Dominican Spanish→English

Translate Dominican Spanish to English the way locals mean it.

Dominican Spanish speakers often turn greetings, placeholders, and time expressions into meanings that a textbook reader would take too literally.

Going the other way? English to Dominican Spanish

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Spanish varieties

What locals actually say

¿Qué lo qué, todo bien?

What’s up, you good?

Qué lo qué is a fixed casual greeting, not a literal question about what something is.

¿Y tú va’ a seguir con esa vaina?

Are you really going to keep this up?

Vaina is a very informal placeholder that can refer to a situation, problem, or behavior, not just a physical thing.

Espérame un chin, que ahora es que voy.

Give me a minute, I’m heading out now.

Chin means a little bit, while ahora es que voy emphasizes that leaving is happening only now.

Estoy limpio, no tengo ni un chele.

I’m flat broke, I don’t have a cent.

“Chele” is a Dominican colloquial word for a small coin or a little money, signaling an informal way to talk about being broke.

Para llegar al Malecón, coge un concho desde la esquina.

To get to the Malecón, take a shared taxi from the corner.

“Concho” is the Dominican term for a shared taxi, signaling local transportation and casual Dominican usage.

Dame un yaniqueque con salami, que tengo un hambre.

Get me a yaniqueque with salami, I’m starving.

“Yaniqueque” is a Dominican fried-dough snack, while “tengo un hambre” is a colloquial intensifier signaling strong hunger.

Mi mai dijo que el muchacho llega el domingo.

My mom said the boy is getting here Sunday.

“Mai” is the informal Dominican clipped form of “mamá,” signaling familiar, casual speech.

El jefe ta’ quillao porque llegué tarde por el tapón.

The boss is pissed because I was late because of the traffic jam.

“Ta’ quillao” reflects Dominican consonant dropping and means “is annoyed,” while “tapón” is the Dominican everyday word for a traffic jam.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How Dominican Spanish differs

Dominican Spanish. Tú informal; local colour where casual: qué lo qué, vaina (very informal), guagua for bus, chin for a little bit, concho for shared taxi.

Sound like a local everywhere, not just here.

Every one of 474 dialects, with voice, camera, a keyboard for any app, and offline packs.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way