Spanish grammar
Río de la Plata Spanish beyond vos: che, ¿viste?, re, laburo
Follow a caller from Buenos Aires: che, ¿viste?, re, laburo, pibe, dale.
From the scene ¿Viste, che? (See, mate?)
In short
Buenos Aires: che gets attention, ¿viste? checks you follow, re before an adjective means very (re lindo). Laburo is work.
Your turn
Which one goes with you know? / see??
Options: re lindo · ¿viste? · che, Elena
Show answer
you know? / see? → ¿viste?
How it works
Che gets someone's attention, like oye; ¿viste? checks that you follow, like ¿sabes?; dale, as you know, means OK, go on.
Good to know
Re before an adjective or adverb means very: re lindo, re bien (usually written apart there; the RAE spells it joined, relindo).
Good to know
Laburo (work, from Italian) and pibe or piba (kid, young person) are everyday words. In Buenos Aires, ll and y sound like a French j or an English sh.
hey, Elena (getting attention) che, Elena
Elena
«Che, Elena, el pibe del sonido es re bueno, ¿viste?»
"Hey, Elena, the sound guy is really good, you know?"
Your turn
What fills the gap?
«(blank), el pibe del sonido es re bueno, ¿viste?»
Options: Laburo · Che, Elena · Re lindo
Show answer
Elena
«Che, Elena, el pibe del sonido es re bueno, ¿viste?»
"Hey, Elena, the sound guy is really good, you know?"
you know? / see? ¿viste?
Javi
¿El pibe soy yo? Che es «oye», y ¿viste?, «¿sabes?».
Am I the "pibe"? Che means "hey", and viste means "you know?".
Your turn
What fills the gap?
¿El pibe soy yo? Che es «oye», y ¿(blank)?, «¿sabes?».
Options: Elena · re lindo · viste
Show answer
Javi
¿El pibe soy yo? Che es «oye», y ¿viste?, «¿sabes?».
Am I the "pibe"? Che means "hey", and viste means "you know?".
really lovely re lindo
Elena
¿Que el programa es re lindo? ¡Gracias, Facundo!
The show is really lovely? Thank you, Facundo!
Your turn
What fills the gap?
¿Que el programa es (blank)? ¡Gracias, Facundo!
Options: viste · re lindo · che, Elena
Show answer
Elena
¿Que el programa es re lindo? ¡Gracias, Facundo!
The show is really lovely? Thank you, Facundo!
work / kid, young guy laburo / pibe
Elena
Nos escucha desde el laburo, con un mate.
He listens to us at work, with a cup of mate.
Your turn
What fills the gap?
Nos escucha desde el (blank), con un mate.
Options: Elena · viste · laburo
Show answer
Elena
Nos escucha desde el laburo, con un mate.
He listens to us at work, with a cup of mate.
OK, go on dale
Elena
¿Que vuelve al laburo? Dale, Facundo. ¡Chau, pibe!
Back to work? Right, Facundo. Bye, kid!
Your turn
What fills the gap?
¿Que vuelve al laburo? (blank), Facundo. ¡Chau, pibe!
Options: Dale · Elena · Viste
Show answer
Elena
¿Que vuelve al laburo? Dale, Facundo. ¡Chau, pibe!
Back to work? Right, Facundo. Bye, kid!
Common mistake
Not pibe or che here. Where he is: at work.
Nos escucha desde el laburo, con un mate.
He listens to us at work, with a cup of mate.
Practise it in the story
Meet this rule inside a short animated scene. Answer as it plays, then say the lines yourself.
Practise free in the appSee all forms
| hey, Elena (getting attention) | che, Elena |
|---|---|
| you know? / see? | ¿viste? |
| really lovely | re lindo |
| work / kid, young guy | laburo / pibe |
| OK, go on | dale |
More lines from the story
- NuriaAllí tengo un tío abuelo, Xosé. De niña le mandaba dibujos.I have a great-uncle there, Xosé. As a child I sent him drawings.