SPANISH MINDSET

---

Chamuyar is one very common and normal word in Argentina and Spanish. This word comes from slang — it’s part of our lunfardo here in Argentina. And this word is chamuyar, and its variations or different ways to say it, the verb of course.

This is a super common word here. It is part of our slang, as I just said. So let’s find out the meaning and see some examples of how to use this word.

First of all, this word chamuyar is a verb. Again, it’s slang, so it’s kind of informal — but anyway, here in Argentina, we mostly speak in an informal way, even in formal contexts like interviews, meetings, work, and stuff like that.

So, this word means to lie, to flirt, to sweet talk, to schmooze or to deceive. Okay? These three things are connected at the same time. It’s really interesting, I think, because we relate the idea of love — let’s say, flirting or talking to a girl — with lying, with deceiving. Talking to a boy, a girl, a woman, a man, etc.

So this is a verb. You would say it like this: again, it means to flirt, to deceive, or to lie.

Now let’s see some examples.

For example, we can say:

«Los vendedores siempre chamuyan para venderte cosas, porque, por supuesto, es su trabajo.»
(Sellers — or people that sell things — always deceive, always lie to sell things, because of course that’s their job.)

Now, here in this context, it seems to have a bad connotation. But in Argentine Spanish, chamuyar doesn’t always have that connotation. Chamuyar is more like saying things that you want to hear — good things you want to hear.

So when we’re using this verb, it refers to that. In this case, I’m saying both things at the same time: sellers (or the people that sell things) say things you want to hear, so that you can buy from them.

So now you can see the connection: when we say deceive or lie, and flirt — because chamuyar, as I just said, is more like saying good things that you want to hear. And normally, whether the things are real or not, or we’re saying too many of them — that’s chamuyo.

Let’s see another example:

«La mayoría de los políticos chamuyan.»
(This means most politicians lie — or say good things that people want to hear.)

They lie to people, they deceive people, or they say nice things that people want to hear — both at the same time. In this case, it has more of a negative connotation, but it’s not always like that.

Now let’s see two more examples — in the case of flirting.

For example, a funny one:

«Tengo un amigo que chamuya a todas las chicas que ve.»
(This means I have a friend who tries to flirt with all the girls he sees.)

This is a funny one.

Let’s see one more with this verb:

«Los argentinos tienen buen chamuyo.»
(Argentine people have good flirting skills. Argentine people have good deceiving skills — because flirting is within us.)

So here, as you can see, chamuyo (that one) is like the noun. It’s like flirting, deceiving, or lying.

Then we have the variations: chamuyero (masculine) and chamuyera (feminine). And then chamuyo — it’s all the same idea, just different forms.

Someone like a liar, or someone who flirts a lot — that’s chamuyero. Chamuyo is mostly about saying things people want to hear. It can be real, or not real — and sometimes we’re just saying too many of them.

So now that you know this word chamuyo, you have to use it in real life! You’ll hear it a lot here in Argentina — so you’ve got to use it too.

For example, we normally say this phrase, and I really like it — very casual:

«No me chamuyes.»
(That would be like “Don’t lie to me” or “Don’t sweet-talk me.”)

So I think you should learn it right now — because we use it a lot here in Argentina.

Now I want you to write me in the comments one example with this verb: the verb chamuyar.
And also, I’d like to know: do you think that Argentinians have good chamuyo? Good flirting skills? Good deceiving skills?

This word is part of a new playlist — a new type of video I’m starting right now: the Argentinian Dictionary, let’s say.

So if you want to learn more, subscribe to this channel and check out my playlists. You’ll find many videos about Argentinian words.

If you’re traveling to Argentina and you’re interested in learning Argentine Spanish, I want to invite you to my new group: Argentina Travelers — a group where you’ll find all the news about Argentina, a group where you’ll learn Argentine Spanish, and a group where you can ask me all the questions you want about Argentine Spanish or Spanish in general.

You can practice your Spanish with me. You can even practice your Spanish with all the members of this group. If you’d like to know more, you have the link here:

https://t.me/+avk100adwGs4YTZh

Thanks for reading!

---