Colombian Spanish	English
parce	buddy, mate (very common, esp. Medellín/Antioquia, now national)
parcero / parcera	buddy, close friend (m/f)
llave / llavecita	close friend, best mate (esp. Cali)
pana	friend, pal
man	guy, dude
mijo / mija	affectionate address, lit. 'my son/daughter'
cucho / cucha	older person, parent (affectionate)
pelado / pelada	kid, young person
teso / tesa	expert, someone very good at something
vieja / viejo	affectionate address to a woman/man (lit. old woman/man)
chévere	cool, great (shared with Venezuela, Ecuador)
bacano / bacana	cool, great, easygoing
chimba	awesome / rubbish depending on context (versatile slang)
qué chimba	how cool! (exclamation)
nota / qué nota	great, cool / how great!
tenaz	tough, hardcore, impressive (colloquial sense)
berraco / berraca	tough, determined, impressive person
qué berraquera	how impressive! what a big deal!
duro / dura	skilled, tough (lit. hard)
arrecho / arrecha	fired up, intense (context-sensitive; vulgar in some countries)
vaina	thing, stuff (all-purpose filler noun)
qué vaina	what a mess / what a pain
guaro	aguardiente, the national anise liquor
aguardiente	anise-flavored Colombian liquor
tinto	black coffee (small cup, no milk)
guayabo	hangover
enguayabado / enguayabada	hungover
camello	job, hard work (lit. camel)
camellar	to work hard
parchar	to hang out, to chill
el parche	the crew, the hangout group/spot
rumbear	to party, to go out dancing
la rumba	the party, night out
la farra	the party, night out
plata	money
chino / china	child, kid (regional; from Chibcha per encyclopedic sources)
dar papaya	to expose oneself to unnecessary risk
no dar papaya	don't make yourself an easy target
estar en la olla	to be broke / in trouble (lit. to be in the pot)
a la orden	at your service / you're welcome (used constantly in shops)
¿qué más?	what's up? (greeting)
¿qué hubo? / quiubo	what's up? (contracted greeting)
¿bien o qué?	you good? how's it going?
el combo	the group, the crew
la vuelta	the errand, the task, the deal
hacer la vuelta	to run an errand, sort something out
cuadrar	to arrange, set up a plan or meeting
el cuento	the story, the situation
fresco / fresca	relax, don't worry, chill out
estar mamado / mamada	to be exhausted, fed up
mamar gallo	to mess around, kid someone, waste time
vacilar	to joke around, tease, flirt
montar	to tease, mock someone (colloquial)
tumbar	to rip off, cheat someone (colloquial)
sapo / sapa	snitch, gossip (lit. toad)
echar los perros	to flirt with someone
estar prendido / prendida	to be tipsy, buzzed
juepucha	damn! shoot! (mild oath)
qué pena	how embarrassing / sorry to bother you (Colombian sense differs from standard)
qué pena con usted	sorry to bother you (polite apology)
hágale	go for it! sure! let's do it!
no joda	no way! come on! (mild vulgar intensifier)
bobo / boba	silly, dumb (mild)
pandebono	cheese bread from Valle del Cauca
buñuelo	fried cheese ball, Christmas snack
arepa	corn cake, Colombian staple food
ajiaco	iconic Bogotá potato-and-chicken soup
bandeja paisa	large traditional Antioquian mixed platter
chontaduro	peach-palm fruit common in Cali
canelazo	hot spiced aguardiente drink
empanada	fried stuffed pastry, common snack
lulada	cold lulo-fruit drink typical of Cali
chicha	traditional fermented corn drink
changua	Bogotá milk-and-egg breakfast soup
sancocho	traditional Colombian stew
gaseosa	soda, soft drink (general Colombian usage)
sumercé	deferential/affectionate 'you' (Cundinamarca, Boyacá)
vos	familiar 'you' (voseo; Paisa region, Valle del Cauca)
usted (ustedeo)	'you' used even among close friends/family in many regions
cachaco / cachaca	person from Bogotá (regional nickname)
rolo / rola	person from Bogotá (regional nickname)
paisa	person from Antioquia / the coffee region
costeño / costeña	person from the Caribbean or Pacific coast
llanero / llanera	person from the Eastern Plains (Llanos)
valluno / valluna	person from Valle del Cauca (Cali)
pastuso / pastusa	person from Nariño (Pasto)
opita	person from Tolima or Huila
santandereano / santandereana	person from Santander
gonorrea (¡cuidado, vulgar!)	very strong insult/slang intensifier — vocabulary for recognition only, not polite use
ñero / ñera	streetwise, from a rough neighborhood (context-dependent)
¡uy!	wow! oh! (surprise)
¡qué pecado!	what a shame! poor thing! (lit. what a sin)
hasta ahorita	see you in a bit
ahorita	in a little while / right now (diminutive of ahora, flexible timing)
gatico	little cat (regional -ico diminutive after /t/)
momentico	just a little moment (regional diminutive)
de pronto	maybe, perhaps (Colombian usage)
¿sí o qué?	isn't that right? / well then? (tag question)
¿cómo así?	what do you mean? how come?
