Food is famously variable across the Spanish-speaking world, but so are the everyday objects of modern life. The names for cars, phones, computers, clothing, and household items can change from country to country — and, just as often, between Latin America and Spain as a whole.
This page collects the most common ones a learner will encounter on their first trip or their first season of TV.
Transportation Objects at Home
The word for "car" is a classic point of variation:
| Country / region | Preferred word for "car" |
|---|---|
| Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Central America | carro |
| Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay | auto |
| Spain | coche |
All three words are understood everywhere; they just aren't all preferred everywhere. Coche in Mexico sounds like a Spaniard talking; auto in Colombia sounds a bit stiff or bookish; carro in Argentina sounds slightly Caribbean or North-American.
¿Viniste en carro o en metro?
Did you come by car or by metro? (Mexico / Colombia)
Technology
The technology lexicon is one of the sharpest Latin America vs. Spain divides. Latin America tends to calque from English; Spain tends to coin its own words.
| English | Latin America | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| computer | computadora (f.) | ordenador (m.) |
| cell phone | celular | móvil |
| laptop | laptop / computadora portátil | portátil |
| printer | impresora | impresora |
| screen | pantalla | pantalla |
| mouse | mouse / ratón | ratón |
| correo / email / mail | correo / email | |
| link | enlace / link | enlace |
Note also the gender and stress of computadora (feminine, stressed on -do-). Some regions, especially Chile and the Southern Cone, sometimes use computador (masculine) instead.
¿Me pasas tu número de celular?
Can you give me your cell phone number? (LatAm)
Se me descompuso la computadora.
My computer broke down. (Mexico / Caribbean)
Tengo que cargar el celular.
I need to charge my phone.
Clothing
| English | Mexico | Argentina / Uruguay | Chile / Andes |
|---|---|---|---|
| t-shirt | playera / camiseta | remera | polera / camiseta |
| sweater | suéter | pulóver / buzo | chaleco / chompa |
| jacket | chamarra | campera | chaqueta / parka |
| socks | calcetines | medias | calcetines |
| jeans | pantalón de mezclilla / jeans | jean / vaquero | jeans |
| flip-flops | chanclas | ojotas | hawaianas |
Hace frío, ponete una campera.
It's cold, put on a jacket. (Argentina)
Around the House
| English | Common LatAm words |
|---|---|
| fridge | refrigerador (Mexico), heladera (Argentina), nevera (Caribbean, Colombia), refri (casual) |
| pool | alberca (Mexico), piscina (almost everywhere else), pileta (Argentina, Uruguay) |
| bathroom | baño (universal); servicio (formal) |
| room | cuarto, habitación, pieza (Chile, Argentina) |
| bed | cama (universal) |
La heladera está vacía; tenemos que ir al supermercado.
The fridge is empty; we need to go to the supermarket. (Argentina)
Vamos a la alberca después del almuerzo.
Let's go to the pool after lunch. (Mexico)
Money and Business
Even the casual vocabulary of money varies:
- Cash: efectivo (universal, formal); plata (casual LatAm); lana (Mexico); guita (Argentina, slang).
- Money in general: dinero (formal), plata (most of LatAm), pasta or pelas (Spain slang).
- Bill / banknote: billete (universal).
- Change: cambio, sencillo, feria (Mexico, casual).
¿Tenés plata en efectivo?
Do you have any cash? (Argentina)
Necesito cambio para el autobús.
I need change for the bus.
Related Topics
- Lexical Differences: FoodB1 — Common food vocabulary that varies wildly by country in Latin American Spanish.
- Lexical Differences: TransportationB1 — Buses, taxis, trains, and other ways to get around, and why the word for bus is especially famous.
- Latin American Spanish OverviewA1 — How Latin American Spanish is unified on some features and split into many regional varieties on others.