Montevideo Carnival 2027 dates
Hot off the press! The world’s longest carnival is in Montevideo Uruguay and we’ve got the dates.
Find Guru’Guay products and services for your travel or relocation to Uruguay
Vacation
→
Relocation
→
…you hear these seven expressions like ALL THE TIME.
People from Montevideo and Buenos Aires have a similar accent when they speak Spanish*. As an English-speaker you can be forgiven for thinking that they sound exactly the same.
But some words and expressions are a dead give-away that the person you are speaking to is a Uruguayan.
Seven expressions to listen out for and know – you’re in Uruguay now.
Used in the same myriad ways an English-speaker uses “OK”. It is a shortened form of the word “está” meaning “it is”. Uruguayans pepper it throughout their speech.
Roughly translates as man or mate and is used similarly. It is the shortened form of “botija” which is a slang word for kid or kiddo. Uruguayans also use “che”, but Argentinians never use “bo”. Here you may hear the double-barrelled “che, bo!”, like hey, man!
Roughly translates as “it’s cool” or “don’t stress”. Typically used with bo and che! As in “Che, bo, todo bien!” It’s an ultra-flexible phrase Uruguayans use to shrug off an annoying or depressing situation like water rolling off a duck’s back. Its ubiquity illustrates their unruffled demeanour.
Plays a similar role to “todo bien” and the two are often used consecutively. Someone did something to piss you off but you are going to let it go? Uruguayans say: Todo bien bo, vamo’ arriba. Can also be used to give someone encouragement.
I was in Buenos Aires recently and declared “¡Divino día!” or “Lovely day!” The Uruguayan with me gasped, you can tell you’ve been living in Montevideo for years, no one in Buenos Aires would ever use that expression!
A multi-use slang word meaning difficult, amazing, enormous, depending on the context. It’s literal meaning is salty.
This one just cracks me up. Basically these exclamations are used to express disbelief or astonishment. Kind of like No way! A variation is ¡PAAA!
* They pronounce the double “ll” and “y” like zzhh, so “uruguayo” (Uruguayan) is pronounced oo-roo-GW-EYE-zzhoh, not oo-roo-GW-EYE-yo as it would be in most of Latin America. (Btw, to the rest of Latin America, this accent sounds super sexy – perhaps a reason to learn Spanish in Uruguay?? 🙂 )
Extracted from: The Guru’Guay Guide to Montevideo
Photo: Jimmy Baikovicius
Montevideo Carnival 2027 dates
Hot off the press! The world’s longest carnival is in Montevideo Uruguay and we’ve got the dates.
Namasté — Vegetarian restaurant in Montevideo
Namasté is more than just a vegetarian restaurant in Montevideo. This colourful, family-run spot has been serving vegetarian and vegan food since 2008. And the food is only part of the experience. Come for a relaxed meal, stay for the atmosphere, the friendly service and the chance to slow down for a while.
Dance tango in Uruguay. Whether a complete newbie or you already dance, the tango scene in Montevideo is a great way to make friends.
Estancia Los Plátanos – Authentic 6th generation ranch
Venture into deep Uruguay to Estancia Los Platanos, a working ranch. Just 3 guestrooms—and there’s a gorgeous indoor pool.
Nominate your favourites for the 2027 Montevideo Guru’Guay guide
Do you love a business in the capital that absolutely MUST be in our next best selling Montevideo guidebook?
Ignacio Fuentes, RE/MAX – Recommended Montevideo realtor
Montevideo real estate made easy—foreigners trust this realtor for smooth, reliable rentals and property purchases.
Estancia El Cangüé – Cattle & roses in Paysandú
Home to Uruguay’s biggest rose collection, this 200 year west Uruguay estancia is the perfect destination for outdoor adventure or a wedding.
Martín Pescador – Sierras ranch 1 hr from ocean
Just an hour inland from the beaches of Punta and José Ignacio, the perfect Uruguay estancia, horse riding and trekking.
Uruguay LGBT rights – A trailblazer for over a century
Did you know Uruguay is among the most LGBT-friendly countries worldwide? Small nation. Big equality record.
TEFL Uruguay: new qualification for foreigners and Uruguayans to teach English abroad
TEFL Uruguay comes to Montevideo in 2027: Four-week face-to-face training for foreigners and English-fluent locals.
Did you know Uruguay is among the most LGBT-friendly countries worldwide? Small nation. Big equality record.
Despite its pint size population, Uruguay football has one of the most successful national teams in soccer history.
A member of the Guru’Guay team shares her great-aunt’s story, highlighting the dictatorship’s lasting impact on Uruguayans.
Uruguay is known for its progressive laws and society. So how come it fell under a dictatorship? Guru’Guay explains.
To check out authentic candombe in Uruguay, go to a street rehearsal. Where to go, how it works, what to do and what *not* to do.
An overview of Uruguay’s demographics —and what it reveals about national identity, Indigenous, Asian and Black people in Uruguay.
17 responses
Hola, qué quiere decir:
“se complico la puerta”
allá en Uruguay?
Alguien me dijo eso y no sé qué es…
Muy linda reseña de los modismos coloquiales de Uruguay. Faltan un montón, sobre todo los que se dicen en el resto de los departamentos, no solo de Montevideo o Canelones. Te paso otros muy comunes de escuchar: ¡cuchame! (Escúchame)¿tamos?(¿Estamos de acuerdo?), ¡Ta’loco!(Exclamación de asombro), ¡tatequieto!(¡Quédate quieto!), ¡tabien!(Está bien). Saludos desde Punta del Este
Sometimes, when I offer something like a coffee or greens from the garden, I get ‘bueno’ as an answer. In the beginning I tought that this sounds quite unpolite until I discovered that it was meant as ‘with pleasure’ 🙂
One uruguayismo that took me by surprise when I lived there for about 1.5 years was “No” in response to “Gracias” instead of “No hay de que” or similar “textbook” responses. The friendliness of the speaker completely belied the apparent brusqueness of the response.
Another Uruguayan expression for your list. When you ask someone for directions and they don´t know: “Pah, me mataste”, (you killed me!) meaning: I have no idea.
Love this! Great observation.
Excelente compilación de nuestro idioma!.. lmao…😂
Variacion de FAA puede ser FUAAA? He escuchado eso tambien. Saludos.
¡Sí! 🙂
Te olvidaste del: che vos! …y otra
que empieza p….y no es “pelota” de
fufbol.
♥️🇪🇸
Muchas gracias por tu comentarios a nuestros dichos y dialectos . Juro sacaste una carcajada con tu explicación …besos apretados de una Uruguaya y que tengas un bonito día .
jajaja! Gracias, Cristina!! besos, Karen
You make me smile explaining these uruguayeses in english… and explanations are spot on!
Thanks, Alvaro! We love it extra special when Uruguayans love what we do 😉 — best, Karen
Hi Karen! Nice and interesting web site, watch out that Uruguayan flag is the other way round than the one shown in the picture..
cheers
Hi, Karen. I was in Montevideo last year and picked up some of the uniquely Uruguayan terms from your book. I was at the bus station in Concordia, Argentina, when the woman sitting next to me asked if I minded her smoking. I said “Ta” and she got quite excited thinking she’d met a fellow Uruguayan! The book was very helpful in other ways, too!
So cool to hear, Douglas!!!