berraquera	toughness, grit, impressive feat
la olla	rough/dangerous neighborhood (colloquial) or 'the pot'
el bus / la buseta	the bus / small city bus
la tienda	the corner store, small neighborhood shop
el man / la vieja (slang couple)	the guy / the woman (very colloquial)
caer bien	to like someone, get along well
mono / mona	blond(e) or light-skinned person (Colombian usage; not 'monkey')
gomelo / gomela	posh, preppy person (slang)
cambuche	makeshift shelter, shanty (regional)
cantaleta	nagging, scolding
chuzo	street food stall / grilled skewer (regional)
pola	beer (colloquial)
levantar	to pick someone up (romantically, colloquial)
verraquera	toughness / impressive feat (variant spelling)
mecato	snacks, junk food (regional)
polas y picadas	beer and appetizers (social gathering)
carrito	little car / any small vehicle (diminutive)
man'itico	just a tiny bit (extended diminutive)
hola	hello
buenos días	good morning
buenas tardes	good afternoon
buenas noches	good evening / good night
¿cómo estás?	how are you? (informal)
¿cómo está usted?	how are you? (formal)
bien, gracias	fine, thanks
mal	bad, unwell
más o menos	so-so
gracias	thank you
muchas gracias	thank you very much
de nada	you're welcome
por favor	please
perdón	sorry, excuse me
lo siento	I'm sorry
con permiso	excuse me (to pass by)
sí	yes
no	no
adiós	goodbye
hasta luego	see you later
hasta mañana	see you tomorrow
chao	bye (informal)
¿cómo te llamas?	what's your name? (informal)
me llamo...	my name is...
mucho gusto	nice to meet you
igualmente	likewise
yo	I
tú	you (informal singular)
él	he
ella	she
nosotros / nosotras	we
ustedes	you all (plural, general in Colombia)
ellos / ellas	they
usted	you (formal, and widely used informally in Colombia)
mi / mis	my
tu / tus	your (informal)
su / sus	his/her/your (formal)/their
hombre	man
mujer	woman
niño / niña	boy / girl
bebé	baby
madre / mamá	mother / mom
padre / papá	father / dad
hijo / hija	son / daughter
hermano / hermana	brother / sister
abuelo / abuela	grandfather / grandmother
tío / tía	uncle / aunt
primo / prima	cousin
esposo / esposa	husband / wife
novio / novia	boyfriend / girlfriend
amigo / amiga	friend
familia	family
agua	water
comer	to eat
beber / tomar	to drink
pan	bread
arroz	rice
frijoles	beans
papa	potato
plátano	plantain / banana
fruta	fruit
verdura	vegetable
carne	meat
pollo	chicken
pescado	fish (as food)
huevo	egg
queso	cheese
leche	milk
café	coffee
azúcar	sugar
sal	salt
desayuno	breakfast
almuerzo	lunch
cena	dinner
uno	one
dos	two
tres	three
cuatro	four
cinco	five
seis	six
siete	seven
ocho	eight
nueve	nine
diez	ten
once	eleven
doce	twelve
veinte	twenty
treinta	thirty
cuarenta	forty
cincuenta	fifty
cien	one hundred
mil	one thousand
primero	first
segundo	second
tercero	third
ir	to go
venir	to come
ser	to be (identity/traits)
estar	to be (state/location)
tener	to have
hacer	to do / to make
decir	to say / to tell
ver	to see
oír	to hear
hablar	to speak
saber	to know (a fact)
conocer	to know (a person/place)
querer	to want / to love
poder	to be able to / can
dormir	to sleep
