Coffee Break Spanish - How Spanish speakers really talk about work

Episode Date: April 27, 2026

Pablo goes beyond "trabajo" and introduces the real words Spanish speakers use when they talk about work, from "curro" and "currar" in Spain to "chamba" and "chambear" in Mexico. Along the way, he shares a cultural insight about how and when to ask someone about their job. Which of these words will you start using first?➡️ Click here to watch the video version of this episode.➡️ To receive regular free mini-lessons like this straight to your inbox, visit: https://coffeebreaklanguages.kit.com/newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, what's-a-cafueless? I'm Pablo de coffee-break Spanish, and up next we're going to explore one of my favorite topics about languages, slang. But in particular, we're going to focus on slang words to talk about work in Spanish. Preparate because we'll start

with one of the first slam words for work you'll hear in Spain. Curro. It sounds cool, right? This one is super common, it means work. So, for example, if someone te pre-gunt,

what's the curro? Now, you know that they're asking, how's work or how's work going? So curro is a noun, but you can also use the verb currar, which means to work.

So you can say things like manana, no curro, I'm not working tomorrow. Lucky you, if that's the case. Or you can also ask someone, de que courras, to ask them what they do for a living. There are other derived words from curro,

such as currante, which essentially means worker. However, currante sometimes also has the connotation of a hardworking person, someone who is very committed to what they do. So if you hear someone say, is very currante. That means that that person is very hardworking.

Very well. So so far we've seen curro, currar, and currante. But we actually use many other slam words for work in Spain. For example, a personal favorite of mine is faena. And I honestly use this one a lot. I think it's maybe more common

in the region of Valencia, where I'm from. And essentially, Faina means work, but it can also mean task. So if you hear

someone say something like, Tengo Mucha Faina Oi. It basically means I have a lot of work today

or I have so many things to do today. Tambien we have the palavra tajo, which apart from being one of

Spain's most important rivers, El Taho, is also a slam word for work. This one, I would say, is a bit more colloquial than the other. So if someone say, I'm going to stay, this probably doesn't mean that they're swimming in the river Tahoe,

but that they're simply at work. So we've seen some slown words related to work used in Spain. But what about the rest of the Spanish-speaking world? You may be wondering. Well, let's see a couple of examples from other countries. For example, in Mexico, you'll hear the word chamba a lot, which also means work. And similarly, you can also use the verb chameer. You can say things like, prefere chameer des de casa, which means he or she prefers to work from home.

Or if you're in Argentina, oiras the palabra laburo. Exactly. In Argentina, you'll hear the slang word laburo, which again means work, but also the verb labourar, which means to work. So as you can see, there are plenty of options for you to choose from, but don't worry, no matter which slam word you prefer to use, you'll be understood across the Spanish-speaking word. Now on to a quick cultural difference that I would really like to share with you. I'm Spanish and in Spain people don't usually ask what do you do for a living as soon as you meet someone. So I live in Scotland now and in my experience, every time I meet someone new here, the question, what do you do for work tends to be one of the first thing that they would ask me and I must say it's always a bit of surprise to me. It's not that in Spain we don't ask what someone does for a living when we meet them,

but it usually comes a wee bit later once you've built some rapport with the person. But don't worry, it's totally fine to ask someone the ke courras, what do you do for a living or for work? At the beginning, if you wish, that's totally fine. And finally, I couldn't finish this video without mentioning curro. So curro, apart from meaning work, was also the name of the mascot for the 1992 World Expo that took place in Sevilla. I used to have a staff toy of Curro when I was little, and I absolutely loved him. He actually became quite iconic in Spain, and I would say most people still remember him. So when people mention Curro, Who knows, they might not just be talking about work.

They could be talking about the Expo mascot too. Very bien. Stupendo. So, before de acabar, we'll make a short summary. So now you know that Curro is a slam word for work used in Spain, but it's also the 1992 Expo mascot.

You've also learned derived words such as the verb currar, which means to work. and currante worker or hard worker, depending on the context. You know that in Mexico, people use chamba for work or the verb chamear to say to work. And in Argentina, you'll hear labor work or the verb laburar to work. And finally, you've picked up a cultural difference about asking people what they do for a living when you meet them. Well, that is all for my part. Remember that you can also subscribe to our newsletter to receive free Spanish mini-losson

into your inbox at coffeebreakspanish.com. And you can also subscribe to our Coffee Break Spanish YouTube channel where you'll find lots of content. A what you're expecting? Well, well, much thanks for having me heard me heard. And until the next. Adios and happy coffee breaking. when listening to a Coffee Break Languages production for the Radiolingo Network. Copyright 2026,

Radiolingua Limited. Recording copyright, 2026, Radiolingua Limited. All rights reserved.