Argentine Slang: 56 Lunfardo Words You Will Hear in Buenos Aires (2026)
·7 min read
TL;DR
Lunfardo is the slang of Buenos Aires. The money words you will hear most are guita and mango (money), luca (1,000 pesos), palo (a million) and verdes (dollars). Everyday basics: che (hey), dale (OK), re (very), posta (for real) and boludo (dude between friends, an insult from a stranger). Porteños pronounce "ll" and "y" as "sh" and use vos instead of tú.
Spanish in Buenos Aires does not sound like the Spanish you learned at school. Porteños pronounce "ll" and "y" as "sh", use vos instead of tú, and pepper every sentence with lunfardo: slang born in the port neighborhoods in the late 1800s from Italian, Spanish and immigrant street talk, and later spread by tango lyrics. This guide covers the words you will actually hear in 2026, starting with the ones about money, since that is our specialty.
Three things that make Argentine Spanish sound different
The "sh" sound. "Calle" sounds like CAH-sheh, "yo" like sho, "lluvia" like SHOO-vya.
Vos instead of tú. "Vos tenés", "vos sos", "¿vos querés?". The stress moves to the end: tenés, not tienes.
Italian melody. Rioplatense Spanish has an up-and-down rhythm, and plenty of hand gestures, inherited from Italian immigrants.
Each word below comes with a rough pronunciation for English speakers, the meaning and an example sentence.
Money and paying
guita /GHEE-tah/
Money, in general.
“No tengo guita para salir hoy.” (I don't have money to go out today.)
mango /MAHN-goh/
One peso. In the plural, money.
“Estoy sin un mango.” (I'm broke.)
luca /LOO-kah/
1,000 pesos.
“La entrada sale diez lucas.” (The ticket costs 10,000 pesos.)
palo /PAH-loh/
One million. "Un palo verde" is a million dollars.
“El alquiler está un palo por mes.” (The rent is a million pesos a month.)
gamba /GAHM-bah/
100 pesos. Old-school, heard from older porteños.
“Me salió una gamba.” (It cost me a hundred.)
chirolas /chee-ROH-lahs/
Peanuts, a tiny amount of money.
“En ese laburo pagan chirolas.” (That job pays peanuts.)
verdes /VEHR-dehs/
US dollars ("greens").
“¿Lo pagás en verdes o en pesos?” (Are you paying in dollars or pesos?)
cueva /KWEH-vah/
An informal currency exchange office.
“Cambié los dólares en una cueva.” (I changed the dollars at a cueva.)
arbolito /ar-boh-LEE-toh/
A street money changer who calls out "cambio, cambio".
“No le cambies a un arbolito.” (Don't change money with a street changer.)
¿cuánto sale? /KWAHN-toh SAH-leh/
How much is it? Argentines say "sale", not "cuesta".
“¿Cuánto sale el kilo de helado?” (How much is a kilo of ice cream?)
¿aceptás QR? /ah-sehp-TAHS koo EH-rreh/
Do you take QR payments?
“Hola, ¿aceptás QR o es solo efectivo?” (Hi, do you take QR or is it cash only?)
pasame el alias /PAH-sah-meh ehl AH-lyahs/
Send me your alias, so I can transfer you.
“Pasame el alias y te transfiero.” (Send me your alias and I'll transfer you.)
posnet /POHS-neht/
The card machine. A brand name used for all of them.
“¿Tenés posnet?” (Can I pay by card?)
vuelto /VWEHL-toh/
The change you get back.
“Quedate con el vuelto.” (Keep the change.)
cuotas sin interés /KWOH-tahs seen een-teh-REHS/
Interest-free instalments, a national obsession.
“¿Hay cuotas sin interés?” (Can I pay in interest-free instalments?)
un ojo de la cara /oon OH-hoh deh lah KAH-rah/
An arm and a leg (literally "an eye of the face").
“Ese restaurante sale un ojo de la cara.” (That restaurant costs an arm and a leg.)
Everyday words
che /cheh/
Hey, mate. Used to get attention or to start a sentence.
“Che, ¿vamos a tomar algo?” (Hey, shall we get a drink?)
boludo /boh-LOO-doh/
Dude, between friends. An insult from a stranger. Tone is everything.
“¡Boludo, no sabés lo que me pasó!” (Dude, you won't believe what happened to me!)
dale /DAH-leh/
OK, sure, go ahead, come on.
“¿Nos vemos a las ocho? Dale.” (See you at eight? Sure.)
re /reh/
Very. Goes in front of almost anything.
“El asado estuvo re bueno.” (The barbecue was really good.)
posta /POHS-tah/
For real, the truth.
“¿Posta que no tenés DNI?” (You really don't have a DNI?)
copado /koh-PAH-doh/
Cool, nice, generous.
“El dueño del depto es re copado.” (The landlord is really nice.)
buena onda /BWEH-nah OHN-dah/
Good vibes, a nice person.
“La gente del hostel es muy buena onda.” (The people at the hostel are really nice.)
joya /HOH-shah/
Great, perfect.
“¿Te sirve el martes? Joya.” (Does Tuesday work? Perfect.)
bárbaro /BAR-bah-roh/
Great, excellent.
“Bárbaro, te espero.” (Great, I'll wait for you.)
un toque /oon TOH-keh/
A little bit, a moment.
“Esperame un toque.” (Wait for me a sec.)
quilombo /kee-LOHM-boh/
A mess, chaos.
