electricity switch; from cutout (Cuba).

catauro

basket made of yagua. It is indigenous voice. Accepted by the R.A.E. (Cuba).

cayuco

inepto, bruto (Cuba).

casserole dish

applies to a meddlesome, gossipy man. It can also refer to the woman (Cuba).

cederist

member of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, a popular organization whose acronym is CDR (Cuba).

brush

cepillar a alguien: to kill (Cuba and Spain).

cerelac

food product made from milk cereal (Cuba).

chachacha

genre of song and dance created, in the decade of the fifties, by the composer Enrique Jorrín. Accepted by the R.A.E. (Cuba).

champola

soursop soft drink with sugar and water or milk. Accepted by the R.A.E. (Cuba and Central America).

charanga

traditional musical grouping. Collected in the D.R.A. E. (Cuba).

chatino

plantain sliced, mashed and fried. It is also known as "fried plantain" and "tostón" (Cuba).

chavito

The Cuban convertible peso (the Cuban peso, and when not, the convertible peso, equivalent to the dollar) (Cuba).

chavo

(apheresis of ochavo, apheresis) see chavito (Cuba).

chenche by chenche

exchange of one thing for another. From change (Cuba).

cheo

old-fashioned, in bad taste. Tipo cheo: outdated, poorly dressed (Cuba).

chévere

great, excellent. Tipo chévere: good person, helpful or good-natured; indulgent. Accepted by the R.A.E. (Cuba).

cicadas

green plantain, fried and cut into thin slices. Also called mariquitas (Cuba).

crackling

sycophant (Cuba).

crackling

adular (Cuba).

whistle monkey

expression used in the winter, to express that it is cold (Cuba).

chinchín

drizzle (Cuba).

chiringa

small kite, without wooden structure, only of paper and thread; volant¡;:in, kite (Cuba).

tattletale

kerosene lamp (Cuba).

tip-off

delación, act of the informer (Spain and America).

snitching

to get angry, to get upset (Spain and America).

whistleblower

delator (Spain and America).

chivería goat

dirty business, cheating; underhanded; uncomfortable, irritated; but among the young, the bicycle (Cuba).

Chola

Head.

Submitted by: Ricardo


choricera

chaos, tumult, disorder, disorder. Armarse una choricera: to create chaos (Cuba).

cirilo

yes (Cuba).

clove

film, book or other boring activity (Cuba).

coba

especially among young people, clothing (Cuba).

coconut

hacerse coco (con algo o alguien): to think, to get excited about something or someone (Cuba).

cocomacaco

the individual when he is very ugly; synonym of ugliness (Cuba).

cohiba

ancestor of the cigar, which was inhaled by the Cuban aborigines; today, cigar (Cuba).

hang up the saber

dying (Cuba).

compay

compadre, friend (Cuba).

confronts

public transport that travels in the early morning. To take the confronta, to wait for the transport in the early morning (Cuba).

conga

one of the dances of African roots, with percussion and demonstration in the streets, typical of the carnival. Accepted by the R.A.E. (Antilles).

congrí

very Cuban dish, composed of beans (black or red) mixed with rice (Cuba).

run

when one spouse is unfaithful to the other (Cuba).

cranking

dar cranque: to convince. From crank (Cuba).

cream

individual or thing of first quality. From the French creme (cream of milk); according to the D.R.A.E., used with article, "la creme", means the most distinguished of a social group (Cuba).

chrome

the very beautiful, especially referring to women (Cuba).

balance

to agree. Cuban variation, which in Spanish means conicidencia del debe y el haber (Cuba).

quadre

agreement (Cuba).

cubalibre

drink prepared from rum and cola (Cuba).

cubaneo

the idiosyncrasy of the Cuban, festive behavior (Cuba).

cubiche

Creole, Cuban, national (Cuba).

self-employed

who is self-employed or in private business (Cuba).

cuje

the very resistant rod on which the tobacco leaves are hung for the drying process. Accepted by the R.A.E. (Cuba).

cujea'o/á

of cuje. Estar cujeado: to be hardened, prepared for difficult situations.

cumbancha

juerga, fun (Cuba).

cumbanchar

estar de fiesta (Cuba).

cumbanchero

given to the cumbancha (Cuba).

cúmbila

wingman, partner. Voice of African roots, from "camba", friend in Congolese (Cuba).

curralar

work. It is said that it comes from caló. It comes from the colloquial voice (accepted by the RA.E.) "currar", to work (Cuba).

curralo

work (Cuba).

