Day 124 of 135

Day 124: Pen Pals in Medellín Say Bacano

In Tijuana, Bastián (A) and Alexa (B), classmates at a preparatoria (high school), prepare questions for a video call with their exchange pen pals in Medellín, Colombia, and argue about the Colombian words they picked up last time, such as parce (buddy) and bacano (cool).

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Spanish word to see what it means.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Spanish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning

  1. A

    Alexa, la videollamada con Medellín es el viernes y la profe quiere diez preguntas. Llevo una: ¿por qué a todo le dicen bacano?

    Alexa, the video call with Medellín is on Friday and the teacher wants ten questions. I've got one: why do they call everything bacano?

  2. B

    Esa ni la hagas. Fuiste tú quien dijo bacano como cuarenta veces, y Emilia hasta te preguntó si tenías familia paisa.

    Don't even ask that one. It was you who said bacano about forty times, and Emilia even asked if you had family from Antioquia.

  3. A

    Es que se me pega todo, parce. Pero no me cambies el tema: la que se quedó callada con lo del tinto fuiste tú.

    I just pick everything up, parce. But don't change the subject: the one who went quiet over the tinto business was you.

  4. B

    ¿Pues cómo no me iba a quedar callada? Emilia contó que antes de clase pide en la tiendita del colegio “¿me regala un tintico?”, y yo pensé que era vino.

    Well, how could I not go quiet? Emilia told us that before class she asks at the school store, “¿me regala un tintico?,” and I thought she meant red wine.

  5. A

    Y yo pensando que se lo regalaban. Ya entendí que tinto es café negro y “me regala” es nuestro “me da”, pero cantadito.

    And here I was thinking they gave it to her for free. I've figured it out now: tinto is black coffee, and “me regala” is our “me da,” can I have, only in a singsong.

  6. B

    Pues apúntala: ¿por qué piden todo como si fuera regalo? Y otra del acento, que según ellos los cantaditos somos nosotros.

    Well, write that one down: why do they ask for everything as if it were a present? And another about the accent, because according to them, we're the singsong ones.

  7. A

    ¿Cantaditos nosotros? Aquí en Tijuana hablamos normal, la neta: el acento siempre lo traen los demás.

    Us, singsong? Here in Tijuana we talk normally, honestly: it's always everyone else who has the accent.

  8. B

    Ay, sí. Suenas igualito que el cuento de Taller de Lectura: “Apenas hubo declarado el joven que no tenía acento, el salón entero soltó la carcajada”.

    Oh, sure. You sound just like the story in our reading class: “No sooner had the young man declared that he had no accent than the whole classroom burst out laughing.”

  9. A

    “Y no bien se hubo burlado la señorita, el joven le cerró la boca”. Les enseñamos “sobres” y “machín”, bien de aquí.

    “And no sooner had the young lady had her laugh than the young man shut her up.” Let's teach them “sobres” and “machín,” our words for OK and great, real local ones.

  10. B

    ¿Para que Emilia diga “sobres” en Medellín y la vean raro? Mejor les regalamos “¡aguas!”, que con una sola palabra te salva de un pelotazo.

    So Emilia can say “sobres” in Medellín and get funny looks? Let's make them a present of “¡aguas!” instead, our word for watch out: just one word, and it saves you from a ball in the face.

  11. A

    Bacano, digo, sobres. Y si no le entienden, que lo aprendan como nosotros: con el pelotazo, parce.

    Bacano, I mean, sobres. And if they don't get it, they can learn it the way we did: from the ball in the face, parce.

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