# Everyday Mexican words: chamba, lana, chavo, antojitos, cruda

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

**Summary.** Core mexicanismos beyond slang interjections: chamba (job/work), lana/varo (money), chavo/a (kid/guy), morro/a (kid), cruda (hangover), antojitos (street snacks), and the all-purpose intensifier bien.

Work and money: chamba is a job or work (chambear = to work), lana and varo mean money ('dough'), and no traigo varo = 'I've got no cash'. People: chavo/a and morro/a are a young person/kid, ruco/a is an old person, chaparro/a is a short person, and a compa is a buddy (from compadre).

Daily life: cruda is a hangover (andar crudo), la cruda moral is next-day regret; antojitos are the classic street snacks (tacos, quesadillas, sopes); the corner tienda is often the abarrotes; a camión is a city bus (not just a truck) and a combi/pesero a shared minivan; and chela is a beer. Padre/chido cover 'cool' (see the slang rule).

Grammar-flavored tics: bien works as 'very' before adjectives (está bien caro = 'it's really expensive'), often replacing muy in speech. Qué padre / qué chido = 'how cool'. Ándele/órale sit between vocabulary and interjection. A couple dozen of these words, plus the interjections and diminutives, unlock everyday Mexican conversation.

## Examples
- Ando buscando chamba, no traigo nada de lana. — I'm looking for work, I've got no money at all. *(chamba = work; lana = money.)*
- Vamos por unos antojitos y una chela. — Let's go get some street snacks and a beer. *(antojitos = street food; chela = beer.)*
- Amanecí bien crudo, no manejo. — I woke up really hungover, I'm not driving. *(crudo = hungover; bien = very.)*

Related: regional.mx.slang-common, regional.mx.diminutives-ahorita, regional.mx.formality

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