WhatsApp and texting in Spanish: greetings, abbreviations, voice notes and what to write to a landlord in Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina
Written Spanish on a phone has its own habits. People drop accents, write abbreviations nobody taught you in place of whole words, and a lot of the conversation arrives as voice notes. WhatsApp is the default messenger in Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina, so a good deal of your Spanish will happen there. Below: how people open and close a message, the short forms, the laughs, voice notes and their etiquette, group chats, and how the register changes between a friend and a landlord.
Opening a message
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral hello | Hola | Hola | Hola | Hola |
| Casual hello | ¿Qué onda? | ¿Qué tal? or Buenas | ¿Qué más? or Quiubo | Che or ¿Todo bien? |
| How are you | ¿Cómo estás? | ¿Cómo estás? | ¿Cómo vas? | ¿Cómo andás? |
| To someone older | Buenos días, ¿cómo está? | Buenos días, ¿qué tal? | Buenos días, ¿cómo está? | Buen día, ¿cómo está? |
Buen día in the singular is the Argentine habit, in messages and in person. In the other three countries people say buenos días.
Colombian quiubo is a written spelling of qué hubo, and friends use it on its own as a hello. In Medellín people add ¿bien o qué?, which is a greeting rather than a question. In Mexico, ¿qué onda? is friendly and informal, and you would not open a message to a landlord with it.
One habit worth copying: in all four countries people send the greeting and the question as separate messages, sometimes three in a row. Writing hola, waiting, then writing the question is normal, and people take it as warm.
Saying yes, fine, got it
This is the single most useful row on the page. In each country people use one short word for “ok”.
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OK, got it | Va or Sale | Vale | Listo | Dale |
| Great | Órale or Padrísimo | Guay or Genial | Chévere or Bacano | Bárbaro or Copado |
| Let’s do it | Va que va | Venga | De una or Hágale | Dale, de una |
| Thanks | Gracias or Grax | Gracias or Grax | Gracias or Mil gracias | Gracias or Mil gracias |
| Please | Porfa | Porfa or Porfi | Porfa | Porfa |
| Mate, dude | güey or wey | tío, tía | parce | boludo, che |
Güey, tío, parce and boludo are for friends who already talk to you that way. Wait until someone uses one on you. Boludo between Argentine friends is affectionate and between strangers is an insult.
Short forms
| Short | Full | Where |
|---|---|---|
| q | que | Everywhere |
| k | que | Spain, mostly |
| xq, pq | porque, por qué | Everywhere |
| x | por | Everywhere; x favor, x fa |
| d | de | Everywhere |
| tb, tmb | también | Everywhere |
| bn | bien | Everywhere |
| ns | no sé | Everywhere |
| ntp | no te preocupes | Common in Mexico |
| tqm, tkm | te quiero mucho | Everywhere |
| xfa, porfa | por favor | Everywhere |
| finde | fin de semana | Spain, Argentina |
| salu2 | saludos | Everywhere, slightly dated |
| bss, bs | besos | Spain, Argentina |
| msj | mensaje | Everywhere |
| cel | celular | Mexico, Colombia, Argentina; Spain says móvil |
Accents disappear on a phone. People write como estas, que haces, mañana without the tilde on the n if it is hard to type. Nobody minds in a chat with a friend. Write the accents when you message a landlord, an estate agent or a doctor’s office, where people read the message as a small letter.
Laughing
| Written | What it carries |
|---|---|
| jaja, jajaja | The standard laugh, all four countries. Longer means funnier |
| jeje | Softer, a smile or a bit of mischief. Also used when you are the one being cheeky |
| jiji | Giggly, playful, a little childish |
| jajajaj, jajsjaja | Typed at speed, keys missed. Reads as genuinely laughing |
| xd | Younger writers, all four countries. Ironic more often than funny |
A single ja on its own is not a laugh. People read it as flat, like “ha.” in English. If you mean it kindly, write at least jaja.
Voice notes
Voice notes are enormous in all four countries, and heaviest in Argentina and Colombia. People send them while walking, cooking and driving, and they can run for minutes.
