regional.py.lexicon-everyday

Everyday Paraguayan words: che, argel, kaigue

Starter kit: che (hey/mate), na (softener), luego (emphatic), argel (annoying person), karai (sir/Mr.), mitã (kid), kaigue (listless). Many are Guaraní.

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Explanation

A starter kit: che (hey/mate, general address), na (softener), luego (emphatic), argel (an annoying or unpleasant person), karai (sir/Mr., Guaraní), mitã (kid), and kaigue (listless/lazy). Much of the high-frequency vocabulary is Guaraní.

Guaraní words saturate casual speech, especially for people, feelings, and food. Learning a dozen high-frequency items (che, na, luego, argel, karai) makes Paraguayan conversation far easier to follow.

A few more high-frequency items: purete ('great, cool'), vyro / vyrorei ('silly, nonsense'), ka'u ('drunk'), and mbore ('no way'). Note that nde (literally Guaraní 'you') is used to hail someone but can sound blunt or rude depending on tone — safer to recognize than to deploy early.

Examples

Ese tipo es medio argel.
That guy is kind of unpleasant.

Region: PY

Vamos, che, no seas kaigue.
Come on, mate, don't be so listless.

Region: PY

Ese auto está purete.
That car is really cool.

Region: PY

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