Day 23: Grandma Asks About Voseo
In León, Guanajuato, just back from a semester's exchange in Buenos Aires, Ana Paula (A), who keeps dropping Argentine words like “che” (buddy) into her Spanish, visits her grandmother Teresa (B), who is hooked on an Argentine series.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- 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.
- 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
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A
¡Abue, extrañé re mucho tus enchiladas mineras! Che, ¿vos sabés lo que es comer milanesa cinco meses?
Grandma, I missed your enchiladas mineras re-much! Che, do you know what it's like eating milanesa for five months?
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B
El que me hables de “vos” ya ni me asusta: en mi serie hasta el cura habla asĂ.
You calling me “vos” doesn't even faze me anymore: in my series even the priest talks like that.
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A
Es el voseo: allá no es “tú tienes” sino “vos tenés”, y lo usan hasta con los suegros.
It's voseo: over there it isn't “tú tienes” but “vos tenés,” and they use it even with their in-laws.
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B
Yo a mis suegros les hablé de usted toda la vida. ¿Y qué es eso de “laburo” y “guita”?
I called my in-laws “usted” my whole life. And what's all this “laburo” and “guita”?
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A
Eso ya es lunfardo, la jerga de allá: laburo es chamba, guita es lana y el bondi es el camión.
That's lunfardo, the slang over there: laburo is chamba, work, guita is lana, dough, and the bondi is the bus.
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B
Pues ya le voy a entender todo a la serie, a menos que hablen tan rápido como tú.
Well, now I'll understand everything in the series, unless they talk as fast as you.
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A
Y a todo le ponen “re”: los viernes salĂamos del boliche a las seis, re cansadas.
And they stick “re” on everything: on Fridays we'd leave the boliche at six, re-exhausted.
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B
En mi serie el boliche es el antro, mija. ÂżNo que los viernes te quedabas estudiando?
In my series a boliche is a nightclub, honey. Weren't you supposedly staying in to study on Fridays?
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A
Abue, te enseño todo el lunfardo que quieras, con tal de que no se entere mi mamá.
Grandma, I'll teach you all the lunfardo you like, as long as Mom doesn't find out.
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B
Ă“rale, che, pero tu mamá tambiĂ©n ve la serie: yo que tĂş no dirĂa “boliche” en la cena.
You're on, che, but your mom watches the series too: if I were you, I wouldn't say “boliche” at dinner.
Your progress is saved in this browser only, with no sign-up. The course page and the menu show where you left off. Well done! Next up: Day 24: A Consul's Advice on the In-Laws
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