Would you ever imagine that memes could be your secret weapon to mastering Mexican Spanish?
Here's the deal – learning a language isn't just about vocabulary and grammar. It's also about understanding the culture, the humor, the inside jokes that no textbook can teach. And trust us, Mexicans love a good meme!
Think about it, meme's contain just a few words, so they are not overwhelming. But those few words give you an insight into what people are really talking about.
In this blog, we're going to concentrate on work-related words. These memes have been carefully selected to make sure you come away having learned a few useful words in Mexican Spanish, and also have a new understanding of Mexican work life and culture.
Here we have 2 great Mexican words which will make you sound like a local: Chamba – In Mexico, instead of using the traditional 'trabajo' for work, you'll often hear the word 'chamba.' So, if you're talking about your job, you might say, "Voy a la chamba" (I'm going to work).
Posada - Mexicans make a big deal out of Christmas. If you are in Mexico from December 16, you'll likely be invited to a lot of posadas. These are pre-Christmas parties and there are a lot of them! Most companies will throw a big Christmas party for their employees at the end of the year. These often include raffles, dancing, and a lot of alcohol. In the image, we can see the famous Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez and a scruffy lookalike.
godinez/godín - The stereotype of an overworked, underpaid office worker in Mexico, especially one who follows a monotonous 9-to-5 routine with little room for excitement or deviation.
quincena - In Mexico, workers are normally paid every 2 weeks (quince días) and so payday is known as the quincena.
tanda - Commonly godines will form groups in which each quincena every member contributes a set amount of money to the tanda. They take turns to be the recipient of the whole amount. For example, if there are 10 people in your tanda, you contribute $100 every payday and on the 10th payday, you receive $1,000.
ponerse la camiseta - literally translating to "putting on the shirt". Figuratively, it means to show loyalty or commitment to your organization, like wearing your team's colors with pride.
horas extras - literally means extra hours but when we are talking about work, this can be translated as overtime.
Unfortunately, it's very common for workers in Mexico to be expected to work beyond their contracted hours. It's not so common for them to be paid for these extra hours, though.
te toca tabajar - This is a colloquial way of saying that you have to work. Of course you could say: tengo que trabajar but this meme shows you how to sound like a real Mexican!
correr - you may know this word as meaning run but did you know that it means fire as in to be fired from your job?
equis - literally the letter "x". In Mexico, this is used a lot to say that things are the same. In this case, saying "Ay, equis" is like it's all the same to me or I don't care.
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