Spanish in Costa Rica is overall very formal. The informal “Tu” in almost never used. Instead, you will use “usted”, including formal commands
| Bira |
beer |
Buenas |
said in passing to say hi to someone (short for buenos dias/tardes/noches) |
| Casado |
A typical Costa Rican meal. Rice, beans, plantain, a little bit of salad of pasta, and a meat. |
Chao |
Bye |
| Cien metros |
one city block |
Colones |
currency of Costa Rica. |
| ¿Cómo amaneció? |
How are you this morning? |
-ito, -ita |
This ending is put at the end of nouns commonly to make something ‘little”. Casa = house, casista = little house. Gato = cat, gatito = little cat. This is used very often in Costa Rica. |
| Mae - (pronounced “my”) |
“dude” or “man”. |
Pulperia |
Very small grocery store, usually run just outside someone’s house. |
| Que le vaya bien |
I hope it goes well |
Soda |
café or lunch counter; place to find typical Costa Rican food. |
| Tico/a |
This is what Costa Ricans are called. Sharon is a ‘tica’. |
¡Tuanis! |
Cool! (¡Que tuanis!) |
| Upe (pronounced “oopay”) - |
Say this outside a house or store if you’re trying to get someone’s attention. |
Vos |
“Vos” is used at times in place of “tu”. It is actually quite common in Latin America. You may hear this. Some conjugations are slightly different. Ask Joe for an explanation |