Panamanian Spanish: Accent, Grammar, Vocabulary and More

If you ever visit Panama, you might be seriously tempted to stay there forever. But before you rush over to Panama, there’s one thing you need first: some Spanish skills. More specifically, you’ll need to pick up Panamanian Spanish—which has some unusual quirks that set it apart from Castilian Spanish (the language spoken in Spain).

In this post, you’ll see what makes Panamanian Spanish so special and learn 25 terms to get started with this unique variety of Spanish.

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An Introduction to Panamanian Spanish

Panamanian Spanish is, obviously, the Spanish spoken in Panama. It’s been shaped by the country’s indigenous native languages, particularly the Panamanian Ngäbere and Kuna languages.

Panamanian Spanish is often categorized as a form of Caribbean Spanish, sitting at the crossroads between Central American and Caribbean dialects.

It’s also been heavily influenced by English. Some even refer to Panamanian Spanish as “Spanglish.” Beyond that, the language has bits and pieces of many other cultures, as well.

Panama City is a port city near the canal. Historically—and currently—it welcomes lots of foreign traffic. It’s just a logical effect that global citizens passing through Panama leave a linguistic and cultural footprint.

Characteristics of the Panamanian Spanish Accent

There are a few particulars to remember about Panamanian Spanish:

• The c and z sounds are pronounced as an s sound.
• Many words are shortened by omitting the last syllable or consonant.
• It’s common to drop the s at the end of a word. For example, vamos (we go) becomes vamo.
• Sometimes locals soften the ch in a word to sh—think mucho (much) spoken as /mu-sho/ rather than /mu-cho/.
• In certain parts of the country, the voseo verb form is used instead of the tú form.

In Panama, you’ll also hear lots of slang. It’s colorful and expressive, so if you pick up a few slang words and phrases, you’ll fit right in with the locals!

Basic Panamanian Spanish Words and Phrases

Many everyday expressions and slang words used in Panamanian Spanish don’t have easily explained origins. They’re not all totally unique to Panama, but they’re good to know if you’re going to visit the country. 

Here are some common examples: 

Spanish	English	Explanation	Example
¿Qué xopá?	What's up?	This casual greeting is pronounced like (and sometimes spelled as) ¿Qué sopá which is a mixup of ¿Qué pasó (What happened?)	¿Qué xopá mi fren?   (What’s up my friend?)
un chambón / una chambóna	a person who's bad at doing something	This word is used to refer to someone who lacks skills in a certain activity, like sports or dancing.	Perdieron porque su portero es un chambón. (They lost because their goalie is terrible.)
estar limpio / estar limpia	to be broke	While limpio/a actually means clean, this slang phrase is used to say you have no money.	No puedo ir al concierto, estoy limpio. (I can't go to the concert, I'm broke.)
offi	ok/yes/understood	While this word is short for "official," it's actually used to express agreement or understanding.	La clase empieza a las 9:00. (The class starts at 9:00.) Offi. (Ok.)
estar tirao	to be tired	This is how Panamanians pronounce tirado, which literally means "thrown" or "thrown away."	No salgo hoy, estoy tirao. (I'm not going out tonight, I'm really tired.)
chantin	home, house	This is a popular slang term to refer to your home, similar to the English slang word "crib."	Voy a mi chantin. Nos vemos mañana. (I'm going home. See you tomorrow.)
Cuéntame la cocoa	Tell me the gossip	This is a fun way to get your friend to give you all the juicy gossip, by literally saying "Tell me the cacao."	¿Qué pasó en la fiesta? Cuéntame la cocoa. (What happened at the party? Tell me the gossip.)
buco	a lot	This word is derived from the French word beaucoup (a lot)—and it means the same in Panamanian Spanish.	¿Cuánto te gusta el helado? (How much do you like ice cream?) Buco. (A lot.)
burundanga	snack/sweets/junk food	This is a fun word to say and is often requested by kids in Panama.	Ella come mucha burundanga. (She eats a lot of sweet.)
plena	a style of reggaeton music	This is a type of upbeat music that’s popular in Panama. It has rhythms of reggae, dancehall and other styles of Afro-Carribean music.	¿Te gusta plena? (Do you like reggaeton music?)
cocobolo	bald-headed person	This one condenses the concept of a bald-headed person into one word that's pretty fun to say.	Ella es la que está al lado del cocobolo. (She's the one next to the bald-headed guy.)
estar bien tallao	to look good/handsome/pretty	Talloa is the casual pronunciation of tallado, which means carved or sculpted.	¡Vaya, estás bien tallao! (Wow, you look really handsome!)
parquear	to hang out with friends	This "Spanglish" word usually means "to park," but in Panama, it's also a slang way to say "hang out."	Vamos a parquear en la casa de Miguel. (We're going to hang out at Miguel's house.)
diablo rojo	public bus	These secondhand buses painted with vibrant designs and have become a part of Panamanian culture.	Me voy en un diablo rojo. (I'm going on the bus.)