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I’ll send you a voice note | Te mando un audio. | Un audio is the everyday word; una nota de voz is what the app calls it |
| Send me a voice note | Mandame un audio. (Argentina, vos) / Mándame un audio. (Mexico, Colombia, Spain) | |
| Sorry for the long voice note | Perdón por el audio largo. | |
| I can’t listen right now | Ahora no puedo escuchar el audio. | |
| I’m on the street, I’ll listen later | Estoy en la calle, después lo escucho. | |
| Can you write it instead? | ¿Me lo escribes mejor? / ¿Me lo escribís? (Argentina) | |
| I listened to it at double speed | Lo escuché a doble velocidad. | Also written en 2x |
| I’m calling you instead | Mejor te llamo. |
You do not need to apologise for a voice note to a friend, at any length. A voice note to someone you have never met is unusual outside Colombia and Argentina, where people send them to a plumber or a shop. To a landlord, a boss or an office, write instead. Playing a long audio back at double speed is ordinary and nobody is offended.
Stickers, photos and location
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A sticker | un sticker | Pronounced estíquer. Spain also says una pegatina for the physical kind, rarely for the chat kind |
| Send me the photo | Mándame la foto. / Pasame la foto. (Argentina) | Pasar is the verb for sending anything in a chat |
| I’ll forward it to you | Te lo reenvío. / Te lo paso. | |
| I’ll send you my location | Te mando la ubicación. | The single most useful message in a taxi |
| Share your location | Pasame tu ubicación. | |
| A video call | una videollamada | |
| Call me on WhatsApp | Llamame por WhatsApp. | Cheaper than a normal call and what people actually do |
| A screenshot | una captura / un pantallazo (Spain, Colombia) |
In Spanish chats people put a lot of the tone into stickers, and a sticker on its own counts as a reply.
People read emoji straightforwardly. 👍 means yes, agreed. 😂 is the standard laugh emoji and usually comes with a jaja as well. 🙏 is thanks or please. In family group chats in Mexico and Colombia, people post flowers and good morning images, which younger relatives tease and nobody stops.
Being left on read
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| He left me on read | Me dejó en visto. | Used in all four countries |
| She read it and didn’t reply | Lo vio y no contestó. | |
| Two blue ticks | el doble check azul | The ticks are los checks |
| It hasn’t been delivered | No le llegó. | |
| Are you online? | ¿Estás conectado? | |
| Last seen | la última conexión | |
| I have read receipts off | Tengo el visto desactivado. | |
| I have you muted | Te tengo silenciado. | Said about groups more than people |
Dejar en visto is the verb phrase, and it is used seriously and as a joke: me dejaste en visto toda la tarde. Turning off read receipts is common enough that no me llega el visto is a real excuse.
Saying you will reply later
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I’ll reply in a bit | Ahorita te contesto | Ahora te contesto | Ya te respondo | Ahí te contesto |
| I’m busy right now | Ando ocupado ahorita | Estoy liado ahora mismo | Estoy ocupado, ya te escribo | Estoy a full, después te escribo |
| I’ll tell you later | Luego te cuento | Luego te cuento | Ahorita le cuento | Después te cuento |
| Talk later | Luego hablamos | Hablamos luego | Hablamos | Hablamos |
Ahorita in Mexico and Colombia does not mean now. It means soon, later or at some vague point, and ahorita te contesto can be five minutes or tomorrow. Ahora mismo is the one that means immediately.
Estoy liado is Spain for being tied up with work. Estoy a full is Argentine for the same thing.
Signing off
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bye | Chao (Mexico, Colombia) / Chau (Argentina) / Adiós or Chao (Spain) | The spelling is the country |
| See you | Nos vemos | Everywhere |
| A hug | Un abrazo | Warm, works with friends and with colleagues you like |
| Kisses | Un beso, Besos, Bss | Spain and Argentina use it freely between friends of any gender |
| Take care | Cuídate / Cuidate (Argentina, vos) | |
| Regards | Saludos | The safe neutral close for anyone |
| Best regards | Un saludo (Spain) / Saludos cordiales | Formal, written |
| I’m off | Me piro (Spain) / Ya me voy | |
| Good night | Buenas noches / Que descanses |
Group chats
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The family group | el grupo de la familia | |
| The work group | el grupo del trabajo | |
| The building group | el grupo del edificio | Argentina also el grupo del consorcio; Spain el grupo de la comunidad; Colombia el grupo del conjunto |
| Add me to the group | Agrégame al grupo. / Agregame al grupo. (Argentina) | |
| I left the group | Me salí del grupo. | |
| I’ve muted it | Lo tengo silenciado. | |
| Sorry, wrong chat | Perdón, me equivoqué de chat. | |
| That was for another group | Era para otro grupo. | |
| Can everyone confirm? | ¿Confirman, porfa? | |
| Noted, thanks | Anotado, gracias. | |
| I’m in | Yo me apunto. (Spain) / Yo le entro. (Mexico) / Yo voy. / Yo me sumo. (Argentina) |
In building and neighbour groups you find the most formal Spanish you will see on a phone: full sentences, usted, buenos días at the top, a signature with your flat number. Copy the tone of whoever wrote last.
