It is impossible to visit Costa Rica without hearing this phrase continuously. This funny expression means awesome!, great! or how cool! If you want a tip to remember it, just keep in mind that chiva literally means goat - So, it would be 'How goat!'.For Ticos, the term 'Pura Vida' is an expression of happiness, optimism, and living life to the fullest. But the truth is that this warm nickname might be used by adults too. Kids from Costa Rica call their fathers tata. But be aware that too much guaro will bring you a goma! - a hangover. It can be also a wide term meaning just alcohol drinks. If you learn the term guaro, you will also need to know the meaning of goma! Guaro refers to alcohol beverages made from sugar cane, like rum. On evenings or during the weekend you will probably see friends playing a mejenga. 'You should meet John, he’s tuanis.', could be a good example. No matter if you are talking about a person, a place or an activity, tuanis is the Costa Rican for awesome, cool or nice. Also, diay could stand for What do you mean? or What happened? Sometimes you will hear the term as a linguistic filler, if they take a pause when talking.įor example, 'Do you think you will you meet her again? Diay, I don’t know.' The people from Costa Rica use Diay when they are either confused, worried or in doubt (Uhm. Ticos play with the term among friends, but when used with someone you don’t know it could be offensive. Among men, it is also slightly pejorative. It can also refer to a woman, but that’s not so usual and it may have a pejorative meaning. For instance, 'I met that mae some days ago'. Meaning guy or dude, it is widely used among friends, but it can also simply mean man. Walking down the street you will probably hear mae many times if you come across a group of young people. For example 'Shall we go to the beach today? I cannot come, I have too much brete.' Or, 'I am looking for a brete near my home.' It means work, indeed, but they could also use it as a synonym of job or workplace. If a tico is talking about work, you will definitely hear the word brete. It could describe a wonderful beach where to practice surf or a great restaurant for eating gallo pinto. It is a term used to express that something is great. One would be 'Mas tico que el gallo pinto', which means 'More Costa Rican than rice and beans' (a delicious local recipe you will love). There are some nice expressions that show how popular the word Tico is. This is a nice example of how ticos love diminutives and they tend to create them by adding -tico as a suffix. Tico is the short form for Costa Rican - a man. For example, if you say 'Goodbye, Lucas', the response might be 'Pura vida!' Or iv you say 'Hi, my name is Ana' the response might also be 'Pura vida, I am Lola'. Pura vida could stand for nice to meet you, thank you, see you later, you are welcome, as well as great! For instance, you may hear Pura vida as a reply to your kind goodbye. It simply means 'Pure life', but you will see that locals use it in many ways.

Tico definition