Ethnic Slang Words
Do you sometimes wonder what ethnic slang words are and what they mean? This article will explore different ethnic groups and some of their common slang words along with their definitions.
What Does Ethnic and Slang Mean?
Let’s look at some definitions first. The definition of ethnic is “being a member of an ethnic group, esp. of a group that is a minority within a larger society.” So this could be any group that shares common culture, background, religion, or language.
Slang words are words that are outside of the regular, accepted language of the country. The words will be understood within a group and is one of the ways language evolves. Some slang expressions become widely used, and are soon a part of everyday language. Slang words can be a brand new word, a word with a different meaning, or an abbreviation.
To help explain ethnic slang words, let’s go over what slang is not. Slang is not jargon, advertising slogans, dialect, colloquialism, or catch phrases. It is also not graffiti or a special language made up and used by a secret group.
Ethnic Slang Words
For the purpose of this article, we will look at Black slang, Mexican slang, and other common slang expressions.
Black Slang
Black slang is an informal way of speaking used mostly by African Americans. There are several sources online where you can find definitions of black slang words. One of them is: Ebonics Translator.com
Here are some examples of black slang from this and other dictionaries:
- be easy - be calm
- bling - very shiny jewelry
- churrin - children
- crunk - excited, enthusiastic
- dis - harass
- finna - about to do something
- fitty - fifty
- folks - people or acquaintances
- grill - face or personal space
- jocking my style - copycatting
- kicks - shoes
- mad - many
- mo - more
- off the hinges - outstanding
- peep - friend; to look at something
- po-po - the police
- rollout - to leave
- shoot the five - to fight
- tight - cool or nice
- vibe - how you feel
- yayo - money
- yo - a greeting; short for “your”
Mexican Slang
Mexicans are another ethnic group that has their own slang words and expressions. Here are some examples from Mexico Guru.com:
- animal - dude
- bajon - bummer
- burro - idiot
- canija - rascal
- dos tres - so-so
- especial - odd duck
- fodonga - sloppy
- horrors - tons, lots
- loco de remate - out of his mind
- mamacita - a pick up word meaning babe
- mariposa - gay or effeminate
- palanca - clout, pull
- pollo - illegal alien who pays to be smuggled across the border
- ruca - girlfriend
- sordeando - pretending to be deaf
- tipazo - hunk
- varos - pesos (money)
- vato lo lo - man, buddy
Other Slang Expressions
To finish this article on ethnic slang words, here are some common expressions in the United States from recent years. These are from Alpha Dictionary.com which has slang words from each decade. The following words and expressions are from 2000-2010:
- bouya! – expression of happiness or triumph
- bromance - friendship between males
- buzz - shave your head
- clean - alright
- cougar - an older woman dating a younger man
- cowboy up - get strong or tough
- digits - telephone number
- fall out - to sleep
- flex - to show off
- ghost – gone or disappeared
- green - ecologically responsible
- hottie - an attractive female
- in your lunch - being nosy
- ish - something very bad
- jump the couch - to lose control, go crazy
- maul - to hug and kiss
- nugget - your head
- obese - outstanding, excellent
- punk - to embarrass
- scooby doos - good shoes
- shorty - girlfriend
- surreal - unusual
- tat - tattoo
- there – liking something