# Everyday Chilean words: cachái, weón, bacán, pololo, fome

> id: regional.cl.lexicon · category: regional · depth: standard · levels: A2 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** A survival kit of chilenismos: cachái (get it?), weón/hueón (dude/idiot), bacán (awesome), fome (boring), pololo/a (boyfriend/girlfriend), la raja (great), cuático (intense/weird), al tiro (right away).

The keystone is weón (written hueón/güeón, from huevón). Like Argentine boludo it swings from insult to affectionate 'dude' purely on tone: ese weón (that guy), no seai weón (don't be an idiot), weón, ¿cómo estai? (dude, how are you?). It also works as a filler.

Judgments: bacán and la raja and filete mean 'great/awesome'; fome means 'boring/lame'; cuático means 'intense, over-the-top, or weird'; penca is 'crummy'. People and life: pololo/a is a steady boyfriend/girlfriend (pololear = to date), cabro/a chico is a little kid, la once is the evening tea-meal, and carrete is a party (carretear = to party).

Time and manner: al tiro means 'right away', altiro nomás 'right now', and la raja / bacán double as enthusiastic yes. Cachái ('you get it?') punctuates nearly every sentence. A dozen of these plus po and the voseo verb forms and you sound recognizably Chilean.

## Examples
- Oye weón, ¿cachái la fiesta del sábado? Va a estar bacán. — Hey dude, you know about Saturday's party? It's gonna be awesome. *(weón = dude; cachái = you know?; bacán = awesome.)*
- Esa película estaba súper fome. — That movie was really boring. *(fome = boring/lame.)*
- Voy al tiro, espérame en la esquina con tu polola. — I'll be there right away, wait for me at the corner with your girlfriend. *(al tiro = right away; polola = girlfriend.)*

Related: regional.cl.voseo-mixed, regional.cl.po-particle, regional.cl.speech-speed

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