cutara

in the eastern provinces of the country, the chancleta, uncovered footwear for walking in the house (Cuba).

daiquiri

(accepted by the RA.E.): Cuban cocktail composed of rum, lemon juice or other citrus, sugar, all with crushed ice (Cuba).

danzón

danceable musical genre that emerged in the second half of the 19th century. It was considered the national dance. Later it incorporated singing. Accepted by the RA.E. (Cuba).

give stew

kill (Cuba).

friend

compañero (Cuba)."

download

party or meeting with music, but also prolonged peroration (Cuba).

faint

to forget a matter, to put it to an end, to put aside (Cuba).

dispossession

to give oneself a stripping: rite by means of which the individual is stripped of the evils, of the body or of the spirit, that affect him. It is practiced accompanied by the application of herbs and rations (Cuba).

unraveling

crash, crash, get hurt (Cuba).

fade

to fall apart as a result of a collision (Cuba).

trigger

the guy who is always falling in love with women (Cuba).

durañón

stingy (Cuba).

go forward

denounce (Cuba).

go to

to kill. Echarse (a woman): to have sexual intercourse with her (Cuba).

ecobio

among the ñáñigos, brother, but nowadays quite generalized with the meaning

the same meaning (Cuba

Nicaragua and Santo Dom(ngo)."

electric

person who quietly and somewhat surprisingly triumphs in a

elepevé

ready, willing; from ""Ready To Win"", slogan of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Cuba).

embark

to evade a situation, to take the body out, to deceive (Cuba).

board

(collected in the D.RA.E.) to convince to enlist someone in an enterprise of very dubious prospects; also, to leave waiting (Spain and America).

tie

to conquer a person of the opposite sex, and in other contexts, to get a person of the opposite sex, and in other contexts, to get a person of the opposite sex.

sick

to be sick of something: gustar mucho de (Cuba).

entangle the pita

to take a complicated matter (Cuba).

Involvency

What is the issue, problem, situation: What is the issue?

escache

disaster, fiasco (Cuba).

Fachao

Being very hungry

Submitted by: José


facade

steal (Cuba).

facade

thief (Cuba).

facho

robbery (Cuba).

empowered

who attributes to himself powers that do not correspond to him, daring (Cuba).

girdle

in dress, to be badly combined, ridiculous (Cuba).

fambeco

vulgar use) el trasero (Cuba).

bundle

pants, sometimes the male costume (Cuba).

federated

member of the Federation of Cuban Women, acronym FMC (Cuba).

federico

ser federico: to be ugly (Cuba).

fiana

(marginal language) police (Cuba).

beast

unscrupulous, daring person (Cuba).

edge

opportunity. Dar un filo: to give an opportunity (Cuba).

filter

very intelligent individual; it is a term of student speech (Cuba).

fiñe

child (Cuba).

fñería

children's own action (Cuba).

flai

from Englishfiy, here it is a failed attempt, deception, something unserious (Cuba).

flute

loaf of bread (Cuba).

Fringe

Skinny, unattractive, but very promiscuous woman

Submitted by: Andrés


flojito - loose

effeminate (Cuba).

lining

trap. Meter un forro: to cheat, to commit fraud (Cuba).

fuácata

blow, fall. Estar en la fuácata: to be penniless (Cuba).

fuca

(marginal language) short firearm (Cuba).

fula

the dollar; it is widely used (Cuba).

cabinet

house. It comes from the medieval French gabinet, today cabinet, according to D.R.A.E.

Galician

in Cuba, Spanish in general, regardless of its region of origin (Cuba,

rooster

money (Cuba). A rooster: an individual. This second meaning is also included in the D.R.A.E. (Spain and Cuba).

galua

slap, is a vulgar term. In Murcia (Spain) it is called galúa

gangarría

female ornamentation when it is ornate, showy and of dubious taste.

goose

effeminate, homosexual (Cuba).

gao

hogar, house, seems to come from the language of germanía (Cuba).

cap

sticking the cap on: coming for a visit and staying for lunch. Picked up at the D.R.A.E.

slush

(listed in the D.R.A.E.) in Cuba, a soft drink prepared from syrup

cricket

unattractive woman (Cuba).

crate

basket used as packaging. Quichua" (Antilles and Mexico).

guachipupa

usually alcoholic, sometimes not, in the manner of a simple

guacho-a

country person, with pejorative nuance (Cuba).

baby

(accepted by the RAE) public transport, bus or omnibus, voices that nobody uses in Cuba (Cuba and Canary Islands).

guaguero

the one who drives the bus (Cuba).

guaniquiqui

money, especially when the tone is somewhat festive (Cuba).

guantanamera

apart from being a Cuban tune, ""armar una guantanamera"" is to make a fuss (Cuba).

guara

Tener guara: to have ascendancy over someone. Sometimes it means "to have problems with someone" (Cuba).

store the car

dying (Cuba).

guarfarino-a

the worst quality aguardiente (Cuba)

guaricandilla

woman of easy access, from the underworld (Cuba).

