The Mexican ch: muchacho and chile in Spanish
You're at a party in Guadalajara and a guy in a jacket offers you crackling with chile.
The phrase
Ese muchacho de la chamarra roja trajo el chicharrón.10 words10 sentences
The ten words
- muchacho/muˈtʃatʃo/
guy, young mannoun
A young man.
- chile/ˈtʃile/
chili peppernoun
A fruit that's spicy and used to add flavor to food.
- chamarra/tʃaˈmara/
jacketnoun
A garment with sleeves you wear over your clothes.
- chicharrón/tʃitʃaˈron/
pork cracklingnoun
Fried, crispy pork skin.
- chueco/ˈtʃweko/
crookedadjective
Not straight.
- chistoso/tʃisˈtoso/
funnyadjective
Something that makes you laugh.
- chido/ˈtʃido/
cool, greatadjective
Something that's really good.
- chismear/tʃismeˈaɾ/
gossipverb
To talk about other people's lives.
- escuchar/eskuˈtʃaɾ/
to listenverb
To pay attention to what's sounding or to what someone is saying.
- chocar/tʃoˈkaɾ/
crashverb
To hit something while moving.
The sentences
Ese muchacho de la chamarra roja trajo el chicharrón.
That guy in the red jacket brought the crackling.
¿El chicharrón con chile pica mucho o poquito?
Is the crackling with chile very spicy or just a little?
Deja tu chamarra en la silla, aquí hace calor.
Leave your jacket on the chair, it's warm in here.
¿Me pasas otro pedazo de chicharrón, por favor?
Can you pass me another piece of crackling, please?
Ese cuadro de la pared está bien chueco.
That picture on the wall is really crooked.
Tu amigo es muy chistoso, no para de contar chistes.
Your friend is really funny, he never stops cracking jokes.
Qué chido que viniste a la fiesta.
Cool that you came to the party.
Deja de chismear y ven a bailar con nosotros.
Stop gossiping and come dance with us.
No te puedo escuchar, la música está muy fuerte.
I can't hear you, the music's too loud.
Cuidado, vas a chocar con el muchacho de atrás.
Careful, you're going to crash into the guy behind you.
Pronunciation
chile/ˈtʃile/
The stress falls on the first syllable and the final e is pronounced: chi-le.
chamarra/tʃaˈmara/
The rr is rolled: the tongue taps several times.
chicharrón/tʃitʃaˈron/
The stress falls on the last syllable: chi-cha-rrón.
chueco/ˈtʃweko/
The ue is said together, like in the English word "wet": it's two syllables, chue-co.
chismear/tʃismeˈaɾ/
The e and the a fall in different syllables, chis-me-ar, and the stress lands on the end.
Good to know
- chicharrón
- It's fried, crispy pork skin, a common snack at parties. It's served plain or with salsa and lime.
- chile
- Almost any Mexican dish can come with chile, but how hot it is varies a lot by type. If you don't know how strong it is, ask before piling it on.
- chamarra
- At a crowded party it's often warm inside even if it's cool outside, so it's normal to leave your jacket on a chair or in another room.
- plática
- At Mexican gatherings it's common to stand around chatting, even gossiping a bit, before getting up to dance.
Questions
- How do you say a young guy in Spanish?
- Muchacho, as in ese muchacho de la chamarra roja.
- What does chicharrón mean?
- Fried, crispy pork skin, a common party snack, as in me pasas otro pedazo de chicharrón.
- What's the word for something crooked or not straight?
- Chueco, as in ese cuadro de la pared está bien chueco.