Key Words of Uruguay

Another of the sounds that I remember the most from Montevideo is that of the fire crackling in front of the drums of the calls. The call parade is a popular candombe festival that takes place every year —especially during Carnival— in different neighborhoods of the capital and is one of the purest manifestations of Afro-Uruguayan culture. The name "calls" comes from the 19th century, when the descendants of slaves brought from Africa went out into the streets and called each other with the sound of drums to tour the neighborhood to the rhythm of candombe.

En Uruguay también se usa el “vos”, como en Argentina, pero ellos suelen decir “contigo” y nosotros decimos “con vos”. Además, tienen expresiones muy propias como el “tá”, que es una deformación del “está” y se suele usar para terminar frases: “Iba a ir pero al final me quedé dormida, y tá”. También dicen “crá” para expresar que alguien es “crack” (talentoso o que hace algo muy bien) y, cuando algo les gusta, dicen que “está de más”. El “pá” también suele aparecer en las conversaciones y se usa para enfatizar, como por ejemplo: “páaa, qué frío”.

it means "I relax"

Uruguayans affectionately refer to their country as "my little country."

Uruguayans and Argentines speak and sing in a very similar way, and that is why it can be difficult for someone from outside to differentiate our accents or slang, but we both have words that give us away. In Argentina we say "sneakers", while in Uruguay they call them "championes". We say “bills” (croissants, watchmen and other sweet pastries) and they say “cakes”. A young girl is a “gurisa” and, what for us would be “los pibes” (a way of referring to a group of friends or people), there are “los chiquilines”. And, while in Argentina "I have fiaca" means "I am lazy", in Uruguay it means "I am hungry".