About this site

This site is a glossary of spoken colloquial Spanish in modern Spain. Each word or phrase has a short explanation and has the examples needed to understand its usage and full meaning. When due, their social or cultural context is explained as well.

What coloquialment.com is not and what it does not serve for

1. This is not a site for kids under age

   And particularly it is not intended for those under thirteen. The language and actions here described are inappropriate for younger people. Should any of them need to use this site, we strongly advise that it be done with adult supervision.

2. It is not an official source and it does not intend to be a mainstay of knowledge

   What we say here could be wholly and plainly wrong or, at least, doubtful. Whoever uses its content does it on his own risk and he is the only responsible of its consequences. The authors and owners of this web site are not answerable for the accuracy or truthfulness of its content, though it has been made with the best intention in mind so that it may be as accurate as their human limits let them to be.

3. It does not support nor backs anything said

   Within the aforesaid limits, this web site is just a witness and a register. We do not support or condemn any ideology implicit or explicit in a word or phrase —we have our own ideas, though. We just describe it and take note of its presence in the current spoken and colloquial variety of Spain's Spanish. Whenever possible, we try to give a hint of the implicit tone or ideology, so that the user may take heed of its full meaning and use.

4. It does not cover up any ugliness

   If an expression or phrase is sexist, racist, shocking or blaspheme… that is how it is. Its presence in this glossary does not mean we endorse it. Censhorship of racism, male chauvinism or verbal violence against sexual minorities is not our aim or purpose. This is just a mirror where you can see many of the failures of modern Spanish society. Whoever wants to erradicate them has our most fervent support. Whenever that is achieved, we will mark the term as "outdated" (but we won't delete it). Spoken languagues portrait their societies: Hopes, fears, handicaps, sense of humour… everything.

5. It is not a warez site

   Nothing that appears here, is suggested or linked, wishes in any way to promote any kind of illegal activity. References to drugs, money in exchange for sex, theft or alike are merely what they appear to be: a linguistic reference. Any mailing which promotes an illegal activity of any kind (specially those illegal in Spain) is absolutely forbidden and will be eliminated as soon as we become aware of it.

6. It is not a collection of unusual or strange expressions

   This is not a hip site to show off the latest fad among a minority and impress your friends. The person writing this has heard at least once what appears here and, as as matter of fact, uses these expressions frequently. In order for a word to be included in this glossary, there must be evidence that its use is or has been reasonably common.

7. It has no commitment whatsoever with its users

   What is published here appears by the the simple will and effort of the author. This effort can fade off or change at any moment and there is no commitment to maintain it.

8. It is not open source nor freeware and it does not lack authorship

   We cannot stop the theft of contents. We are aware of it, but that does not hinder us from saying that the content in this site is not public property nor free of use. You may send it to a friend, print it for own use... But you may not copy and paste it on another web site nor reproduce it in a printed work or alike. You cannot steal it, to say it simply.

   This is particularly applicable in reference to the audio documents that accompany the descriptions and the examples on how to pronounce words or phrases. Their public diffusion (commercial or not) in any other website or digital support is expressly and absolutely forbidden. However, individual users who wish to save these for personal use or study may do so freely. These may also be exchanged with other users for private use.

And who is in charge of all this?

The one and only responsible person for all this is yours truly: Gustavo Sánchez Muñoz, BA in Arabic Philology, MA in Journalism and a graphic designer in a nation-wide Spanish magazine who mantains two other web sites: gusgsm.com (a site with notes and tutorials on printed graphic design) and glosariografico.com (a glossary on graphic arts).

Sources

The scholarly sources of this glossay may be summed up as follows:

1. A wasted youth.

2. My being born in Melilla (a Spanish city in Northern Africa), some years living in Burgos (a town in central-northern Spain), some family relationships with Aragon (in the Central East of Spain) and some long summers in Algeciras (Near Gibraltar Rock) and the nearby of Motril, in Granada province...

No more, no less.

Gustavo Sánchez, 2024.

PS. We will try to have a sound example to show how a native speaker pronounces each term of the glossary —at least that is the project's aim somewhere in the near future.It's a work in slow progress ;).