When Colombians use the slang words “bacano” and “chévere” the meaning is essentially the same as the English word “cool”. Read on for a few other variations and examples:
The Meaning of “Chévere”
“Chévere” is a popular word for “cool” that is heard throughout Colombia, though it is not exclusive to that country. The population in neighbouring Venezuela, for instance, also enjoy using it a fair old amount.
Understanding the types of context in which this term is heard is a straightforward affair, given that it is used in almost exactly the same way as its English equivalent. Take a look at the following examples and you’ll see what I mean:
El sitio es muy chévere
Meaning: “The place is very cool”. Similarly:
La idea me parece chévere
for “I like the idea” / “it seems like a cool idea”.
In addition, “chévere” works well as a throwaway little response to comments, roughly along the lines of saying “OK”, “sure” or “cool” in English.
In conversation this might sound something like this:
Nos vamos a encontrar en el Parque de la 93 por ahí a las 8.30pm
Chévere
Translation: 1. “We’re gonna meet in the park on 93rd at around 8.30pm”; 2. “Cool”.
To be a bit more enthusiastic about just how cool you think something is, you can upgrade the standard “chévere” to “cheverísimo” – making it more like “really cool”.
The Meaning of “Bacano”
“Bacano” is near enough identical in meaning to “chévere” and is used to describe “cool” ideas, objects and situations. Here are a couple of example sentences:
¡Qué carro tan bacano!
“What a cool car!”, and:
Sería muy bacano ir a la playa
“It’d be very cool to go to the beach”.
One thing to note is that if you want to talk about a “cool guy”, you’ll need to adapt the word slightly. To express the following sentiment: “he’s a really cool guy. I like him a lot”, you could try the nicely Colombian-sounding sentence:
Ese pelado es un bacán, me cae muy bien
A final adaptation of this term is “bacanería”, which means “the quality of being cool”. If you think someone makes a very positive impression, for instance, you might say of them:
Se le nota la bacanería de una
That’d translate to something like: “you can immediately tell that he/she is really cool (or a really good person)”.
Use both terms liberally in your Colombian conversations and your Spanish will start sound instantly more authentic.
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¿Mucha feria o qué?
August brings the famous “Feria de las Flores” (or “Flower Festival”) to the city of Medellin. While you will find a couple of events which are rather flower-heavy, most are not. Instead, music, celebration and fun take centre stage, all washed down with a healthy serving of “guaro” (or “aguardiente”), the favoured local tipple.
Spanish with a Touch of the Divine
Hang around with Colombians for any length of time and you’re sure to notice that religion continues to play a large part in their lives. In fact, faith is so strong, and religious belief so widespread, that many Colombians often take it as read that most everyone they meet will be a Catholic. This is reflected in surveys and polls, where the vast majority of the population report that they are religious.