Mexican Spanish vocabulary
The following table lists some Mexican Spanish words with their Peninsular equivalents. Many of the Peninsular words are also synonymous in Mexico. Those words marked with an asterisk (*) are generally not used in Mexico (at least with the same meaning as in Spain).
| Mexican Spanish | Peninsular Spanish | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| abajo de | debajo de | under |
| acá | aquí | here |
| afuera | fuera | outside |
| arete | pendiente | earring |
| atrás de | detrás | behind |
| aviso | anuncio | announcement, advertisement |
| bañarse | ducharse | to have a shower |
| baño | wáter* | toilet |
| baño | ducha | shower |
| bocinas | bafles, parlantes*, altavoces | speakers, loudspeakers |
| boleto | billete* | ticket |
| bolsa | bolso | bag, handbag |
| botanas | =tapas | snacks, nibbles |
| burro | tabla de planchar | ironing board |
| café | marrón | brown, dark brown |
| calabacita | calabacín* | courgette |
| camarón | gamba* | prawn |
| camión | autobús | coach, tour bus |
| carretera de cuota | carretera de peaje | toll road |
| carro | coche, auto | car |
| chabacano | albaricoque* | apricot |
| chamba (Infml) | trabajo | work |
| chambear (Infml) | trabajar | to work |
| celular | móvil* | mobile, cell phone |
| chango | mono | monkey |
| chupar (Slang) | beber, tomar alcohol | to booze |
| clóset | ropero | closet, wardrobe |
| guardarropa | ropero* | cloakroom |
| corte | tribunal | (law) court |
| costo | coste* | cost |
| departamento | piso* | flat, apartment |
| dulce | caramelo | sweet, candy |
| durazno | melocotón1 | peach |
| falla | defecto | fault |
| (diá) feriado | fiesta nacional | public holiday |
| flojera | pereza | laziness |
| flojo | perezoso | lazy, idle |
| foco | bombilla | light bulb |
| gancho | percha | clothes hanger |
| güevón (Slang) | perezoso | lazy, bone-idle |
| hablar | llamar | to phone, call |
| hongos | champiñones1 | (edible) mushrooms |
| jugo | zumo* | (fruit) juice |
| lagarto | aligátor, caimán1 | alligator |
| manejar | conducir | to drive (a vehicle) |
| ¿qué onda? (Informal) | ¿qué tal? | how's it going? |
| buena onda (Informal) | amigable | friendly, easy-going |
| ostión | - | (type of large) oyster |
| padre | estupendo | amazing |
| pesero | autobús2 | bus, town-centre minibus |
| pluma | bolígrafo | pen |
| prestar3 | pedir prestado | borrow |
| seguido | a menudo | often |
| ustedes | vosotros* | you (familiar, pl) |
| voltear(se) | volver(se) | to turn round |
Notes:
1. In Spain, caimán, champiñones and melocotón are used as generic words; in Mexico, they refer to specific types of alligator, mushroom and peach respectively.
2. In Mexico, autobús is still used as a synonym of camión to refer to a larger bus or coach, especially used to travel between cities.
3. prestar is still used in Mexico to mean to lend (out).