It’s a Jungle Out There: Animal Slang in Colombia

A guide to the creatures that appear in Colombian expressions

Written by Peter

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.

Check out the selection below to see what I mean:

Mono/a – A Monkey

Look up “mono” in a dictionary and it will tell you that this is the Spanish word for “monkey” or “ape”. In Colombia, however, the word is used to refer to a blonde person.

Be advised that the definition of “blonde” hair is really very broad; hair colours which would elsewhere be considered fair or light brown will likely fall into the blonde category in Colombia.

To talk about an actual monkey, use instead the local term “mico”.

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Camello – A Camel

A term meaning “hard work”. It can also be used as a verb “camellar” (lit. “to camel”) meaning “to work a lot”. Perhaps a bit like the English colloquial phrase “to bust one’s hump”.

Perro – A Dog

As in other parts of Latin America, the word for “dog” is also used to described a man who is a bit of a player. There are a fair few of these types knocking around in Colombia.

The phrase “echar los perros”, which literally translates as “to throw the dogs”, is a slang way of saying “to come on to somebody”.

Chiva – A (female) Goat

In addition to being a term for a female goat, “chiva” is the word for a brightly coloured, wood-topped buses that were traditionally common in the Colombian countryside. Nowadays, they are mainly used in cities as party buses.

Gallo – A Rooster

The expression “mamar gallo” (lit. “to suck a rooster”) is, in much of the country, a very colloquial expression meaning “to wind [someone] up”. Be warned though, in parts of the Caribbean coast this same phrase has a significantly more sexual connotation.

Pato – A Duck

Sometimes heard a slang way to say someone is stupid, or has done something silly. The phrase, “Uyy, mucho pato“, as appears in the image above, would mean then “Oh, how silly” or “Oh, what a stupid thing to do”).

Vaca – A Cow

The word “vaca” is probably most common in the popular phrase “hacer una vaca” or “to make a cow”. The literal translation really doesn’t provide much insight into what the expression means. It describes the common practice of everyone “chipping in” for a purchase, or of “putting money into the kitty” for something e.g. buying a bottle of rum on a night out.

Conejo – A Rabbit

Like the above, “hacer conejo”, “to make a rabbit”, is also a money-related phrase. If a Colombian says this, they are communicating that somebody has used a service (or consumed something), but has then left without paying.

Pollo – A Chicken

In Medellin, “pollo/a” is sometimes used as means to refer to a young person or child.

More bizarrely, the expression “¿quién pidió pollo?” (lit. “Who ordered chicken?”) is heard throughout Colombia as a light-hearted way to say someone is looking good / is attractive. It is generally used in a jovial way, rather than as a serious compliment.

For example, if a man was dressed up in a nice suit on the way out to dinner, and he ran into a couple of female friends, one of them might say to him “uyy, ¿quién pidió pollo?” (maybe like saying: “Well hello there hot stuff!” or “Well don’t you look fancy!”).

Oso – A Bear

The phrase “¡Qué oso!” (lit. “what a bear!”) is popular in Bogotá as a way of saying “how embarrassing!”. So, for instance, if you’re telling a friend how you just fell over right in front of a girl you like, they may respond with this phrase.

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The Many Meanings of “Berraco”

Of all the many Colombian slang terms explained on this blog, one of the trickier terms to get your head round is “berraco”. It is extremely easy to get confused with this one. Technically, a “berraco” is a sort of pig, but if you hear this word in Colombia, it is almost certainly not being used to refer to the animal. But it is not always an easy matter to figure out what the word is being used to mean.

Using ‘Vos’ in Colombia and Beyond

In some parts of Colombia, people use “vos”, instead of “usted” or “tú”, when addressing others. In a guest post, Avalon from the Colombia Immersion language school explains how, when, where and why this happens.