Panama Top 10: “Spanish” Words that Sound Curiously English
My first three favorites have to do with cars. It seems like at every intersection in Panama City there is a car-wash, an auto-body shop, or someone walking down the road with his own personal squirt bottle of suds and squeegee waiting to give your car a cleanin’.
1. Wishy Washy- windshield wipers
2. Rins- car rims
3. Revosh- to reverse
Ask any Panamanian where Reggaeton originated and they will tell you Panama, duh. For my next few curiously English words I would like to explore the lexicon of Reggaeton, some of my favorite dance music.
4. Blin Blin- bling aka jewerly
5. Tripear- you’re trippin’
6. Hanguear- to hang out
7. Backeo- back it up, back it up
8. Remis- like you hear constantly in rap songs, it’s da REmix.
9. Respet- I believe this one is also borrowed from rap music, you’ll often hear live Reggaeton singers shouting for the crowd to respect, respect.
Last, but not least, my favorite widely used Panamanian slang word:
10. Fren- just like it sounds, my friend.
| Written by Cailey Halloran |
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Filed under: Country Guide on March 10th, 2008
I enjoy ordering Peksi (the popular soda) with a Pixsa (the popular italian food).
Fren and respect are two of many words used in reggaeton to further show the origin and influence of Jamaican/Panamanian.
Reggaeton originally from Puerto Rico
Spanish Reggae originally from Panama
i´ve compiled my own little list of favorites since i’ve been here and these are campo folks from the interior less affiliated with reggaeton/pop/car culture that throw these “spanish” words around regularly.
“pritty” should be number 1 for me since its the one i hear most frequently to mean cool or pretty .
“que eshow” meaning to make a scene
“que fashion” a response to someone dressed stylishly or flashy
“chopear” as in with your machete
buscar un “lif” to look for a lift or hitchhike
llevar “lonche” is to bring a bag lunch to work with you
ok thats all for now, just discovered this blog and already a big fan. chao!