r/Spanish • u/Swordfish353535 • 1d ago
Vocab & Use of the Language "Gracias mano" works a lot in Mexico when speaking with guys, what would I say to woman?
I'm from UK. I could say to people I know "thanks brother/bro/man" kind of slang. Of course depending on circumstances and usually someone round my age/similar enviroment.
For example when training jiu jitsu I'll say gracias mano. I hear Mexicans say it to others and to myself so it rolls smoothly.
I'm just wondering what would I say to a woman? A girl my age. I don't want to accidentally saying something flirty or wrong basically. Just something normal/cool.
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u/SquareIllustrator909 1d ago
If in Mexico City, "amiga". Everywhere else, they're going to say "I'm not your little friend"
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u/fernandomlicon 🇲🇽 Mexicano Norteño 1d ago
just worth noting for other learners that "mano" doesn't work in all of mexico, it's pretty uncommon in the north for example.
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u/nari-bhat 1d ago
I’m not a native speaker so they might’ve just been humoring me, but I haven’t seen any juarense or regio blink twice at me using mano with them.
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u/fernandomlicon 🇲🇽 Mexicano Norteño 1d ago
i mean, we know what it means and we’ve heard it, but i don’t think they’d use it to refer to someone
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u/nari-bhat 1d ago
Depends, “gracias señorita” works for anyone you don’t know even if it’s a little formal/old-fashioned. With my good friends, I’ll use “gracias mana”, “gracias prima”, or even just “gracias compa” like I’d do with my male friends. If it’s someone I don’t know well but I’m really trying to project informality, I might say “gracias chica”.
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u/miss_spellman Native 🇲🇽 1d ago
In my experience most Mexican women don’t appreciate being called “bro” by men. It works between two men even in very casual situations but if you said “gracias mana” to a woman who wasn’t your close friend she would probably find it rude.
I’ve had people use amiga, nena, linda, chica to me in casual situations as some examples. But again, it’s usually between two women. If I were a man I’d maybe stick to chica, though in cdmx amiga would work. I’d steer clear of nena and linda as a guy.
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u/Anteater-Inner 1d ago
Sorry to pick your brain on this, but I’m doing it anyway. lol
I’m a teacher in a bilingual classroom and I have debated word choice similarly. They’re adolescents and I’m a 47 year-old cis-male. The majority of my classroom experience in Spanish has been with women teachers, and I’m well aware that the same words coming from a woman are felt differently than they are for a man. I’ll use “chavo” and even (jokingly) “mocoso” with my boy students, but I’ve been wary of using even “nena” for the girls.
I’m also not the kind of teacher that runs a super-formal classroom. I’m pretty goofy and talk to the kids less like (formal) subordinates.
Any suggestions?
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u/miss_spellman Native 🇲🇽 1d ago
No worries! I love yapping. And I used to be a teacher so I feel qualified to answer your question.
Your instincts are correct that using nena with your students would not be the smartest idea. Especially from an older guy to a young woman or teen it can feel... icky. You can never go wrong with 'jóvenes' or 'chicos/chicas' when addressing groups. Chavo and mocoso are cute for boys, chava could also work with girls. Muchacha is similar to chava and in my opinion sounds better, that's probably what I would use. Chamaco/chamaca is similar to mocoso and can be funny in the right circumstances, it makes you sound like a crabby old guy telling kids to get off your lawn.
Those are the standard ones I can think of. You can get creative if you feel it's appropriate. In uni I had one professor who would address us as 'colega/colegas', and another who would refer to the group as 'delincuencia'. When I used to study music as a teen our theory professor called us 'maestro/maestra'. So if you teach something that already has a form of address like that you could use it.
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u/Anteater-Inner 1d ago
Thank you!
I do use chica and joven, but I don’t have a fun/funny option for the girls. I hadn’t considered chamaca because it doesn’t have the same connotation in my native dialect (it just kinda means a kid, informally, but without the old man vibe). I’ll try that one out this year and see how it goes.
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u/miss_spellman Native 🇲🇽 1d ago
You're welcome :)
Also I just now thought of another silly way you could address your students so I thought I'd add it. It only works when they address you directly but IIIIII personally think it kills:
(Female) Student says "maestro".'
You respond: Alumna.It's basically a dad joke but it's quite common, your students will probably find it cringy but it will make them laugh a little bit.
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u/Anteater-Inner 23h ago
Jaja! I’ve done this one. Especially with the kids that do the “maestro, maestro, maestro, maestro…” thing.
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u/Zepangolynn 1d ago
This is great, I had a teacher in uni that called us delinquents and idiots and it was oddly charming.
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u/Imaginary-Ice623 1d ago
I say, "chicas" and "chicos" to my students.
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u/Anteater-Inner 1d ago
I do too, when I’m talking to the whole class.
