CANARY WORDS

Adapted foreign words to

Canarian Speech

CANARY WORDS (ANGLICISMS) Comes from English

Chinegua PotatoesKing Edward
Self-date potatoes Out of date
CambuyónCan buy on
You can buy on board
• Cambuyonero = Who sold illicit goods that they bought on board.
Funnel = funnel (from English)funnel
Chusos (derogatory for old shoe) =shoes
Sorchi (derogatory term for soldier) =soldier
Choni (derogatory, to make a (Juan in English)
fool of oneself)Johnny
tourists from the Yobart house (English ships that frequented)
liquid and apparatus for killing fliesFlies
English
Pitch = Tar (from Englishpitch
To pave
Small car (Fotingo)Ford -T goes!
march)
Industrial shedzinc roof (covered with zinc sheet)
Igueste de San Andrés / de Candelariahighest
Children's song: 'Mambrú' went to warLord Marlborough
Play Hide and SeekGirls, I go!
Cap = Combination of white drinks (Cup = cup in English, because
it was served in glass cups)
•Picú = Turntable (from Englishpick up
Guardian (from English)watching man
Orsay = offside (from English)off side
•Steak = piece of meat (from Englishbeefsteak
toilet (from English)water closed)
•Bowling ball = marble (from Englishball age)
Fos = disgust, plague (from English)faugh
Winch = winch or electric hoist (from Englishwinch)
Moni = money (from English)money
Queque = cake (from English)cake
Ticket = entry, ticket (from Englishticket
Trinque = drink / something new (from English)drink
Nife = knife (from Englishknife
Cachanchán = clumsy, John jump?
lazy (from EnglishCan
a botch, a makeshift solution (from English)Can come on?)

Page 1 of 9
 Canarian Words
•Bisne = business (from Englishbusiness)

Canarian Words (LUCISMS, coming from

Portugal
•Abanar = to say goodbye with hands / to fan the fire
kisses
twisted
owl
soaked
hunched, curled up
debris / a lot of heavy food
to spread one's legs
to crush
Nasal congestion
bolt
stutterer
Bottle = a type of large bottle for liquids
Geito = movement that causes pain / knack
Lambusiar = to lick
Line = cord for hanging clothes
Magua = sorrow, desire
Nothing more = no more
never again
corn
hunchback
Interest = flat rate
Roll = something cylindrical
rascal, scoundrel
To grab
beating

Canarian Words (ARABISMS, originating from and

Arab countries

small cupboard
Albacore = species of tuna
piggy bank
Alforza = folds in the fabric
water reservoir
almanac
mortar
Almud = measure of area

Page 2 of 9
 CANARIAN WORDS
irrigation canal
irrigation canal
Celemín = measure of capacity and area
Border = overlay list for decoration
Dula = measure for the distribution of water
lock, latch
Fanega = measure of capacity and surface
medicinal herb
Zalea = fabric or animal skin to cover the mattress

Canarian words (LATIN AMERICANS,

from the countries of Americans who speak Spanish
peas
fool
drainpipe
lips
Cachetón/cachetada = slap given with the hand on the face
to start (a fight or argument)
bus
fool
hoe
Guayabo = beautiful woman (compliment)
Caribbean shirt
party
peanut
mamarracho
boy, kid
Singüanguo = silly, without grace
Tonga = pile of things
•Clothespin = hairpins

CANARY AUTOCHTHONOUS WORDS (That only

they speak in the Canary Islands or are they originated in the Canary Islands

bumblebee
Abollado = very full of food
To conserve = to save, not to spend everything, to eat slowly
sharpener
unpleasant, insulting
stingy, selfish
To be skillful
Chirping water = something very liquid, without body
Hail Mary!

Page 3 of 9
 CANARY WORDS
to talk a lot, to criticize
Arrayar = to score a point, to give reason
Curl up = to wrap oneself in something, to get very close to a person
Arripiar = to produce chills
useless thing
To throw up = to vomit
chamber pot
strips taken from dry banana leaves (baskets, etc)
rascal, rogue
cube
Bañera = Michelin on the belly
kid
•Batata = sweet potato/ fool, dull
Beletén = colostrum of ruminants after giving birth
Belillo = dumb, uneducated, rude
Berijas = low parts of man or woman
Bernegal = clay vessel with moss
beetroot
tenderloin
Toasted (bread)
Blocks = large cement bricks
informed, fool
•Laid-back = easy, thrown
a type of round zucchini
Buche = sip of liquid/infant's vomit
Burgado = sea snail or marine spiral
Cabraloca = crazy woman, wild
•Hips = hips, buttocks / to be strong
Cacho = piece, chunk
hookah
Cachivache = small and useless thing
beanie / strong and thick woman
diarrhea
extreme heat
currency exchange
Top/Bottom = upper or lower part of a place
Back song = back part of
brown
Cartridge = bag or paper wrapper
beach pebble
Cerce = cut from below (to truncate)
Cisco = weed or something very small

