Spanish Spoken in Mexico

Mexican Spanish

Spanish is one of the most spoken languages worldwide, but is the Spanish spoken in Mexico any different to the Spanish spoken in Spain? Here we'll show you some of the main differences:

Grammar

• Voseo - in some areas, the pronoun “vos” is often used instead of “tú” to mean “you”.
• The biggest grammatical difference is that in Mexico, “ustedes” is used for the second-person plural (you all) in both formal and informal situations. In Spain, "ustedes" is used only for formal situations, while “vosotros” is used for informal situations.

Vocabulary

• Vocabulary is where you will encounter the most differences. As well as having some completely different words, Mexican Spanish also includes many words influenced by English, given Mexico’s proximity to the United States.
  Here are just a few examples of the many differences there are.



Mexican Spanish	Peninsular Spanish	English
acá	aquí	here
arete	pendiente	earring
bolsa	bolso	purse/handbag
papa	patata	potato
jugo	zumo	juice
pluma	bolígrafo	pen
camión	autobús	bus

Here are a few examples of words influenced by the U.S.:

celular	móvil	cell phone/mobile phone
corte	tribunal	court
pay	tarta	pie
refrigerador	Frigorífico	refrigerator
computadora	ordenador	computer
largarto	caíman	alligator

• Connotations - “coger” - this verb meaning “to choose, to grab, to catch (a bus)” in Spain has rude connotations in Mexico and other Latin American countries and should be avoided.
• Slang also varies widely from one country to another.

Pronunciation

• “Yeismo” - “ll” and “y” are pronounced the same.
• “Seseo” - The pronunciation of the consonants “c” (followed by “e” or “i”), "z" and "s" is the same: pronounced “s”.

Influences