So basically, they took the nicknames for people and applied them to the cities. These are nicknames for the cities of San José, San Ramón, and Puntarenas, respectively.Įl Puerto (the port) makes sense, as there’s a port in Puntarenas, but the other two are more interesting.Ĭhepe is the nickname for the name José and Moncho is the nickname for Ramón. This means “how lucky!” Chepe, Moncho, and El Puerto Jupa is simply a Costa Rican way of referring to the head. Don’t worry about it too much, though, as the easygoing Ticos understand that it’s tricky. UstedĬosta Ricans use usted much more than many other Spanish speakers and hardly ever use tú, preferring the informal vos, like many Central and South Americans. Don’t call someone you just met “mae,” as it can mean an “average Joe.” However, between close friends, mae is used all the time as a conversation filler, similar to how the British and Australians use mate. This means “guy” or “dude” and is mainly used for men but can refer to a woman. In this case, the t for a b, the a for an e, and the i for an o, so tuanis actually comes from buenos. Malespín slang created new words by substituting letters. When the Spanish newspaper El País published an atlas of the representative words of Spanish-speaking countries, writer and journalist Carlos Cortés chose tuanis as the word that best represented Costa Rica, explaining: “It doesn’t come from ‘too nice,’ as said by Mexican comedian Adal Ramones when he imitates us, but rather from the military slang of the Salvadoran General Malespín in the 19th century.” This phrase means “good” or “cool,” or just demonstrates enthusiasm about anything. The term comes from the Costa Rican habit of adding the diminutive -tico to the ends of words. Tico(a)Ĭosta Ricans refer to themselves as Ticos, so it’s not offensive at all. Ticos (see below) love hearing visitors say it. The phrase can be used as a greeting, in the middle of sentences, or as a response to anything positive. Costa Rica has been a world leader in conservation policies, with protected areas that encompass over 25% of its total landmass-the highest in the world. This is Costa Rica’s national motto and embodies the country’s attitude to life and the importance of nature to its people. Like most places, Costa Rica has its own unique words, phrases, and uses of language, so even fluent Spanish speakers can learn something new ¡Pura vida!
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