Che, ¿qué hacés?

As you can read about below, Argentina has a special version of Spanish they call castellano [cah-stay-shah-noh]. Not only is the accent different, but some of the grammar and a lot of the words are different too. Here are some helpful phrases for when talking to other people of your age, like in this picture.


Don't use these phrases with adults you do not know very well; these are phrases to use with people that you are familiar with. In the pronunciation, the parts in capital letters are where you place the emphasis of your voice. Spanish is a language based on emphases on different parts of the words. If you have learned a little Spanish, you will notice that this emphasis is different than in most Spanish-speaking countries. So this is very important to remember. Che is a word that means a lot of different things, but in conversations like this it can mean something like "dude," "bro," "man," and so forth. It did not come from Che Guevara. Che is a nickname that came to Guevara because he used it so much when in other countries. It was a slang term before he made it famous. These will help you know how to say a few things if you ever meet an Argentine!

• Che, ¿qué hacés? [chay, kay ahs-ACE]; "Dude, what's goin' on?"


• ¿Cómo andás? [COH-mow ahn-DAS]; "How's it goin'?"


• ¿Cómo te llamás? [COH-mow tay chah-MAHS]; "What's your name?"


• Bueno, ¡dale! [BWEN-oh, DAH-lay]; "OK, let's do it." or "OK, go ahead." or simply "OK." This has many translations.


• ¿Qué te pasa? [kay tay PAHS-ah]: "What's your problem?" or "What's your deal?"


• Che . . . ¡no me digás! [chay, no may deeg-AHS]; "Dude, no way!"