“El tránsito es un quilombo.” (The traffic is chaos.)
laburo /lah-BOO-roh/
Work, a job. "Laburar" is to work.
“Hoy tengo un montón de laburo.” (I have loads of work today.)
fiaca /fee-AH-kah/
Laziness, not being bothered.
“Me da fiaca cocinar.” (I can't be bothered to cook.)
chamuyo /chah-MOO-shoh/
Smooth talk, a line, a sales pitch.
“Eso del descuento es puro chamuyo.” (That discount thing is just talk.)
garrón /gah-RROHN/
A bummer, bad luck.
“Se cortó la luz, qué garrón.” (The power went out, what a bummer.)
trucho /TROO-choh/
Fake, dodgy.
“Ese billete es trucho.” (That bill is fake.)
flashear /flah-sheh-AR/
To imagine things, to get carried away.
“Flasheaste, nadie dijo eso.” (You're imagining things, nobody said that.)
ni en pedo /nee ehn PEH-doh/
No way. Rude but very common.
“Ni en pedo pago eso.” (No way I'm paying that.)
People
pibe / piba /PEE-beh / PEE-bah/
Kid, young guy or girl.
“Es un pibe de Córdoba.” (He's a guy from Córdoba.)
chabón /chah-BOHN/
Guy, dude.
“Un chabón me preguntó la hora.” (Some guy asked me the time.)
mina /MEE-nah/
Woman. Informal, can sound crude.
“La mina del kiosco es muy buena onda.” (The woman at the kiosk is really nice.)
cheto /CHEH-toh/
Posh, preppy.
“Ese barrio es re cheto.” (That neighborhood is really posh.)
groso /GROH-soh/
Awesome, a legend.
“Gracias, sos un groso.” (Thanks, you're a legend.)
gil /heel/
Fool, sucker.
“No seas gil, no le des tu código a nadie.” (Don't be a fool, don't give your code to anyone.)
Street and safety
chorro /CHOH-rroh/
Thief.
“Cuidado con el celular, hay chorros.” (Careful with your phone, there are thieves.)
afanar /ah-fah-NAR/
To steal. "Es un afano" means it is a rip-off.
“Me afanaron la billetera.” (They stole my wallet.)
motochorro /moh-toh-CHOH-rroh/
A thief on a motorbike who snatches phones.
“Un motochorro le sacó el celular.” (A motorbike thief grabbed her phone.)
cana /KAH-nah/
The police, or jail.
“Llamá a la cana.” (Call the cops.)
¡ojo! /OH-hoh/
Careful! Watch out!
“¡Ojo con la mochila en el subte!” (Watch your backpack on the subway!)
no te regalés /noh teh reh-gah-LEHS/
Don't make yourself an easy target.
“No te regalés con el celular en la mano.” (Don't make yourself a target with your phone out.)
bondi /BOHN-dee/
City bus (officially "colectivo").
“Me tomo el bondi a Palermo.” (I'm taking the bus to Palermo.)
tacho /TAH-choh/
Taxi.
“Es tarde, tomemos un tacho.” (It's late, let's get a taxi.)
Going out, food and drink
birra /BEE-rrah/
Beer.
“¿Tomamos una birra?” (Shall we grab a beer?)
previa /PREH-vyah/
Pre-drinks at someone’s place before going out.
“Hacemos la previa en casa.” (We're doing pre-drinks at my place.)
boliche /boh-LEE-cheh/
Nightclub. Nobody goes before 2 a.m.
“Al boliche entramos a las dos.” (We're getting into the club at two.)
morfar /mor-FAR/
To eat. "Morfi" is food.
“¿Vamos a morfar algo?” (Shall we grab something to eat?)
mate /MAH-teh/
The shared herbal tea. Say "gracias" only when you have had enough.
“¿Tomamos unos mates?” (Shall we have some mate?)
facturas /fahk-TOO-rahs/
Pastries. Also the word for invoices, which confuses everyone.
“Traje facturas para el mate.” (I brought pastries for the mate.)
picada /pee-KAH-dah/
A board of cheese, cold cuts and snacks to share.
“Pedimos una picada para la mesa.” (Let's order a snack board for the table.)
¿me cobrás? /meh koh-BRAHS/
Can I pay? How you ask for the bill in a café or shop.
“Disculpá, ¿me cobrás?” (Excuse me, can I pay?)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is lunfardo?
Lunfardo is the slang of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. It grew in the late 19th century among immigrants and port workers, borrowing heavily from Italian dialects, and spread through tango. Many of its words, like laburo, mina and guita, are now everyday Spanish in Argentina.
Is "boludo" an insult?
It can be. Between friends it means "dude" and is used constantly. Said by a stranger, or with an angry tone, it is an insult. As a foreigner, wait until someone uses it with you first.
How do you say money in Argentine slang?
Guita and mango (or mangos) are the most common. A luca is 1,000 pesos, a palo is a million, and verdes are US dollars.
How do I ask if a shop takes QR?
Say "¿Aceptás QR?" Most places do. If you do not have a DNI, you can still pay any Argentine QR from a dollar balance with CacaoCash, and send pesos to anyone who says "pasame el alias" with alias transfers.
Ready to pay like a local?
CacaoCash lets you scan any QR in Argentina, no DNI, no local bank account needed.
About the author
Simon Gómez
Founder of CacaoCash. Simon has lived in Argentina as a foreigner and built CacaoCash so expats and nomads can pay like locals, no DNI, no local bank account. He writes about paying, getting paid, and not losing money to the tourist rate.
