Words and Phrases Chilangos Say Slang in Mexico City

In this article, we’re going to go over some regional phrases people say a lot in Mexico City. 

Mexico City residents are commonly called “Defeños,” “Capitalinos,” and “Chilangos.” 

“Defeño” makes reference to the former name of Mexico City, which was ‘Distrito Federal’ or DF (/de efe/ in Spanish). “Capitalino” refers to someone from the Capital City. And no one knows for sure the meaning or origin of the word “Chilango,” but it’s the most popular demonym for someone from CDMX.

If you’re not familiar with some of the phrases, it might be hard to always follow along when speaking with people from Mexico City. To help you better understand this specific group and their regional slang, we’ve created a quick list to get you started:

1. ¿Qué pex? 

“¿Qué pex?” is like “What happened?” “What are you going to do?” “What’s up?” “What’s going on?”

Mexicans have a thing for the word “pedo.” (Fart, in English.) They use it for everything. For example:

“Estar pedo” – Literally, to be fart. Which makes no sense when translated literally, but it means to be drunk.

Or, “No hay pedo” – Literally, there’s no fart. But it means “there’s no problem.” 

The phrase “¿Qué pex?” comes from “¿Qué pedo?” (What fart?) Which means “What’s up?” “What’s going on?” People just shortened it up to “¿Qué pex?” to be able to say it faster.

2. Güey

Another word Chilangos say all the time is “Güey.” 

“Güey” is like “friend.” You can use this word for any gender. Just remember it is extremely colloquial. Use it only with people you’re close to and also with people your age or younger. 

“Güey” can also mean “dumb” or “stupid” depending on the context, so make sure you’re using this word with caution.

3. Chale

There are many words in English for this one. You can use it like you’d use “Dang!”, “Man!” and even “Too bad!”

For example “¡Chale! Esto me salió mal. – “Shucks! I did this wrong!” or “No pude terminar esto a tiempo. ¡Chale! – “I couldn’t finish this on time! Damn!” or “El muchacho con el que estoy saliendo no me llamó. ¡Chale! –  “The guy I’m seeing didn’t call me! Bummer!”

4. ¡No mames!

“¡No mames!” is used all the time. It’s like, “WTF?!” or “No f*cking way!”

So you can say, “¡No mames! ¿Por qué te tardaste tanto?” – “WTF?! Why did you take so long!?” “¡No mames! ¡Hay un chingo de tráfico!” – “No f*cking way! There’s a ton of traffic!”

“¡No mames!” is a phrase you use when something goes wrong. It’s also used to complain or argue with someone who did something to you like “¡No mames! ¿Por qué hiciste eso?” – “WTF?! Why did you do that!?”

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Understanding these main slang phrases will help you navigate Mexico City with your Mexican friends without getting confused. While learning the basics of a language will go a long way in helping you fit in, the more unique phrases and slang words you know, the easier it will be to follow along in real-life conversations. It may be challenging at first since no guidebooks really cover slang, but with a little practice, you’ll be sounding like a local in no time!