Nicaraguan Spanish→English

Translate Nicaraguan Spanish to English the way locals mean it.

Nicaraguan Spanish uses voseo, local slang, and softening phrases that can make a friendly message look more abrupt, literal, or confusing in a textbook translation.

Going the other way? English to Nicaraguan Spanish

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Spanish varieties

What locals actually say

¿Qué onda, vos? ¿Todo tuani?

Hey, what’s up? Everything good?

Vos is the familiar form of “you” in Nicaragua, while tuani means cool, good, or fine, not something related to a literal object.

Ese chele es mi primo.

That fair-skinned guy is my cousin.

Chele is a local term for a fair-skinned or sometimes blond person, often used as an informal description or nickname.

Dale pues, nos vemos al rato.

Alright then, see you later.

Dale pues signals easy agreement, like “okay then” or “sounds good,” rather than a command to give something.

¿Me prestás cien córdobas? Te los devuelvo el viernes.

Can you lend me a hundred córdobas? I’ll pay you back Friday.

Córdobas names Nicaragua’s currency, while prestás uses voseo and signals an informal Nicaraguan address.

Andá dos cuadras y doblá a la izquierda.

Go two blocks and turn left.

Andá and doblá are voseo commands, a standard feature of everyday Nicaraguan speech.

Pasame el gallo pinto, porfa.

Pass me the gallo pinto, please.

Gallo pinto refers to a staple Nicaraguan rice-and-beans dish, and pasame is an informal voseo command.

Vos mandame el archivo antes del mediodía, porfa.

Send me the file before noon, please.

Mandame paired with vos uses the voseo command form, signaling a casual Nicaraguan workplace exchange.

Está cayendo un palo de agua, mejor quedémonos aquí.

It’s pouring rain, so we’d better stay here.

Palo de agua is a colloquial Nicaraguan expression for a heavy downpour.

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

How Nicaraguan Spanish differs

Nicaraguan Spanish. Voseo standard (vos sos); local colour where casual: tuani for cool, chele for fair-skinned person, dale pues as agreement.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way