Coche, carro or auto? Spanish words that change by country
You learn coche for “car” from a course, then watch a film where everyone says carro, and a friend from Santiago says auto. All three are correct Spanish. Spanish is an official language in about twenty countries, and some everyday things have different names in different places. A word that is normal in Madrid can sound unusual in Buenos Aires, and the other way round. Speakers from different countries still understand each other. Here are the words you will come across first.
Three words for a car
In Spain, a car is a coche. In Colombia, Venezuela and Central America, speakers usually say carro. In Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, auto is the usual word, and Argentines and Uruguayans also say coche. In Mexico, carro and coche are both everyday words.
So Mi coche está en la calle, Mi carro está en la calle and Mi auto está en la calle all mean “My car is on the street”.
Two traps come with these words:
- In Spain, carro is a cart, and un carro de la compra is a shopping trolley.
- In Chile, a coche is usually a pram, un coche de bebé. Chileans call a car an auto.
Words you will come across early
These pairs come up often. The first word is the usual one in Spain. The second is common in much of Latin America.
| Meaning | Spain | Much of Latin America |
|---|---|---|
| juice | zumo | jugo |
| computer | ordenador | computadora, or computador in Colombia and Chile |
| mobile phone | móvil | celular |
| to drive | conducir | manejar |
| potato | patata | papa |
| flat, apartment | piso | departamento in Mexico, Argentina and Chile, apartamento in Colombia and Venezuela |
A few notes on these:
- Speakers in Latin America know conducir too. It appears on signs and in writing, as in licencia de conducir, “driving licence”. In everyday speech, speakers there say manejar: ¿Quién maneja? means “Who is driving?”
- Papa is also the everyday word for a potato in the Canary Islands, so you will hear it in Spain too.
Words for a bus
The bus has the most names. These are examples, and each place has a few more.
| Where | What speakers say |
|---|---|
| Spain | autobús, or bus in speech |
| Mexico | camión for a city bus, autobús for a long-distance coach |
| Colombia | bus, and buseta for a smaller one |
| Argentina | colectivo, and bondi in casual speech |
| Chile | micro |
| Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Canary Islands | guagua |
In Spain, camión is a lorry, so un camión on a Spanish road is a truck. In Mexico, camión is a bus, and you ask ¿A qué hora pasa el camión? to find out when the bus comes.
Verbs for taking a bus differ too. In Spain, coger el autobús is a normal phrase. In Mexico and Argentina, for example, coger has a vulgar sense, so speakers there say tomar el autobús or agarrar el colectivo. Tomar works in Spain too, so it is the safer verb if you want one that travels. Public transport in Spanish has the rest of the tickets, stops and announcements.
Which one should you learn?
Learn the word you hear first, and learn to recognise the others. If you have a reason to learn the Spanish of one country, because you will live there or your partner comes from there, use that country’s words. The difference between Latin American and Spain Spanish explains how to pick a main model and still understand speakers from elsewhere.
When you hear an unfamiliar word, you can usually work out its meaning from the sentence. For the rest, look it up in a dictionary that labels words by country, such as the ASALE Dictionary of Americanisms.
The words in real sentences
- Mi coche está en el garaje. My car is in the garage. (Spain)
- Mi carro es azul. My car is blue. (Colombia, Mexico)
- Mi auto está en el taller. My car is at the garage for repairs. (Argentina, Chile)
- ¿Quieres un zumo de naranja? Do you want an orange juice? (Spain)
- Quiero un jugo de naranja, por favor. I would like an orange juice, please. (Latin America)
- Mi ordenador no funciona. My computer is not working. (Spain)
- Mi computadora no funciona. My computer is not working. (Mexico, Argentina)
- Se me quedó el celular en casa. I left my phone at home. (Latin America)
- No sé conducir de noche. I cannot drive at night. (Spain)
- Mi padre maneja muy despacio. My father drives very slowly. (Latin America)
- El colectivo pasa cada diez minutos. The bus comes every ten minutes. (Argentina)
- Voy en camión al trabajo. I take the bus to work. (Mexico)
Questions people ask
Is it coche, carro or auto? All three mean “car”. Coche is the usual word in Spain, carro in Colombia, Venezuela and Central America, and auto in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, where Argentines and Uruguayans also say coche. In Mexico you hear carro and coche.
Is it zumo or jugo? Zumo is the usual word in Spain and jugo in much of Latin America. Both mean the liquid from fruit.
Is it ordenador or computadora? Ordenador is the word in Spain. In Latin America you hear computadora, and in Colombia and Chile also computador.
Is it móvil or celular? Móvil is the usual word in Spain, and celular is the usual word in much of Latin America.
What is the difference between conducir and manejar? Both mean “to drive”. Speakers in Spain say conducir. Speakers in much of Latin America say manejar, and keep conducir for signs and formal writing.
What do you call a bus in Spanish? Autobús is understood everywhere. Locally, you hear camión in Mexico, colectivo in Argentina, micro in Chile and guagua in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Canary Islands.
Will people understand me if I use the wrong one? Yes. Speakers know the words used in other countries from films, music, news and travel. They may smile and give you their own word.
Practise these words
coche, auto, zumo, jugo, ordenador, computadora, móvil, conducir, manejar, autobús, camión, colectivo, piso, departamento, apartamento. Vozelu is a free website for practising Spanish, and it has each of these. You see a sentence with one word missing, you type the word, and a native voice reads the sentence back. Practise the words on this page.