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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