Speak Spanish like a Colombian

Listen in to a conversation between Colombians and you are likely to hear quite a few references to a variety of animals. Outside of the countryside, however, such terms are not often used literally. Rather, Colombians have incorporated a large number of animal names into colloquial expressions and slang, which have meanings quite different to how they initially appear.

One of the most difficult choices for anyone thinking about studying Spanish abroad is where to select as your base. Choose well, and you can find yourself in pleasant surroundings, with high quality tuition and plenty of opportunities to socialise and practice your new Spanish skills outside of class. Choose badly, and you might end up somewhere distinctly less enjoyable and not even progressing much with the language.

As far as possible, on this blog I try to examine slang phrases which are used in the whole of Colombia. However, some expressions are so essential for anyone staying in a given city or area, that it’d be remiss of me not to explain these too. This is most definitely the case for the phrase “¡qué oso!” in Bogota.