A landlord, and a friend, about the same thing
The message is the same. The register is not.
| To a friend | To a landlord |
|---|---|
| Che, se rompió la ducha, ¿qué hago? | Buenos días, señor Ramírez. Le escribo para avisarle que la ducha no funciona desde ayer. |
| Oye, no sale agua caliente | Buenas tardes. No hay agua caliente en el apartamento. ¿Podría enviar a alguien esta semana? (Spain says piso, Mexico departamento) |
| Te paso foto | Le envío una foto para que lo vea. |
| Avísame | Quedo atento a su respuesta. (Colombia) / Quedo a la espera. / Un saludo. (Spain) |
| Gracias!! | Muchas gracias de antemano. |
Quedo atento and quedo atenta are the standard Colombian sign-off for anything semi-formal, in a message or an email, and it is worth having ready. In Spain people close with un saludo. In Mexico and Argentina people use saludos or muchas gracias.
Use usted with a landlord, a building administrator, a doctor’s office and anyone you are paying, in all four countries. In Colombia keep usted even once you know them.
Ten messages you can send tomorrow
- Hola, ¿cómo andás? ¿Todo bien? Hi, how are you? All good? (Argentina)
- ¿Qué más, parce? ¿Nos vemos el viernes? Hey, how’s it going? Shall we meet Friday? (Colombia)
- Va, nos vemos ahí. Porfa mándame la ubicación. OK, see you there. Please send me the location. (Mexico)
- Vale, quedamos a las nueve. OK, nine o’clock then. (Spain)
- Perdón por el audio largo jaja. Sorry for the long voice note.
- Ahora no puedo escuchar el audio, ¿me lo escribes? I can’t listen right now, can you write it?
- Te dejé en visto sin querer, perdón. I left you on read by accident, sorry.
- Estoy ocupado ahorita, ya te contesto. I’m busy right now, I’ll reply shortly. (Mexico, Colombia)
- Buenos días. Le escribo porque la calefacción no funciona. Quedo atento. Good morning. I’m writing because the heating isn’t working. I look forward to hearing from you. (Colombia, to a landlord)
- Salí del grupo sin querer, ¿me agregan otra vez? I left the group by accident, can you add me back?
Questions people ask
What does “ntp” mean? No te preocupes, don’t worry about it. It is most common in Mexico. You can use the full form everywhere, and it never looks wrong.
Is “jaja” the same as “haha”? Yes, and it is the only spelling. The Spanish j makes the h sound, so haha would read as aa. Jeje is softer and a bit sly, jiji is giggly.
Why does everyone send voice notes? Speaking is faster than typing on a phone keyboard, and in Argentina and Colombia in particular the habit spread into everything, including messages to shops and tradespeople. Replying by text to a voice note is completely normal.
What does “me dejó en visto” mean? He or she read my message and did not answer. Visto is the read receipt. Used in all four countries and usually half joking.
Should I write accents in a chat? With friends, no one cares. With a landlord, an office or anyone you want to seem careful for, write them. Que and qué, como and cómo, si and sí are the ones that change meaning.
Chao or chau? Chau in Argentina and Uruguay. Chao in Mexico, Colombia and Spain. Both come from the Italian ciao and both are informal.
Is it rude to reply hours later? No. Messages are not treated as urgent, and perdón, lo acabo de ver, sorry, I’ve only just seen this, is enough. In Argentina people say perdón, recién lo veo.
What do I write to a group of neighbours? Buenos días a todos, then the point in one or two sentences, then muchas gracias and your name and flat number. Keep usted, and keep it short.
Practise these words
mensaje, escribir, mandar, audio, grupo, contestar, ahorita, saludos, abrazo, ubicación, silenciar, porfa, listo. 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.