cuadrar
kwah-DRAHRverbInformal
A Colombian Spanish slang term. Browse all Colombian slang.
What it means
To get together with someone; to become a couple. 'Se cuadraron en diciembre' means they got together in December.
El cuadre is the relationship at the stage before anyone calls it a relationship — the Colombian answer to 'it's complicated', and also the person themselves.
In its ordinary sense, to arrange or agree something: 'cuadremos la hora'. Both senses are live, and the ambiguity is used on purpose.
Literally: To square, to make something fit.
Examples with translations
¿Al fin se cuadró con ella?
Did he end up getting together with her?
No es novia, es un cuadre.
She's not a girlfriend, it's more of a thing.
Note: Deliberately vague — the whole function of the word.
Cuadremos mañana para lo del carro.
Let's sort out the car thing tomorrow.
Where it comes from
From cuadrar, 'to square up, to tally'. The romantic sense comes from the accounting one: two things that fit. It keeps the businesslike tone, which is part of why it is preferred over grander words.
Other forms
- Spellings and variants:
- cuadre, cuadrarse
- Similar terms:
- encarretarse, levantar