The Most Complete List of Spanish Slang Words for Girl
One of the most exciting things about learning a foreign language is, in my opinion, its informal, everyday aspect. I am a firm believer in a communicative approach, which is based on a simple premise: “speak as the natives do.”
For those of you who have picked Spanish as your second language, that motto might prove a little challenging.
Why?
Well, there are twenty different countries where Spanish is the official language, which means there are many versions of “native.”
Don’t get me wrong. I am, by no means, trying to say that you have to learn every single version of Spanish. Not at all. While there are certain differences between the way Spaniards and Latin Americans pronounce and conjugate, the overall communication is still easily achievable.
The point I am trying to make is that Spanish is probably THE only language with such colorful and varied vocabulary influenced by local culture, tradition, and ethnicity, especially when it comes to the local slang.
To demonstrate this, I invite you today to play with a single word and see how many informal versions it has. Let’s see some of the most common slang words for “girl.”
28 examples of informal ways to say “girl” in Spanish
As you well know, the standard translation of this word is “una niña” or “una chica” where the former refers typically to a little girl and the latter to a teenager or a young adult woman.
Yet, there are so many others:
- chava – one of the most common slang for “girl,” which you are bound to hear in 🇲🇽 Mexico, 🇭🇳 Honduras, 🇳🇮 Nicaragua, or 🇧🇴 Bolivia.
- chama – especially common in 🇻🇪 Venezuela and 🇳🇮 Nicaragua, can also mean “girlfriend.”
- chamaca – a variation of “chama”, popular in 🇲🇽 Mexico, 🇨🇺 Cuba, 🇵🇪 Peru, 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico, and several other Latin American countries.
- cabra (literally “a goat”) – 🇨🇷 Costa Rica, Chile
- galla / tipa – used principally by 🇨🇱 Chileans, who – as it seems – have a weakness for animal-related slang words (“gallo” literally means “rooster”)
- gata – to continue with the animal trend, this is what you’d call a girl in 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico
- girla – an evident influence of the English “that can be heard in 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico.
- bicha – a term of endearment used in the 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic for a little girl.
- changa – the way 🇧🇴 Bolivians refer to an adolescent
- guacha / guachita – used in 🇨🇱 Chile and 🇺🇾 Uruguay to describe “ a hot chick.” In a different context, it can also mean “an orphan.”
- chavala – mostly used in 🇪🇸 Spain, but can also be heard in 🇨🇷 Costa Rica or 🇳🇮 Nicaragua.
- mami / mamita: a term used In 🇨🇷 Costa Rica, 🇨🇴 Colombia, 🇲🇽 Mexico, and 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico for an attractive girl. It makes reference to “mom.”
- lola – especially common in 🇨🇱 Chile to describe a teenage girl.
- mina – that’s how you’d say “a hot girl” in 🇦🇷 Argentina, 🇨🇱 Chile, and 🇵🇾 Paraguay
- mija / mijita – a contraction between “mi hija / mi hijita” commonly used in 🇨🇱 Chile. It can express endearment, but “mijita rica” has a sexual connotation.
- pendeja / mocosa – a negative term for a little girl often used in the Andes region.
- jeva / yegua – another word for an attractive young woman. It can sometimes be considered offensive.
- pava/ pavita – In 🇻🇪 Venezuela, the 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic, and 🇵🇾 Paraguay, it means a young girl or adolescent.
- tía – (literally “aunt”) a common 🇪🇸 Spanish term to refer to a woman or girl
- morra – used mainly in the northern part of 🇲🇽 Mexico.
- piba: can be heard in 🇦🇷 Argentina, but also in 🇺🇾 Uruguay, 🇧🇴 Bolivia, and 🇪🇸 Spain
Quite impressive, isn’t it? Mind you – I could go on and on.
Be careful, though, when using slang: it often means one thing in one country and a whole different thing in another country, often resulting in funny misunderstandings but also offenses.
How to Use Slang Words for Girl in Spanish
Having spent half of my life in Chile, I am most familiar with this version of Spanish, which is why I can offer you a few examples of how a little girl would be referred to here.
🇪🇸 Mamá, dile a esta mocosa que no entre a mi pieza y no toque mis cosas.
🇬🇧 Mom, tell this bratty girl not to go into my room and touch my stuff.
🇪🇸 Sofi, tienes diez años ya. No te comportes como una pendeja.
🇬🇧 Sofi, you’re ten already. Don’t act like a little brat.
🇪🇸 Trini está jugando en el parque con otras cabras chicas.
🇬🇧 Trini (diminutive for Trinidad) is playing with other kids in the park.
🇪🇸 Mira a esa niñita con trenzas. Se parece mucho a tí cuando chica.
🇬🇧 Look at that little girl with braided hair. She looks a lot like you when you were young.
🇪🇸 Francisca, ¡cómo has crecido! Ya eres una lola.
🇬🇧 Francisca, you´ve grown so much! You are a real teenager now.
🇪🇸 Mija, ayúdame por favor a poner la mesa.
🇬🇧 Sweet girl, please help me to lay the table.
🇪🇸 Hay una galla en mi clase que habla cinco idiomas.
🇬🇧 There is a girl in my class who speaks five languages.
🇪🇸 No sabía que tu hermana era tan mina. ¿Por qué no me la presentas?
🇬🇧 I didn’t know your sister was so hot. Why don’t you introduce us?
🇪🇸 Escucha, guachita. Tú eres una mujer fuerte y seguro que lo solucionarás de algún modo.
🇬🇧 Listen, pretty girl. You are a strong woman, and I am sure you’ll solve it somehow.
🇪🇸 Cuando yo tenía tu edad, mijita, no usaba faldas tan cortas.
🇬🇧 When I was your age, my girl, I didn’t wear such short skirts.
🇪🇸 Parece que la tipa sentada detrás de tí es Macarena.
🇬🇧 It looks like the girl/ woman sitting behind you is Macarena.
🇪🇸 Pensábamos que era un hombre rudo pero en el funeral lloró como una niñita.
🇬🇧 We thought he was a tough man, but he cried like a little girl at the funeral.
🇪🇸 Test Your Spanish Knowledge 🇪🇸
🇪🇸 Me carga cuando los obreros me gritan “mijita rica” en la calle. No es ningún piropo.
🇬🇧 I hate it when construction workers shout “hot chick” at me on the street. It is no compliment.
🇪🇸 Cuando (yo) tenía dieciséis años era una yegua – carreteaba, pololeaba, hacía la cimarra todo el tiempo.
🇬🇧 When I was sixteen, I was a real “trouble girl” – I would party, date, and cut classes all the time.
Just like I said at the beginning of this post: I absolutely love the everyday language. It is much “juicier” and vibrant than the proper RAE Spanish 😉
