Mexico

Mexican Slang for Greetings & Address

3 Mexican slang terms for greetings & address, each with its meaning, how it is pronounced and an example of it in use.

How people open a conversation and what they call each other. These terms carry the most social information of any slang category: one wrong choice marks you as an outsider, or worse, as rude.

¿qué onda?

phrase · Informal

What's up? The standard casual greeting between friends.

+1 more sense

compa

noun · Informal · KOHM-pah

Buddy, pal. A warm, unpretentious term for a friend, and a common way to address a man whose name you don't know.

güey

noun, interjection · Informal · WAY

Dude, mate, guy. Used both to address a friend directly and to refer to any unnamed man.

+2 more senses

Use with care