Each city has its own way of saying some words, in the case of Quito some phrases or words are derived from Quichua, which is until today the language of indigenous people. The mix between Spanish and Quichua has resulted in some phrases that normally do not exist in the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language but are very common when speaking with native Ecuadorian speakers.
Ecuaidioma shows you the top 5 phrases that are used in Quito-Ecuador. Surely this information will be very useful for you.
«La Yapa por favor«: People in Quito usually negotiate with sellers, especially in popular markets. For example, it is very common that when you buy fruit you say to the person who sells «La Yapa por favor». With this magic word, you can get an extra amount of what you bought.
Estoy camellando en: The word camellando has the meaning of working, when a person says Estoy camellando en, it means that they are working somewhere. The origin of the word is because it was believed that the camels in the desert spent long days working.
«Chévere»: This word is very common in other Latin American countries such as: Panama, Venezuela and Colombia. Chévere means cool, awesome. For example: Pedro’s party was chévere, the movie we saw yesterday was chévere, or the trip to the Middle of the World was chévere. You will definitely hear this word many times if you travel to Ecuador
Ya no jalo: Normally this word is widely used in the Quito city. «Ya no jalo» means, I am very tired but it is more associated with a physical effort. For example, if I’m climbing a mountain and I feel like I can’t do it is common to say “Ya no jalo”. In the same way, if I’m running a marathon and I feel pain in my feet, I can also say «Ya no jalo.«
Chuta: It is very common to hear a Quiteño say the word «chuta» at the end of a sentence. Although the meaning of this word is a bit ambiguous, it usually means Oh my god this is a big problem. For example, if a friend tells you that he broke up with his girlfriend, a man from Quito always says «chuta» as a signal of concern for his friend’s situation.
We hope the information is useful when you want to travel to Ecuador!!.