October 20, 2025 By Sam Goetz

Speak like a local in Paraguay with these 7 secret phrases

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We went to the streets of Asuncion, and ask locals to teach us some Paraguayan slang. Here's what we learned:

  1. Ni impedo!
  2. Me pasó un Scania 360
  3. Tesa Po'e
  4. Me llegó el raudal
  5. La raza Paraguaya es vencer or morir
  6. Nderakore
  7. Japiro

 

Ni impedo

"Ni impedo" means, "not even if I was extremely drunk." Imagine your friend asks if you want to go on a date with somebody that you find very un attrictive. You might say "Ni impedo"!

Me pasó un Scania 360

This roughly translates to: "I was hit by a Scania 360 (cargo truck model)". Use this for if you're really hungover, and can't make it somewhere. Sort of like, "Ugh, I feel like I was hit by a freight train.".

Tesa po'e

Paraguayans like to mix the Guarani language in with their spanish, and here's a phrase to describe a friend who steals your girlfriend. You'll definitely get a laugh out of a group of locals if you use this right.

Me llegó el raudal

Paraguay's bipolar weather can cause significant flooding in the streets. This phrase effectively means, I ran into a flood. This is an excuse locals use if they're late to something on a rainy day.

La raza Paraguay es vencer or morir

Feeling Patriotic? Watching Paraguay play in the world cup? This means The Paraguayan people will conquer, or die trying.

Nderakore

Dropped something, crashed your car, here's an exclamation for shit. Another Guarani word that's mixed in with Paraguayan Spanish.

Japiro

This is another Guarani curse word that you should never use with strangers. The "J" is pronounced more like a "y". It's sort of like verbally giving somebody the middle finger. Very aggressive to use in a formal setting, but okay with friends. For example, two friends might say: "Hey can you pay the bill for dinner?. No, japiro, I didn't eat anything".

About Author

Sam Goetz

Founder of a music software company, I moved to Paraguay from the United States to learn Spanish and live more affordably. After trying three different Spanish schools in Asunción, I decided to start my own.

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