Languages of Colombia

Spanish is the official language of Colombia — and you may have heard the claim that Colombians speak the clearest, “purest” Spanish in Latin America. There’s something to it: the accent of the capital, Bogotá, is famously crisp and easy to follow. But travel the country and you’ll find a different lilt in every region, plus some of the most colorful slang on the continent.

Spanish, Region by Region

If you have any Spanish at all, you’ll likely understand the rolos (as Bogotá natives are known) just fine — their neutral, well-enunciated accent is so clear it’s even used to train Spanish-language software. Venture out, though, and the music changes: on the Caribbean coast around Cartagena, locals speak fast and loud and drop their “s”; in the Andean south the cadence softens almost to a whisper; and the paisa accent of Medellín has a sing-song charm all its own. Linguists count some 11 main dialects across the country.

Beyond Spanish

Colombia is one of the most linguistically diverse nations in the Americas, with around 65 Indigenous languages still spoken — among them Wayuu, on the Caribbean’s La Guajira peninsula. There are also two remarkable Creole languages: Palenquero, the only Spanish-based Creole in the world, spoken in the village of San Basilio de Palenque; and an English-based Creole on the islands of San Andrés and Providencia. Most Colombians study English at school and enjoy practicing it, and in hotels, restaurants and the main tourist spots you’ll find it spoken well — as are all of our guides.

Talk Like a Colombian

Half the fun of Colombia is its slang. You won’t need all of it, but a few of these will make the locals light up:

• ¿Qué más? — “What’s up?” / “How’s it going?”, the standard friendly greeting
• ¡Qué chévere! / ¡Qué bacano! — How cool! How great!
• Parcero / parce — buddy, mate
• ¡De una! — “Let’s do it!” / “Absolutely!”
• Sumercé — a charming, old-fashioned way of saying “you” respectfully, still heard around Bogotá and Boyacá (a child might thank a parent with “gracias, sumercé”)
• ¡Qué pena! — “I’m sorry” / “how embarrassing,” used constantly and very politely
• Mamar gallo — to joke around, to tease
• Tener guayabo — to be hungover
• Echar los perros — to flirt with someone
• Rumbear — to go out partying
• Camello — work or a job (and camellar, to work hard)
• Una pola — a beer
• Por si las moscas — “just in case” (literally “in case of flies”)
• Fresco, todo bien — “relax, it’s all good”

Ready to put it to use? Browse our Colombia tours — with English-speaking local guides, you’ll catch every “¿qué más?”