AUDAZ REVISTA
¿Gordo?
Why Spanish speakers call the people they love fat, skinny and old.
01 / 09
Gordo
It means fat. Partners in Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia and Chile use it to mean my love.
Source: the academies' dictionary of American Spanish.
02 / 09
Gordito
Uruguay's language academy says the person called gordito does not need to be overweight.
The small ending -ito helps make it tender.
03 / 09
11
Countries where viejo or vieja, old one, can mean husband or wife.
Negro or negra can mean your partner in 10.
04 / 09
Flaca
It means skinny. In Peru, flaco or flaca can mean a romantic partner.
In Chile, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay, flaco is a casual way to address a young person.
05 / 09
Negrito
In 2020, Edinson Cavani wrote gracias negrito to a friend. England's FA banned him for 3 matches.
Uruguay's academy said the word could only be affectionate there.
06 / 09
Negrita
In Peru, a dessert brand called Negrita was renamed Umsha.
One Afro-Peruvian parent in a 2023 study said negrita is used as a put-down.
07 / 09
Corazón
It means heart. A 2019 study warns it can offend a stranger.
Above all when a man says it to a woman he doesn't know.
08 / 09
Mi cielo
My sky. The RAE lists it as a term of affection. Mi vida, my life, works the same way.
These never name the body.
09 / 09
Escucha
Start with mi cielo and mi vida. Use gordo only after someone uses it with you.
Listen first.
Tap for the full table, the sources and the safe ones to start with.