BajaNomad

¡ostras!

pauldavidmena - 10-19-2021 at 10:13 AM

I'm taking a remote Spanish class with a teacher from Mexico (CDMX, to be specific), and yesterday we got on the topic of exclamations. I knew about ¡aguas! - which is roughly translated as "Watch out!" , but he mentioned that ¡ostras! - literally "oysters" - is often used as an expression of surprise. Has anyone ever heard this used in Baja?

nbentley1 - 10-19-2021 at 11:01 AM

Used in Spain for sure.

pauldavidmena - 10-20-2021 at 05:08 AM

I've always been fascinated by regional expressions; after all, I live in a place where "wicked" means "good".

pauldavidmena - 10-20-2021 at 08:29 AM

Quote: Originally posted by lencho  
Quote: Originally posted by pauldavidmena  
I've always been fascinated by regional expressions;

Idem.

I read most Spanish transparently, but I'm currently in the middle of "Cubacuentos" by Wilfredo López (colloquial Cuban dialect) and have had to break out the dictionary.

Nevertheless, I have a Puerto Rican friend reading the same work who understands it perfectly; guess Antillean Spanish is shared across the islands. :cool:


I grew up hearing Puerto Rican Spanish, so I could comprehend most of it (but not speak it). Likewise, I've been able to follow Dominican Spanish, which is fairly similar. More recently most of my studying has involved Mexican and Colombian Spanish, both of which I find easier to comprehend (and speak) than "Island Spanish".

:?: