Words you will meet
The Spanish, legal and everyday words you will meet in Argentina and on this site, each with the English beside it and one plain sentence.
How to use it
166 words in five groups. Pick a group to narrow the list, or a letter to jump. Wherever a word has a dotted underline on this site, a tap shows its meaning from this list.
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166 words
A
- alquiler temporarioshort furnished let
- A furnished short-term let, often priced in dollars; sources disagree on the longest term such a contract can have.
- alta tempranaemployer's early registration
- An employer's registration of a new worker with ARCA, which work-residence cases require.
- ambientesrooms
- The way flats are counted, by rooms rather than bedrooms. A dos ambientes (two rooms) is a one-bedroom flat.
- amparo por moracourt action over delay
- A court action over a file that an authority has left undecided; forum users report lawyers filing it for stalled residency files.
- ANSESsocial security agency
- The national office that issues the CUIL.
- apoderadoagent with power of attorney
- A person holding a power of attorney who acts for someone before Migraciones; the applicant must still attend in person for biometric capture.
- apostillaapostille
- A certificate under the Hague Convention that authenticates a public document; Migraciones accepts apostilled foreign documents instead of consular legalisation.
- apostilleinternational document stamp
- A certificate that lets a public document be accepted in another country; Argentine partidas are apostilled through Cancillería, and Irish documents only through DFA's apostille section in Ireland, never at an embassy.
- ARCAtax and customs authority
- Argentina's tax and customs authority, formerly called AFIP; it issues the CUIT and handles imports of household goods.
- argentino nativoArgentine by birth
- An Argentine by birth, as opposed to an Argentine by naturalisation or by option.
- argentinos por opciónArgentines by option
- People born abroad to a native-born Argentine parent who have opted for Argentine citizenship.
- arraigosettlement
- The ground for moving from temporary to permanent residence after a set number of years, if you also meet the presence, absence and means conditions.
- asadobarbecue
- A grilled meal with friends or family that is meant for spending time together; the food is often served well after the time on the invitation.
B
- bancarto put up with; to back
- A colloquial verb for putting up with something, or for standing by someone.
- BCRAcentral bank
- Argentina's central bank, which sets the rules for currency exchange, transfers and bank accounts.
- Bienes Personalespersonal assets tax
- Argentina's tax on personal assets, charged on holdings above a threshold that changes from year to year.
- boleto de compraventapreliminary purchase contract
- The preliminary contract in a property purchase, signed with a down payment before the deed.
- boludo, boludaidiot (offensive)
- An offensive word for a fool; between young friends it is also a way of addressing each other, so understand it rather than use it.
- bondibus (slang)
- A colloquial word for a city bus, recorded in Argentina in the Spanish academies' dictionary of Americanisms; the everyday word is colectivo.
C
- CABABuenos Aires City
- The usual short name for the City of Buenos Aires, which runs its own procedures for things such as driving licences and address certificates, separate from Buenos Aires Province.
- caja de ahorrosavings account
- A basic bank savings account; central bank rules are reported to allow a bank account to be opened on a precaria, but in practice results vary by bank and branch.
- Cámara Nacional Electoralnational electoral court
- The national electoral appeals court; in the Yang case it declared Decreto 366/2025 null, and the government has appealed to the Supreme Court.
- campthe countryside
- The Irish-Argentine English word for the countryside, taken from the Spanish campo, where most of the nineteenth-century settlers lived and worked with sheep.
- cancelacióncancellation of residence
- Migraciones ending a residence, for example after too long outside Argentina, for fraud or after certain criminal convictions.
- Cancilleríaforeign ministry
- Argentina's foreign ministry; its consulates abroad issue visas and handle some nationality procedures.
- carta de ciudadaníacitizenship certificate
- The certificate granted to a new citizen by naturalisation, after which RENAPER issues them an Argentine DNI.
- CDIformer tax key
- An older ARCA number for people without a CUIT or CUIL, replaced by the CUIT under ARCA General Resolution 5803/2025, though some government pages still describe it.
- CELUSpanish certificate
- The Argentine certificate of Spanish as a second language, recognised by the education and foreign ministries; residence applications do not require it.
- cepocurrency controls
- The common name for Argentina's currency controls; the main limits on individuals buying dollars were lifted, but some rules remain.
- certificación de movimiento migratoriotravel record certificate
- A Migraciones certificate that lists your entries to and exits from Argentina.
- certificado de antecedentes penalescriminal-record certificate
- A certificate showing whether a person has criminal convictions or pending proceedings; Migraciones needs the Argentine one and, for some applicants, one from other countries they have lived in.
- certificado de domicilioaddress certificate
- A certificate proving where you live, often asked for as proof of address; in Buenos Aires City, people without a DNI report requesting it online or at a Comuna office.
- chain migrationemigration by family links
- The pattern by which an established shepherd split his flock and hired newcomers on the terms he had worked, so one emigrant brought out brothers, then cousins and neighbours from the same parishes.
- chamuyosmooth talk
- Talk meant to impress or persuade; chamuyar is to sweet-talk someone.
- chehey
- A word used to call someone's attention or to show surprise, used with people you are close to.
- clave fiscaltax login
- Your login for ARCA's online services; it has security levels, and a higher level is needed for some procedures, such as getting a CUIT online.
- cogerto take (Spain); vulgar here
- Everyday in Spain for to take or to catch, but in Argentina a vulgar word for sex, so it is best avoided.
- colectivobus
- The usual Argentine word for a city bus, where Spain says autobús.
- Colegio de Escribanosprovincial notaries' college
- A provincial notaries' college, one of the places where an Argentine document can be apostilled or legalised in person.
- Colegio de Traductorestranslators' college
- The professional body that legalises sworn translations; in Buenos Aires City it is the Colegio de Traductores Públicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
- constancia de domicilioproof of address
- Proof of address, which Migraciones asks for; the Migraciones pages researched do not say which documents it accepts.
- Constancia de Inscripción Electrónicaelectronic enrolment certificate
- The electronic enrolment certificate that a school registered with Migraciones issues to a student, used as proof for student residence.
- cuadrablock
- The length of one side of a city block, which Argentines use to give distances and directions.
- cubiertotable charge
- A restaurant table charge for items such as bread and water; it is not a service charge or a tip.
- CUILwork ID number
- An Argentine identification number used for work, issued by ANSES; banks also ask for it.
- CUITtax ID number
- Argentina's tax identification number, issued by ARCA.
- CUIT provisoriaprovisional tax ID
- A temporary CUIT that a foreigner without an Argentine DNI can request from ARCA with home-country documents and proof of residence from Migraciones.
- CVIinternational veterinary certificate
- The Certificado Veterinario Internacional, issued or endorsed by the veterinary authority of the country a dog or cat travels from, which the pet needs to enter Argentina.
D
- dador de criteriosponsoring relative
- The relative, Argentine or resident, whose family tie you rely on in a family residence application.
- daleOK, sure
- Said to agree to a suggestion, like OK or sure; the Spanish academies' dictionary of Americanisms records it in Argentina.
- Decreto 366/2025the 2025 migration decree
- The emergency decree that rewrote many migration and citizenship rules, including the precaria, permanent residence, absences and appeals; courts have struck down its citizenship part in individual cases.
- delegaciónlocal office
- A local Migraciones office outside the Buenos Aires headquarters.
- DFADepartment of Foreign Affairs
- Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs, which runs the Foreign Births Register and the only section that apostilles Irish public documents.
- días hábilesbusiness days
- Working days rather than calendar days; several Migraciones deadlines, such as the one for reporting an address change, are counted in them.
- disposiciónMigraciones regulation
- A regulation issued by Migraciones, such as the one that sets the rentista and pensionado income test.
- DNIID card
- Argentina's national identity card; temporary and permanent residents get one, but transitory residents, including digital nomads, do not.
- DNMDirección Nacional de Migraciones
- Short for Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, the national immigration authority, usually just called Migraciones.
- DNUemergency decree
- A decreto de necesidad y urgencia, a decree the President issues as an emergency measure; under the law on these decrees, Congress overturns one only if both chambers reject it.
- doble nacionalidaddual nationality
- Holding two nationalities; Argentina accepts it, and people who naturalise generally do not have to give up their first nationality.
- dólar blueparallel dollar rate
- The informal, parallel exchange rate for US dollars, quoted alongside the bank rate.
- dólar tarjetacard dollar rate
- The higher exchange rate that applies when an Argentine-issued card is used to spend in foreign currency.
- domicilio electrónicoelectronic address
- The email address you must declare to Migraciones; messages sent to it count as valid notice.
E
- escribanonotary
- A notary; in a property purchase the escribano checks the title and registry, and in Buenos Aires City it is a separate profession from lawyer.
- escritura públicadeed
- The deed that transfers ownership of a property once it is executed and registered.
- estanciacountry estate
- A large country estate for raising livestock; most of the Irish who stayed in Argentina owned or worked on one.
- estancieroestate owner
- The owner of an estancia, the position a minority of Irish shepherds reached after years of sharecropping and renting land.
- expedientecase file
- Your case file at Migraciones; its number is what you use to renew a precaria and check the status of your application online.
- expensasbuilding charges
- Monthly building charges, quoted separately from the rent; agencies add them to the rent when checking whether a tenant earns enough.
- expulsiónexpulsion
- A Migraciones decision removing a foreigner from Argentina, which comes with a ban on returning.
F
- falso turistafalse tourist
- A ground for refusing entry at the border to a visitor whose declared tourist purpose the officer doubts.
- FBRForeign Births Register
- Short for Foreign Births Register, the Irish register through which a person born abroad claims citizenship by descent before applying for a passport.
- fiacalaziness
- A colloquial Argentine word for laziness, or not being bothered to do something.
- Finalizar Ordenfinalise order
- The RADEX step that closes the form and creates the payment slips; after it, mistakes are corrected at the in-person appointment.
- Foreign Births RegisterIreland's register of citizens born abroad
- The register kept by Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs on which a person born outside Ireland may be entered, through an Irish-born grandparent or an Irish-citizen parent, to become an Irish citizen.
G
- garantíarental guarantee
- The security a landlord asks for on a long lease, such as a property-owning guarantor or a guarantee insurance policy.
- garantía propietariaproperty guarantee
- A lease guarantee in which another person, often a relative or friend, backs your lease with a property they own.
- General Register OfficeIrish civil records office (GRO)
- Ireland's civil records office, which issues the certified birth, marriage and death certificates an FBR application needs for an Irish-born ancestor.
- gestorpaid fixer
- A paid intermediary who handles paperwork for others; Migraciones says a residence application is personal and needs no gestor.
H
- habilitación de salidaexit authorisation
- A paid authorisation you must get to leave Argentina after your tourist stay has expired, since an expired stay cannot be extended.
I
- INDECstatistics institute
- Argentina's national statistics institute, which publishes the consumer price index used to measure inflation.
- ingleses"English", the historical label
- The label, meaning "English", under which the nineteenth-century Irish in Argentina were registered and often described themselves; it is a historical term explained here, not a name used for Irish Argentines today.
- inmobiliariaproperty agency
- A property agency; agencies list flats and, for long leases, usually check your income and ask for a guarantee.
- intimacióndeficiency notice
- A formal notice that something in a file is missing or must be corrected; a Migraciones file that has received one is described as intimado.
- inversión relevanterelevant investment
- The investment ground for citizenship added by Decreto 366/2025; the Ministry of Economy defines what counts, and the decree's citizenship chapter has been challenged in court.
- IPCconsumer price index
- The consumer price index published by INDEC; adjusting the rent by it is the most common formula in new leases.
- Irish associationsdiscretionary citizenship route
- The discretionary citizenship application for people with a blood relationship to an Irish citizen but no automatic entitlement, decided against published ministerial guidelines.
- irregularwithout valid status
- Being in Argentina without a valid stay or residence; people in this situation may not work.
J
- juez federalfederal judge
- A federal judge; under the original citizenship law, naturalisation is applied for before the federal judge for your home area.
- juramentooath
- The oath a person naturalised through the courts swears before the federal judge to respect the Constitution.
L
- laburojob, work
- A colloquial word for a job or for work, from Italian dialect; laburar is to work.
- legalizaciónlegalisation
- Certification that a document or signature is genuine; for residence it means the Argentine consulate's legalisation of a foreign document, or the Colegio de Traductores' certification of a sworn translation.
- Ley 25.871the migration law
- Argentina's migration law, which sets out the residence categories and the rules for keeping or losing a residence.
- Ley 346the citizenship law
- Argentina's citizenship law; Decreto 366/2025 rewrote parts of it, and those changes have been challenged in court.
- lunfardolocal slang
- The slang first used by lower-class people in Buenos Aires, much of it from Italian; some of its words passed into everyday Argentine and Uruguayan Spanish.
M
- mateshared herbal drink
- A herbal drink shared in a group; one person, the cebador, prepares it and pours for each person in turn, and you hand it back to the cebador when you finish.
- matrículaannual enrolment fee
- The annual enrolment fee a private school charges on top of its monthly fees.
- mayordomoestate foreman
- The foreman of an estancia, the post family memory gives John Murray of Streamstown, a soldier who stayed after the British invasions.
- medianeríathe halves system
- The Spanish name for the "halves" sharecropping arrangement under which Irish shepherds built flocks of their own in the Buenos Aires wool boom.
- medianerohalves sharecropper
- A shepherd on the "halves" contract, who tended a flock-owner's sheep at his own cost and shared the flock's increase with the owner, usually half each, when the term ended.
- medios económicos suficientessufficient economic means
- Enough money to support yourself in Argentina, a condition for permanent residence; no published amount was found, and what proof is asked for is reported to vary.
- MercosurSouth American bloc
- A group of South American countries; nationals of Mercosur and associated states have their own residence route by nationality, with no income or sponsor test.
- Migracionesimmigration authority
- The everyday name for the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM), the national authority that decides residence applications and issues entry permits.
- minawoman (colloquial)
- A colloquial word for a woman in Argentina and Uruguay, from lunfardo.
- miradorrooftop lookout
- A rooftop lookout; Irish sheep-farm houses had one for watching the flocks.
- monoambientestudio
- A studio flat, where the living and sleeping space is one room.
- monotributosimplified tax regime
- A simplified tax regime for small taxpayers, with one monthly fee covering tax, a pension contribution and an obra social, set by income category.
- morfarto eat
- A colloquial word for to eat, from French.
N
- naturalizaciónnaturalisation
- Becoming an Argentine citizen through residence; who decides applications, a federal judge or Migraciones, is disputed in the courts.
- nómada digitaldigital nomad
- A transitory residence for people working remotely for clients or employers abroad, open only to nationals who do not need a tourist visa; it does not give a DNI.
O
- opcióncitizenship by option
- The procedure by which a person born abroad to a native-born Argentine parent opts for Argentine citizenship; it is administrative and has no oath.
P
- partidacivil certificate
- An Argentine civil-register certificate of a birth, marriage or death, issued by the civil register of the province or city where the event was recorded.
- pensionadopensioner
- A temporary residence category for people who receive a regular, permanent pension from a government, an international body or a private company.
- permiso de ingresoentry permit
- A permit Migraciones issues for someone living abroad, usually requested by a sponsor in Argentina; the Argentine consulate then issues the visa.
- pibe, pibakid, young person
- A colloquial word for a child or a young person, also used affectionately to address someone.
- piolanice, easy-going
- A colloquial word for someone nice and easy-going; in Argentina it can also mean clever.
- precariatemporary certificate
- A provisional certificate Migraciones may issue while it decides your residence application; it lets you stay, leave, re-enter, work and study, but it is not an approval and its time does not count toward permanent residence.
- prepagaprivate health plan
- A private health plan paid monthly, with prices that vary by age and plan.
- prórrogaextension
- An extension of a stay or residence; a tourist stay can be extended in person at Migraciones for another similar period.
- psicofísicopsychophysical exam
- The medical and aptitude exam that is part of getting an Argentine driving licence, including when exchanging a foreign licence.
- puesteropost shepherd
- A shepherd who also guarded part of an estancia from its outlying post, paid partly with a small plot for his own sheep.
- puestooutlying post
- The outlying post on an estancia where a shepherd lived and kept his flock, a life the sources describe as hard and solitary.
- pulperíacountry store and tavern
- The rural store and tavern of the camp; John Brabazon's journal describes faction fights at one between Ballymore and Ballymahon men armed with sharpened sticks.
Q
- quilombomess, chaos
- A mess or a chaotic situation; the Academy's dictionary marks this sense as vulgar, though it is common in relaxed talk.
R
- RADEXonline filing system
- Migraciones' online system for filing a residence application from inside Argentina; you register, pay and upload documents there before an in-person appointment.
- radicaciónresidence application
- A residence procedure, temporary or permanent; the word is used both for applying for residence and for a residence granted.
- ranchosettler's hut
- The hut of a shepherd in the camp; McKenna describes one with a horsehide over its single opening, an ox skull for a chair and a mutton carcass hung in the gable.
- recargosurcharge
- An extra charge on a fee; Migraciones adds one when a temporary residence is renewed in the short window after it has expired.
- rechazoentry refusal
- A refusal of entry at the border, which is different from an expulsion and can carry a ban on returning.
- recursoadministrative appeal
- An administrative appeal against a Migraciones decision; it has a short deadline and a fee, and a later appeal to the courts requires a lawyer.
- Registro de las Personascivil registry
- The provincial civil registry; for foreign residents it handles DNI renewals and replacements, not the first DNI.
- Registro Nacional de Reincidenciacriminal records registry
- Argentina's national criminal records registry, which issues the Argentine criminal-record certificate.
- RENAPERnational ID registry
- The national registry that issues the DNI and passports.
- rentistaperson living on asset income
- A temporary residence category for people who live on income from assets they own, such as property or investments, rather than from work.
- RENUREregister of sponsors
- The Registro Único de Requirentes de Extranjeros, the Migraciones register of employers and other organisations that request residence for foreigners.
- residencia fiscaltax residence
- Being resident for tax purposes, which follows tax rules and is not the same as your migration status; an accountant can tell you when it applies to you.
- residencia permanentepermanent residence
- Residence with no expiry date and a permanent DNI; it can still be cancelled, for example after too long outside Argentina.
- residencia temporariatemporary residence
- Medium-term residence in a category such as rentista, pensionado, student or work; it comes with a temporary DNI and has to be renewed to continue.
- residencia transitoriatransitory residence
- Short-term status for a specific purpose, such as a tourist stay or the digital nomad permit; it does not give a DNI.
- restricción cruzadacross restriction
- A sworn statement, required when you send dollars to an account abroad, that you will not buy certain dollar-settled securities for a set period.
- reunificación familiarfamily reunification
- A temporary residence category for the spouse, parent or child of an Argentine, or for close family of a resident.
- rioplatenseof the River Plate
- Of the Río de la Plata region; Rioplatense Spanish is the Spanish of Buenos Aires, its area and Uruguay.
S
- saladeromeat-salting works
- A meat-salting works; John Mooney and Patrick Bookey, the first recorded Irish emigrants of the 1820s, became the main employers of Irish labour in theirs.
- seguro de cauciónlease guarantee insurance
- A paid insurance policy that stands in for a property-owning guarantor on a lease; not every agency accepts every insurer.
- SENASAanimal-health authority
- Argentina's national animal-health authority, which sets the entry rules for pets and checks them at the border.
- seseos for z
- Pronouncing z, and c before e or i, as an s, as all of Latin America does; central and northern Spain say a th there.
- sheísmothe "sh" sound
- The Rioplatense way of pronouncing ll and y as a "sh" or "zh" sound, so that calle sounds like "cashe"; younger people in Buenos Aires mostly say "sh".
- SMVMnational minimum wage
- The national minimum monthly wage, which the government updates in steps; the rentista and pensionado income test is set as a multiple of it.
- SUBEtransport card
- The rechargeable card for public transport; the published fares are for a registered card.
- subteunderground
- The Buenos Aires underground railway, short for subterráneo.
T
- tercerothirds sharecropper
- A shepherd on the "thirds" contract, keeping a third rather than half of the flock's increase; newcomers were cut to these terms as sheep grew dearer, so their path to a flock of their own took longer.
- TIE 24Helectronic entry application
- Tramitación de Ingreso Electrónica, the Migraciones online entry-permit application, which you file from outside Argentina.
- toma de datos biométricosbiometric capture
- The capture of your biometric data by Migraciones, which you must attend in person even when an agent acts for you.
- tonadaregional accent
- A local way of speaking, such as the tonada of Córdoba, which lengthens the syllable before the stress.
- trabajador migrantemigrant worker
- A temporary residence category for people employed by an Argentine employer that is registered with Migraciones to sponsor foreigners.
- traductor públicosworn translator
- A sworn public translator registered in Argentina; foreign-language documents for Migraciones must be translated by one and the translation legalised.
- trámiteprocedure
- A formal procedure with a government office, such as a residence application or a request for a DNI.
- truchofake, dodgy
- A colloquial word for something fake or fraudulent, such as a forged document or a counterfeit product.
- turnoappointment
- An appointment; your Migraciones appointment is at the office nearest the address you declared, and walk-ins are not accepted.
- turno preferencialpaid earlier appointment
- An optional paid appointment that brings your date forward but does not speed up the decision.
U
- UMSMMigraciones fee unit
- Unidad de Medida de Servicios Migratorios, the unit in which Migraciones sets its fees.
- ustedyou (formal)
- The polite word for you when speaking to one person; for more than one person, Argentines say ustedes to everyone, friends included.
V
- valor presupuestadoquoted price
- The quoted price for scheduled care, which hospitals run by the national government ask foreigners without permanent residence to pay in full beforehand unless insurance covers it.
- vosyou (informal)
- The informal word for you used in Argentina in place of tú, with its own verb forms, such as vos sos.
- voseousing vos
- Saying vos and its verb forms for the informal you, as Argentines do at every social level; only the present tense and commands change.
Z
- zanjeadorditch-digger
- A ditch-digger; with sheep work it was one of the typical Irish jobs in the camp, because boundary ditches marked land before wire fences existed.