Guaroso

Empathetic

Submitted by: Jaime


guataca

flatterer. Accepted by RA.E (Cuba).

wadding

flatter. Accepted by the RA.E (Cuba).

wadding

flattery. Accepted by the R.A.E (Cuba).

guayabera

(collected in the D.RA.E.) male garment, symbol of Cuban nationality.

güije

(or jigüe) figure of the peasant mythology, which appears in the rivers and is presented as a

güiro

collected in the D.RA.E. as a musical instrument made from the fruit of the same name (America). It is also called güiro to the head; it is also called güiro to a family party (Cuba).

worm

counterrevolutionary, traitor (Cuba).

room smaller than the living room

where people of trust are received"".

inhabitant

he who has no known occupation, does not work or does not know what he does for a living.

axe

ser hacha: to be good at something. Collected by the D.RA.E. (Spain and America).

haragan

Cleaning tool to remove water, lazy person with little desire to work.

asshole

lazy, indolent, who likes comfort in excess. Of Mexican origin,

eggs

fry eggs: to be dissatisfied. The speaker produces a sound that resembles that of hot grease when frying eggs (Cuba).

imperfect

unreliable (Cuba).

Indian

el Indio: the Sun (Cuba).

jaba'o

the mestizo of white with black, with light frizzy hair, negroid features and light skin (Cuba).

jama

food, although it is of vulgar use (Spain and America).

jamar

eat. It comes from the Germanic speech. Collected in the D.RA.E. (Cuba).

ham

giving ham: practicing various aberrations, among them, exhibitionism

ham holder

he who buys and sells ill-gotten goods; he who practices exhibitionism.

jan

palo or garrote (Cuba).

jeba

woman, generalized (although of little respectful use). It seems to be a vulgarization of the original Eva (Cuba).

jigüe

same as güije (Cuba).

jimaguas

twins, a term that is rarely used on the island (Cuba).

ride

selling stolen goods, prostitution (Cuba).

jinetera

today designates the prostitute who gives herself to the foreign tourist (Cuba).

jinetero

prostitution, it is also the individual who traffics in ill-gotten goods.

jolongo

large bag, zurrón (Cuba).

juma

drunkenness. From "jumera". Both terms are included in the D.RA.E. (Spain).

jutía

coward. Chupar el rabo a la jutía (Antillean rodent): to like to drink.

lizard

(vulgar use) beer (Cuba).

laguer

beer, no matter if it is not the mentioned brand (Cuba).

leocadio-a

crazy person, crazy, crazy, crazy (Cuba).

liborio

humorous press character who for many years symbolized the Cuban people (Cuba).

link

to conquer a woman, to achieve something; collected in the D.R.A.E. as ""to engage in passing amorous relations"". (Spain and America).

sandpaper

darse lija: to give oneself importance, to give oneself importance. Accepted by the R.A.E (Cuba).

lime

shirt, of marginal use (Cuba).

cleaning

Religious rite to eliminate some harmful influence on the individual. As its name indicates, it consists of a bath with flowers and other aromatic substances that purify the believer (Cuba).

bad taste initially

is very widespread among young speakers. It is abakuá voice

fashion

a day (Cuba)."

Monina

Friend

Submitted by: Jean


Pay

Friend, partner, brotherhood

Submitted by: Julio


Pinga

Referring to the male reproductive organ

Submitted by: Elver galarga


Chicken

Young and beautiful woman

Submitted by: Abdul Al-Assad Chanel


Knob

Small bottle, usually plastic.

Submitted by: Pedro Garcés Morillo


Quitao de bullao

To be calm, without asking for trouble.

Submitted by: Andrés


soft drink

of poor quality (Cuba)."

flavored

with ice and sugar. It is served in a paper cone (Cuba)."

Tareco

Being useless (Cuba)

Submitted by: Alexander


Templar

Having a "sexual relationship" with another person.

Submitted by: Antonio


Valentina

woman with leather whip