Page 4 of 9
 Canarian Words
comic
spinal column
popcorn
colored pencils (from the French crayon)
Cuerada = whipping with a belt
Chafalmeja = a person who does everything wrong
Cho/Cha = sir/madam
lupins
slaves, sneakers
splash
earth snail
Chupa = child's pacifier
lollipop
Give a tollina = beating with some rolled-up towels used as a whip
Restless = one who does not stop moving
fainting
Emboste = to be fed up with food (cow dung)
•Warped = twisted, deformed (wood)
Emperifollado = very well dressed
Emperretado = determined to achieve something
Encochinado = very angry and aggressive
To coax = to try to persuade with trickery
wrinkle
•Dirty = to make a deposit (Go get dirty!)
smart aleck, know-it-all
Enyugado = choked by too much food in the mouth
Okay, agreed
Escaldón = kneaded gofio
•Comb = to untangle hair with a brush
broom
to break
To be dehorned = to collide (a dehorned goat has had its horns cut off)
small boat
•Farfullero = cheat, who does things in a disorderly and bad way
bangs
Fleje = a bunch of papers
Fisco = small piece or bit
mess, chaos, bonfire
dragonfly
match
chungo
Furrunguear = to strum the guitar without skill

Page 5 of 9
 Canarian words
Gajo = piece of a plant or a fruit
dive bar
drawer
Godo = person from the Peninsula (derogatory)
to gossip, to snoop
fruit segment
Goro = pigsty
Guanche = aborigine of Tenerife
Guachinche = bar, low-key tavern
cotton
flatulence
to cook, to boil
•Guirre = a type of vulture / to be as thin as a guirre
To talk = to be dating, falling in love
Haiga = big American car (from haiga)
green beans
spearmint
bowl, tazón
smoke
Indian = emigrant from Cuba who returns to the islands
Jaique = poorly made and loose dress (Sahara)
Pull = to pull something
Breathe in a gasping manner
Jandorra = a woman who is untidy and negligent in her duties
Jarea = dry and salted fish
Jareado = unwell, heated, tired (being like a jarea)
Jartada = extreme gluttony (stuffed)
stinky, filthy
Jimiquiar = crying out loud to get attention
Jiribilla = restless, nervous / anxiety in the stomach
to get annoyed
hunger
muzzle, snout
Jocicuda = cheeky
juice
bad woman / pest that attacks potatoes
macarra (of jewelry) / smooth living stone
piece
Lace = shoelace
lizard / fish
Light = light, that does not weigh
after

Page 6 of 9
 Canarian Words
little doll
•Machucar = to crush / to get hit
peasant
bruised, scratched
annoying, tiresome, repetitive
Majar = to pound in the mortar
•Suitcase = wallet / useless, that does things poorly
Malimpiado = wasted (from poorly employed)
to move out
grifter, thug
Matraquilla = constant repetition of something
Merdellón = dirty, filthy (from the French merde)
mixture
Momio = loose, flabby
Note = uncle, character
Novelero = someone who does not stay at home
Name = tuber / foot
Ñoños = toes
Orear = air dry
taking things slowly
fool
chatter
Fool, simpleton
Straight = to keep going straight ahead (keep straight)
Pairing = one that pairs up, is placed at the same level
Pairs = all the same size
slip, fall
Pellizcón = twisting the meat with the fingers
Pavita = final residue of a cigar, cigarette or joint
cold
Perenquén = lizard species of salamander
Perreta = continuous crying and tantrum of a child
•Dog = to be very lucky at something (what a lucky dog!)
Peya = piece of kneaded gofio
Picón = volcanic pebbles
dry pine needles
Pineapple = punch / made of corn or banana
490 liters of water
Pita = car horn
Platinum = silver paper
Pollaboba = idiot
Private = to be happy

Page 7 of 9
 Canarian Words
scam, deception
Pillar = praise for a person, being indispensable (he/she is a pillar!)
very restless and rowdy little hen / being argumentative
Ralea = mixture of gofio, wine, and sugar or honey
mixed up, disorderly
Recova = market
Requintado = has overeaten (in the manner of requinto)
tentacle
•Relaxed = when too many sweets have been eaten
Revencazo = tap-on
Revortillo = tangle of things
Rillar = to produce a grimace (teeth)
• To fall down the cliffs (the rabbit made my dog fall down)
If I don't do it, Rita la cantaora will do it.
Ruín = something that is bad or of poor quality
rusty
Rusio = something old that is fading and turning gray
Sacho = farming tool
Sajo = to make a cut
Salitre = residues of saltwater
ladybug
effeminate
Be the nougat box = not to miss a party / to be everywhere
fool
to sob
Sorroballar = to clean poorly by dragging the trash back and forth
silly
plant
ditch, sewer
drunk
Tanza = nylon thread for fishing
Taponazo = to hit oneself
Tenderete = popular festival, revelry
Having a twisted gullet = gastroenteritis
To have a little pain = a hurt
Sneakers = sports shoes
Tiesto = a ruinous person in an affectionate sense
Tino = mental clarity
dumb
Tonga = pile of things
•Tonic = large stone
fool

Page 8 of 9
 CANARY WORDS
nape, neck
bulge, protuberance
To lock = to close (the door)
to injure oneself
to grab, to take
Trompada = strong slap in the face
to get stuck / to be constipated
Variscazo = a dry blow given with a stick
a beach bar set up during village festivals
Wire
Go fry chuchangas! = go to hell
Go away!
It is very cold
•Volador = a type of firework that only makes noise
dizziness, fainting
Earring = earring
Zurrón = goat skin for kneading the gofio
dig

Page 9 of 9