leer	to read
escribir	to write
trabajar	to work
estudiar	to study
vivir	to live
caminar	to walk
correr	to run
comprar	to buy
vender	to sell
pagar	to pay
necesitar	to need
ayudar	to help
entender	to understand
pensar	to think
sentir	to feel
llegar	to arrive
salir	to leave / to go out
volver / regresar	to return
empezar / comenzar	to begin
terminar / acabar	to finish
buscar	to look for
encontrar	to find
dar	to give
tomar	to take / to drink
llevar	to carry / to take (something/someone)
traer	to bring
poner	to put
bueno / buena	good
malo / mala	bad
grande	big
pequeño / chiquito	small, little
caliente	hot
frío / fría	cold
bonito / bonita	pretty
feo / fea	ugly
rápido / rápida	fast
lento / despacio	slow / slowly
nuevo / nueva	new
viejo / vieja	old
fácil	easy
difícil	difficult
feliz	happy
triste	sad
cansado / cansada	tired
ocupado / ocupada	busy
importante	important
interesante	interesting
¿qué?	what?
¿quién?	who?
¿dónde?	where?
¿cuándo?	when?
¿cómo?	how?
¿cuánto / cuánta?	how much?
¿cuántos / cuántas?	how many?
¿por qué?	why?
¿cuál?	which?
y	and
o	or
con	with
sin	without
pero	but
porque	because
también	also
tampoco	neither, not either
siempre	always
nunca	never
a veces	sometimes
hoy	today
mañana	tomorrow / morning
ayer	yesterday
ahora	now
después	after, later
antes	before
tarde	late / afternoon
temprano	early
noche	night
semana	week
mes	month
año	year
lunes	Monday
martes	Tuesday
miércoles	Wednesday
jueves	Thursday
viernes	Friday
sábado	Saturday
domingo	Sunday
casa	house
apartamento	apartment
puerta	door
ventana	window
mesa	table
silla	chair
cama	bed
cocina	kitchen
baño	bathroom
calle	street
ciudad	city
país	country
mundo	world
escuela / colegio	school
universidad	university
trabajo	work, job
dinero	money
tiempo	time / weather
día	day
carro / coche	car
bus / autobús	bus
avión	airplane
tren	train
aeropuerto	airport
cabeza	head
mano	hand
pie	foot
ojo	eye
boca	mouth
corazón	heart
cuerpo	body
rojo / roja	red
azul	blue
verde	green
amarillo / amarilla	yellow
negro / negra	black
blanco / blanca	white
morado / morada	purple
naranja	orange (color/fruit)
uno mismo	oneself
perro	dog
gato	cat
pájaro	bird
vaca	cow
caballo	horse
cerdo	pig
mar	sea
río	river
montaña	mountain
cielo	sky
sol	sun
luna	moon
lluvia	rain
viento	wind
frío (clima)	cold (weather)
calor	heat
libro	book
papel	paper
lápiz	pencil
teléfono	telephone
computador / computadora	computer
internet	internet
música	music
película	movie
fiesta	party
baile	dance
canción	song
cuidado	careful, be careful
peligro	danger
seguro / segura	safe, sure
médico / doctor	doctor
hospital	hospital
policía	police
iglesia	church
mercado	market
tienda	store, shop
restaurante	restaurant
plaza	town square
parque	park
playa	beach
montañas (Andes)	mountains (the Andes, defining Colombian geography)
café (bebida y cultivo)	coffee (drink and crop, key to Colombian identity)
vallenato	traditional Colombian folk music genre
cumbia	traditional Colombian dance/music genre
salsa	popular dance/music genre strong in Cali
champeta	Afro-Colombian dance/music genre from the Caribbean coast