Updated on February 9, 2024 by Lou Mac
Chilean Spanish is one of the hardest dialects to understand—even other native Spanish speakers sometimes have trouble!
But why is Chilean Spanish so hard to understand, what makes it so difficult to learn?
Well, it’s a mixture of things: including the shortening of words, the speed at which its spoken and the impressive amount of slang used (among other things).
In this post, I’ll detail all the aspects of the dialect which makes it so unique (and hard to understand), from pronunciation to grammar to daily vocabulary to slang.
So if you’re interested in learning about (and understanding) Chilean Spanish, read on!
What is a Dialect?
To quickly start off, let’s clarify what a dialect actually is: According to Oxford Languages, a dialect is “a particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group.”
Spanish has many dialects which differ a surprising amount from one another.
People often compare the differences in Spanish dialects to English dialects, but in my experience (as a speaker of both English and Spanish) English is much, much more closely related between countries than Spanish is.
Chilean Spanish Dialect
Interestingly, Chilean Spanish (along with Honduran Spanish) has been identified by several linguists as the most divergent Spanish dialect! The Royal Spanish Academy recognizes more than 2,000 words and phrases used exclusively (or mainly produced) in Chile, in addition to a ton of unofficial slang terms.
So why is Chilean Spanish so different from other dialects? Firstly, many of the Spanish colonisers who settled in Chile were from Andalucía, a region in Spain with distinct pronunciation and intonation.
There was also heavy immigration from English, German and other European settlers, and of course, Chile was already inhabited by indigenous populations such as the Mapuche.
These influences, along with the relative isolation of Chile in its early years, helped Chilean Spanish develop into the unique flavour that it has today!
Chilean Spanish Pronunciation
Most Chileans have a very distinct way of speaking which is easy to recognise once you’ve had a little exposure to it.
There are differences in pronunciation throughout the country, too: People in the north have influences from Perú and Bolivia, those in the capital (Santiago) have their nuances and tend to speak a little faster, while those in the south (and far south) speak differently again.
There are also big differences between social classes: “Upper class” Chileans usually speak more clearly, while “lower class” Chileans and Chileans from more remote parts of the country are usually harder to understand as they don’t enunciate well.
In spite of these differences, there are several things that Chilean Spanish speakers do in common.
Aspiration (or Omission) of the S
It’s not uncommon among Spanish speakers to “aspirate” the s at the end of a word, and this is a massive tendency in Chilean Spanish.
This means that the s—usually at the end of a word, but sometimes in the middle of the word—is pronounced similar to an “h” sound (or else omitted entirely). For example:
- Nomás → nomá
- Nos vamos → noh vamoh
- Los chilenos → loh chilenoh
- Estamos → ehtamoh
This can be pretty tough for Spanish learners to understand, as it’s not really clear where one word stops and the other starts!
Aspirating the s is also very common in those from lower social classes or rural areas, and they’re more likely than others to do this with s’s in the beginning or middle of words (e.g. qué pasa → qué paha, no sé → no hé).
Omission (Elision) of the D
Another feature of some Spanish dialects, and one that is extremely common in Chilean Spanish, is omitting (or not pronouncing properly) the d.
The first and most common way is for words that end in -ado or -ada: Words that end in -ado are pronounced ao, and words that end in -ada are pronounced like á.
- Porfiada → porfiá
- Curado → curao
- Cansada → cansá
- Cuidado → cuidao
Another way you’ll hear the d omitted or not pronounced properly in Chilean Spanish is when there is (supposed to be) a d at the end of a word. This is what you might hear instead:
- Universidad → universidá
- Ciudad → ciudá
- Usted → usté
“Sh” Sound Instead of “Ch”
While not all Chileans speak with this feature, it’s definitely something that is unique to Chile: It’s replacing the “ch” with a “sh” sound.
People in higher social classes don’t tend to use these sounds, it’s more people of lower socioeconomic status or people who live out in the countryside.
- Chile → shile
- Choro → shoro
- Chucha → shusha
Not Pronouncing R Properly
This is another feature that is more common among lower social classes and people living in rural areas. However, other Chileans may also use this to some degree.
In standard Spanish there are two r pronunciations: the rolled r (for words like perro and rojo) or the single r (in words like pero and prefiere).
In Chile, sometimes the single r sound is pronounced similarly to an r in English instead. For example:
- The tr in trabajo would be pronounced similar to the “tr” in “train”
- Same with the tr in cuatro
Melody, Cadence and Speed
As I mentioned earlier many Spanish colonisers in Chile were from Andalucía, which contributed to some of the unique rising and falling intonations of Chilean Spanish.
Honestly I’ve tried to describe how the Chilean accent sounds but it’s very hard, and I think the best way for you to understand would be to listen to it yourself! Here’s an interview with a popular Chilean singer where you can hear the Chilean accent pretty well.
Along with the interesting intonations that Chileans speak with, they also speak incredibly fast! Some people consider Chilean Spanish to be the fastest-spoken dialect, which can make it hard for your brain to keep up with.
If you think that your Spanish pronunciation might need work, check out this post on the most essential parts of Spanish pronunciation.
You can also download my free Guidebook to Self-Learning Spanish, which has a ton of helpful information and tips if you’re just getting started.
Chilean Spanish Grammar
Grammar in Chile is usually pretty similar to standard Spanish, with a few small quirks.
Use of Diminutives (-ito/-ita)
A diminutive is a suffix (in Spanish, -ito and -ita) that’s added to the end of a word, usually to convey the smallness of something: for example poco (a bit) would be poquito (a little bit), or vino (wine) would be vinito (a little bit of wine).
It’s less known, however, that it can be used to express endearment and diminish the directness, urgency or importance of something.
It’s used like this all the time in Chile!
I remember being confused when offered tecito (a little bit of tea) or a vinito (a little bit of wine), thinking it actually meant “a small amount”—but it’s actually just a nice way of saying the word.
I’ve highlighted the diminutive word in these examples:
- ¿Quién quiere juguito? (Who wants juice?)
- Voy ahora con mi mamita. (I’m going now with my mum.)
- El solcito está muy rico. (The sun is really nice.)
Tú Conjugations and Vos
Sometimes in formal situations, Chileans use a different way of conjugating the tú form.
If you’ve never heard of this don’t worry—it’s only ever used informally in Chile!
These are:
| Regular tú conjugations | Tú conjugations in Chile (informal) | Example | |
| -Ar verbs | -as | -ai | Hablar – tú hablai |
| -Er verbs | -es | -í | Querer – tú querí |
| -Ir verbs | -es | -í | Vivir – tú viví |
- ¿Qué querí? (What do you want?)
- Ya no hablai español, hablai chileno. (You don’t speak Spanish anymore, you speak Chilean.)
You also may hear—in very informal situations—people using vos instead of tú.
While vos is used almost exclusively in Argentina, Uruguay and parts of Colombia (and potentially in other countries too), in Chile tú is predominantly used.
Las Una vs La Una
When telling the time in standard Spanish, you would usually say son las + whatever time it is: son las doce (it’s twelve o’clock), son las nueve (it’s nine o’clock) etc etc.
The only time you would deviate from this is when it’s one o’clock, in which case you’d say es la una. Note the difference between son las and es la?
In Chile, however, they’ve decided to ignore this grammatical rule and say son las una.
I almost exclusively hear son las una or las una, and I’ve even seen it written in formal communication and on official websites.
Day-to-Day Vocabulary in Chile
The vocabulary used in Chile differs not only when it comes to slang, but also with words used in daily life!
I think this is a massive difference between Spanish dialects and English dialects: While in English most of our vocabulary differences are related to slang, in Spanish dialects it’s much more common for everyday words to differ.
This is especially true of Chile!
Here are some everyday words that differ from the rest of the Spanish-speaking world:
- Pololo/a — boyfriend/girlfriend
- Guagua — baby
- Carabinero — policeman
- Palta — avocado
- Taco — traffic
- Guata — tummy
- Bebida — fizzy drink/soda
- Polera — t shirt
- Polerón — sweatshirt
- Micro — bus
There are also lots of vocabulary that, while different to Spanish from Spain, is found in other South American countries too. Here are some comparisons of Chilean Spanish and Spanish from Spain:
- Auto — coche (car)
- Frutilla — fresa (strawberry)
- Mantequilla — manteca (butter)
- Crema — nata (cream)
- Camarones — gambas (prawns)
- Computador — ordenador (computer)
- Bombilla — paja (straw)
Common Chilean Spanish Slang
Slang is so common here in Chile that sometimes I wonder if there are more slang words than standard Spanish words!
For a more detailed look into Chilean slang, check out our full article here:
But to get you started, here are a few very common terms:
- Po — this word doesn’t have a direct translation, but is kind of used like pues to express certainty or make an assertion
- Weón — dude, bro, man
- Aweonado — stupid, dumb
- Bacán — cool
- Carrete — party
- Al tiro — straight away, immediately
- Ya — yes, okay
- Fome — boring, lame
- ¿Cachai? — do you understand?
Don’t get put off if you still struggle to understand Chilean Spanish—learning will take time, even if you can pick up on other dialects quickly.
The best way to start is just to get out and start speaking to a Chilean!
Good luck.