Brief Dictionary of Argentine Words

The expression “che” deserves a special chapter in our Brief Dictionary of Argentine Words (BDAW), for a couple of reasons: first, because of its tricky meanings and usage, and second, because it is almost a trademark of argentine culture.

What does che mean in Argentina?

If you spend some time in Argentina, you will notice that che is mostly used to call someone’s attention. Just as you use hey in english. But you will not say che to just anyone. You need to be really familiar with the person to call him or her che. Otherwise it can be taken as a lack of respect.

You also use che followed by the name of the person, as in these examples:

Che, Gerardo, escuchame una cosa…
Meaning: Hey, Gerardo, listen to me...
Che, María, convidame un mate por favor.
Meaning: Hey, María, give me a mate, please.

Click on the link below to listen to the examples:


As a vocative, che is frequently followed by an imperative, an order, as in the previous examples.

Che can also be used to call the attention of a bunch of people. For example:

Che, escúchenme, que tengo algo importante que decirles.
Meaning: Hey, guys, listen to me, I have something important to tell you.

Click on the link below to listen to the example:

There are certain spanish words that have a different meaning in Argentina than they do in any other spanish-speaking country, so no dictionary or translation app will be of any help to understand argentine slang. That’s why we start building here our Brief Dictionary of Argentine Words (BDAW), a must-have compendium of words, with their definitions and sounds, ideal for any traveler who plans to visit the lands of Tango.

In this first installment we start with the words beginning with the letter A: from Agitar to Arrugar. For each word we explain its meaning and show a couple of examples. Below each example there's an audio clip you can click to hear how it is spoken in argentino, along with its meaning in english.

UPDATE - I've been told that many of these words are also common in Mexico, so if you change your route and turn to the land of tequila, this dictionary could also come in handy.

Agitar (verb)

The normal translation of agitar is shake. But in Argentina it is commonly related to cheering or bullying activities, according to this two definitions:

Agitar: Cheer with enthusiasm.
Example: Vamos muchachos, no paren de agitar.
Meaning: Come on guys, don’t stop cheering.
Agitar: Incite, generate a climate of tension, bother, threaten.
Example: Le pegaron por que estuvo agitando desde que llegó.
Meaning: They hit him because he was bothering since he arrived.