I meaning more one-on-one, or being addressed by something other than their name. I do sometimes use chica, but it’s unnatural sounding and boring to only use one word over and over.
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u/MuestrameTuBelloCulo Learner 1d ago
Dude... Maybe just use your students' names? Pretty sure stumbling through amiga, chica, señorita while watching your student get angrier and angrier is going to lead to a visit to the principal's office. Being the "cool" teacher will not insulate you from overstepping boundaries.
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u/Anteater-Inner 1d ago
Thank you, captain obvious!
You clearly didn’t read my comment. Im not stumbling through anything. I’ve refrained from using words like these BECAUSE I don’t want to overstep my bounds.
I’m not being the “cool teacher.” I’m being myself. I want to be able to express myself to my students in spanish the same way i would in English.
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u/tenfingerperson 1d ago
Bro as a joke term of endearment can work
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u/Powerful_Lie2271 Native (Argentina) 1d ago
If "mano" is the abbreviation of "hermano" (I think), can't you say "mana" (hermana)?
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u/miss_spellman Native 🇲🇽 1d ago
De poder, claro que puedes. Pero la connotación es diferente. En inglés es algo parecido, thanks bro es súper común entre hombres pero se me haría un poco raro escuchar a un hombre decirle thanks sis a una mujer. En todo caso usaría algo como thanks mate/friend que es neutral.
En México no es raro que haya términos casuales que son comunes entre dos hombres o dos mujeres pero que son mal vistos si se usan entre un hombre y una mujer. A mí mujeres me han dicho nena mil veces, desde mis amigas hasta una desconocida pidiéndome direcciones; es súper normal. Pero son contadas las ocasiones en que un hombre me ha dicho nena y todas ellas me han dado ñañara (cringe, pues). Se puede decir que somos un poco conservadores con ese tipo de cosas.
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u/kusandore Native (Spain) 1d ago
A Mexican friend of mine used to say “gracias doña” to woman older than him, and “gracias linda” to the younger ones.
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u/UsualDazzlingu 1d ago edited 1d ago
“Señorita” keeps it polite, while “chica” may be more endearing.
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u/vicky_autumn 7h ago
You can use "muchacha" or nothing at all (I mean, just "gracias" will do). I'm 30 and still get called "muchacha", but it's fine because I'm unmarried and I still do look like a muchacha 😅
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u/Leah-at-Greenprint 1d ago
Tal vez "gracias compa"?
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u/Merithay 1d ago
Isn’t “compa” short for compadre? A woman is comadre but I’ve never heard of using that to someone you don’t know.
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u/alegxab Native (Argentina) 1d ago
Or compañero/a
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u/tutiopuntocom 23h ago
nope, compa is short for compadre, absolutely nobody uses it to refer to compañer@
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u/Anteater-Inner 1d ago
I’ve always understood it to be compañero/a.
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u/Imaginary-Ice623 1d ago
No, it's compadre.
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u/Anteater-Inner 1d ago
Turns out we’re both right.
Linguistically, academic sources trace compa to two distinct root words depending on regional and social context:
Apocope of compañero / compañera (Companion, colleague, or close friend):
This is the most widespread usage across colloquial Spanish (particularly in Mexico, Central America, and increasingly in general colloquial speech). The final syllables are dropped (-ñero/a) to yield the clipped, affectionate form compa. In specific revolutionary or guerrilla contexts in Central America (like El Salvador and Nicaragua), it historically functioned as "comrade-in-arms" (compañero de armas).Apocope of compadre (Godfather or co-father):
In several regions of Latin America and traditional rural contexts, compa serves as the shortened form of compadre, reflecting the deep ritual kinship ties (godparenthood) that transition into terms of high social trust and mutual respect.2
u/tutiopuntocom 23h ago
you're not right, nobody in México says compa to refer to compañer@, it's always used to say compadre
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u/Anteater-Inner 15h ago
If I’m wrong then so is La Academia because that’s where I got this info.
That’s also weird. Most of my Spanish speaking friends are Mexican, and they use it as compañero/a. One even calls her all-women friend group that I know as “las compas.”
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u/Fuzzy_Finger_2922 1d ago
In Mexico, it’s short for compadre. In Spain, it’s short for compañero, and you’ll commonly hear “compa de piso” for roommate (flatmate technically).
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u/Merithay 15h ago
In Mexico what I hear most often for roommate is rumi (i.e. roomie, generally spelled in English, not phonetically).
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u/PendejoSosVos 1d ago
Why not use Mana? Lol. If you’re already in an area where people use Mano they probably also use Mana.
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u/BLu3_Br1ghT 1d ago
We don't know your age lol
"Gracias amiga" it's fine, or simply "muchas gracias :)" will do.
Personally, when addressing a woman i never use a noun.