chaval
nounInformal
A Peninsular Spanish slang term. Browse all Spanish slang.
What it means
A kid; a young lad. Feminine chavala. Also used to address a younger man.
Examples with translations
Un chaval me ayudó a subir la maleta.
A young lad helped me carry the suitcase up.
Cuando era chaval vivíamos en el pueblo.
When I was a kid we lived in the village.
Where it comes from
From Caló chavale, the vocative of chavó, 'boy' — the same Romani root that gives English 'chav', though the two words have travelled in opposite directions socially.
Other forms
- Spellings and variants:
- chavala
- Similar terms:
- crío, chico