Learn Costa Rican Spanish in San José
Ticos say usted to everyone, friends and family included, and hardly ever tú. Pura vida works as hello, thanks and goodbye, a friend is mae, and work is brete.
In Solvelingua you move to San José, find a home in Barrio Amón, and learn Costa Rican Spanish the way people there speak it: by talking with the baker, your landlord, your boss and your friends, by voice or by typing. Everyone remembers you, and gentle feedback after each conversation shows what to say next time.
What you'll hear in San José
Answering the phone
¿Aló?
Polite and friendly “you”
usted with strangers, vos with friends
Courtesies
con mucho gusto, pura vida, qué pena con usted and ¿me regala…?
Money
Costa Rican colones
Local words and slang
- pura vida
- diay
- con gusto
- ¡qué chiva!
- mae
- tuanis
- brete
- harina
- jupa
- chunche
- carajillo (a kid)
Where you'll live
- Barrio Amón: The coffee barons' old mansions of wood and tin, painted every colour, the Parque Morazán and its Templo de la Música, and cafés and galleries in the old houses.
You can play in English and Portuguese: menus, feedback, lessons and translations come in the language you pick.
More Spanish: Asunción · Bogotá · Buenos Aires · Caracas · Guatemala City · La Paz · Lima · Managua · Mexico City · Montevideo · Panama City · Quito · San Salvador · Santiago · Tegucigalpa · All Spanish cities
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