Here's a running list of the words and phrases I've encountered so far in Paraguay!
The Guaraní is spelled phonetically, in terms of Spanish pronunciation.
Che - yo
Nde - tu/vos
Ha'e - el/ella
Saludos
Mba'e chapa : Como estás
Mba'e chapa nde coe : Como estás? (Mañana)
Mba'e tekoiko : Like qué tal, used between friends
Mba'e la porte: Same, casual greeting
Nya-mongarú: Not sure exactly, it's like awesome! Cool! And you do it with a special hand gesture where you make a scooping gesture with your fingers all pinched together like you're making a talking hand, and you brush your fingers against someone else's.
He: delicious, also means yes. Sometimes Paraguayans will say a drawn out "he" in agreement instead of using "si". It can be confusing at first if you don't know "he" means yes, because it almost sounds like they are surprised.
Eterei: very, muy
Hetereí: very delicious! Muy rico!
Iporã eterei: very good
Mba'e (co): What? What happened? People often add "co" at the end
Yaha: Vamos
Yaha jakarú: Vamos a comer almuerzo
Yaha jakaré: very different from the above phrase, this means let's go out with a boy/girl at night and do things behind closed doors if ya know what I mean....(I've been making the mistake of saying this phrase before every lunch and nobody ever corrected me!)
Iguapú (iguapy, with the "uh" sound at the end): sentáte
Ajú (with hard j sound): vení/ven acá
Opa: finished, se acabó
Che caiguay: I'm lazy and don't feel like doing anything
Che shiko: my boy, aka boyfriend
Che shika: my girl, aka girlfriend
Animales
Jakarel: crocodilo
Maracayá: gato
Yow-wá: perro
Iguasú: gallina
Vacá: vaca (super easy)
Caballú: caballo
Curé: cerdo/chancho
Karumbe: horse drawn cart
Bebidas
Cocido: mate quemado or plain mate with sweet hot milk. Often really sweet
Mate: The lifeblood of Paraguayans. They drink it before breakfast, at midday, and at night before dinner. It's said to be good for digestion and appetite. Also contains stimulant, which I've been told isn't caffeine but I once drank way too much at home and was wired the whole day!
Mate dulce: my favorite drink on earth. Mate with milk that contains burnt sugar, sometimes made by putting a hot charcoal into sugar and adding the charcoal to the milk, giving it a nice smoky flavor.
Tereré: a cold drink which is awesome on a hot day. You put herbs in a pitcher of ice water, pour
Comida
Galletas: Like pan, but more dry. It's always eaten for breakfast with cocido, with things like empanadas, or with mermalada or dulce de leche.
Kabure: comida tipica, like chipa batter cooked on the end of a large stick over a charcoal grill
Mandi'o: mandioca
Mandi'o chyryry: mandioca cooked with cheese and egg
Pastel de mandi'o: Like an empanada made of mandioca
Milanesa: breaded fried meat, usually pork. You'll find it sold as a sandwich in bus terminals and many eateries
Pancho: hotdog
Numbers: most people only use 1-3 in guarani, oftentimes just using "petei" as the preposition "un" or "una"
1- peteí
2- mocoi
3- bohapy (pronounced bohapuh)
4- irundy
5- po (also means hand, because holding five fingers shows your whole palm!)
To continue counting, add "po" to every number. Example, 6- potei, 7- pocoi, etc.
10- pa
To continue, add "pa". Example, 11- patei, 12- pacoi
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