Best Sites To Learn Caribbean Spanish Slang (Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, & Cuba)

     

        At Bilingüe Blogs, we pride ourselves on teaching authentic Spanish, so that students can understand and communicate with natives in a natural way. Many slang words, and colloquial phrases are not taught in schools or other courses. Many dictionaries do not seem to contain them either. Typically, in order to learn these things, you have to befriend someone from the country that uses the dialect that you want to learn. Another option could be to travel or move to that country. Sometimes, neither of these options are possible, but there is no need to worry. You can learn practically anything online nowadays. With that being said, I would like to share with you some of the best sites for learning colloquial phrases and slang in Spanish. In this article we will only be investigating the Caribbean since they are close in proximity, and all have a very similar spoken dialect. 

**DISCLAIMER** This article is intended for intermediate and advanced students since MOST (not all)  of these websites translate slang into neutral Spanish that everyone can understand. The Spanish-English dictionary websites will have an asterisk (*) next to the number.

Universal Slang Sites

        I refer to the following sites as universal slang sites, because they do not teach the colloquial phrases and words of just one country, but rather all of them. Some of these are very similar to Urban Dictionary. You can type in a term, or phrase that you heard in a Reggaeton song, or in a movie or TV show, and most of the time you will find an accurate definition. Some of them will also tell you which countries use the phrase or term. This is extremely useful, because some words mean one thing in one dialect, and another thing in a different dialect. 

Sites that reveal the country to which a phrase/term belongs

        If you are looking for a certain phrase, but you are uncertain of the country that uses it, I recommend that you try one of the sites below. If you can not find your expression or word on one site, try searching for it on one of the others. 

1. Click here to visit site

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3. Click here to visit site

4.* Click here to visit site
(This site translates to English, but I don't love the format. It is still very helpful!)

Sites that do not reveal the country

        These sites do not allow you to search for terms, but it offers a decent-sized list of idioms and colloquial phrases, from many different Spanish speaking countries.

5.* Click here to visit site
(This site translates to English and has an awesome format.)

6.* Click here to visit site
(This site translates to English. Check the side panel to see what it has to offer.)

It may seem like a lot to go through, but do not worry. You do not have to check out all of them at once. Feel free to use them as resources to figure out things that you hear from natives, or just to learn vocabulary and colloquial phrases in your spare time.

Puerto Rican Slang

        There is a saying that big things come in small packages. With Puerto Rico that is true, in regards to the culture, as well as with the vocabulary. Since the early 2000s, thanks to Reggaeton, Puerto Rico has been sharing it's rich vocabulary throughout the world. However, it is sometimes not that easy to understand. Here are a few websites that will allow you to understand exactly what the Reggaeton songs are saying. Beyond that, these sites will allow you to see many of the typical phrases used in everyday Puerto Rican conversations.

1.Click here to check it out!*

(Great source and is in English)

2. Click here to visit site

3. Click here to visit site

4. Click here to visit site

Dominican Slang

        The Dominican Republic is the home of Merengue, Bachata, and Dembow. Sometimes in these musical genres, artists will use words that Spanish speakers or students from external countries might not understand right away. Check out these sites to find a few helpful phrases and slang that you may use as you become more acquainted with this beautiful dialect. 

1. Click here to visit site
(One of my favorites)

3. Click here to visit site

4. Click here to visit site

5. Click here to visit site

Cuban Slang

        Cuba is the biggest Spanish speaking island in the Caribbean. Just like the other islands have come up with their own way of communicating amongst each other, so have the people of Cuba. Learn the colorful vernacular of the Cubans with any and/or all of the websites below. Maybe you can surprise a few native Cubans by using the words and phrases that you learn here. Good luck!

1. Click here to visit site

2. Click here to visit site

3. Click here to visit site

4. Click here to visit site

(This site is actually in German, but the definitions and words are in Spanish.)

        Sometimes the phrase or word that you are looking for just can not be found online. At times like these, it would be wise to pose a question on a forum on sites like Wordreference.com. These forums are very helpful when dealing with a new colloquial word or phrase, because you get answers directly from natives of that country. Other's (non-natives) are allowed to pitch in as well, and usually do so, if they are pretty certain that they know the correct answer to the question. Hopefully you found these sources resourceful. If so, please share this post!