To learn some more slang words and phrases used in Panama, check out this video with Sech, a popular Panamanian singer: 

Panamanian “Spanglish” Words

Many Panamanian Spanish words are very obviously influenced by the English language. Since the United States controlled the Panama Canal until 1999, that’s not a surprising fact.

Consider these words, which were “borrowed” from English and transformed into English-Spanish hybrids:

Spanish	English	Example
chopear	to shop	Quiero chopear. (I want to go shopping.)
el guy	the man	El guy tiene una barba negra. (The man has a black beard.)
chingongo	chewing gum	¿Tienes chingongo? (Do you have any chewing gum?)
frén	friend	Ella es mi nueva frén. (She's my new friend.)
priti	pretty	¡Te ves super priti hoy!. (You look super pretty today!)
cuara	quarter	¿Me prestas un cuara? (Will you lend me a quarter?)
charcot	shortcut	Tomemos el charcot a casa. (Let's take the shortcut home.)
tof	tough	El triatlón estuvo bien tof. (The triathlon was super tough.)
badbuay	bad boy (from Jamaican English)	A María le gustan los badbuay's. (Maria likes bad boys.)
mol	mall	Vamos al mol a chopear. (Let's go to the mall to shop.)
guachiman	guard/watchman	Tienen cinco guachimanes vigilando la casa. (They have five guards guarding the house.)

To learn more about how these words came to be used in Panama, check out this video (turn on subtitles and slow down the speed if you need to):

Panamanian Spanish Features

Pronouns

Another interesting characteristic of Panamanian Spanish that’s similar to English is the use of pronouns. Usually in Spanish, the subject pronoun is left out because the conjugation of the verb tells you who the speaker is talking about.

However, in Panama and other parts of Central America such as the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, people add the subject pronoun to some sentences and questions.

So, for example, instead of just asking “Qué haces?” (What are you doing?), a person from Panama might say “Qué tú haces?”

Voseo

Voseo is a linguistic phenomenon observed in various Spanish-speaking countries, where the pronoun vos is used instead of the more standard tú when addressing someone informally.

In certain parts of Panama, as in many other Central American countries, voseo is prevalent and deeply ingrained in everyday speech. It’s commonly used among peers, family members and close friends.

The verb conjugations for vos are distinct from both tú and usted. For example, instead of saying tú cantas (you sing), some Panamanians would say vos cantáis  to a friend or family member. Tú eres (you are) becomes vos sois. These conjugations can differ from other regions where voseo is used.

Order of Syllables

One intriguing linguistic feature that sets the Spanish used in Panama apart from other Spanish dialects is called metathesis.

This phenomenon involves swapping the positions of syllables within certain words. For instance, primo (cousin) is sometimes said as mopri and no as on.

While not all Panamanians use metathesis, being aware of its existence can help you better understand and engage in conversations with native speakers in Panama.

How to Learn Panamanian Spanish

Want to learn more Panamanian Spanish words and phrases? Here are some ways to continue learning this dialect: 

• Consider going to the source and learning Spanish in Panama. Casco Antiguo Spanish School is located right in the center of Panama City and is a great spot for learning Panamanian Spanish.
• If you’re unable to study in Panama, consider a Panamanian tutor from Habla Ya instead. Learning to speak Spanish via Skype with a certified Spanish teacher is the next best thing to actually heading to Panama.
• To watch more Panamanian Spanish in action, you can use an immersive language program like FluentU, which uses video clips from Spanish media paired with learning tools.

  FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

  You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

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And you can also explore more videos on sites like YouTube, where Panamanians share about their language and culture. Here’s a good example: 

 

Start practicing your Panamanian Spanish any chance you get. 

Soon, you’ll be using these words and phrases with confidence and ease!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)