Tico Expression #6: Carajo, Carajillo y Carajada
These expressions reflect the country ’s rich cultural, historical, and social context and are part of what gives Costa Rican Spanish its distinctive charm.
In each issue of Surfing the Law, we feature one of these tico expressions, offering a brief explanation, usage examples, and, whenever possible, some historical background.
Tico Expression #6: Carajo, Carajillo y Carajada
If you’ve spent any time in Costa Rica, you’ve probably heard it: a “¡carajo!” muttered at a power outage, or a “¡qué carajo!” at yet another traffic jam. It is a very versatile word that has several meanings, depending on the context and the country in which it is used. Costa Ricans didn’t invent it, but they did turn it onto some other related words as we will discuss below.
Carajo
Let’s be clear from the start: carajo is not a Costa Rican word. It’s used across Spain and all of Latin America. As an exclamation, it expresses surprise or frustration, roughly “damn!” or “what the heck!”, and it shows up in different, common phrases:
- ¡Qué carajo! Se fue el agua otra vez.: “Oh, for crying out loud! We are without water again.”
- ¿Dónde carajo dejé las llaves?: “Where the heck did I leave my keys?”
- “Todo el plan se fue al carajo.”: “The whole plan went down the drain.”
Carajillo
Somehow, in Costa Rican Spanish, the diminutive illo was added to the end of the word to refer to children in a manner that is simultaneously affectionate and frustrated. You’ll commonly hear it in a Tico household, usually with affection and a hint of exasperation.
- Esos carajillos no dejan de gritar.: “Those kids won’t stop yelling.”
- “Desde carajillo le encanta el fútbol.: “He’s loved soccer since he was a kid.”
Carajada: the Tico “thingamajig”
In general Spanish, a carajada is a piece of nonsense. However, in Costa Rica carajada also does a job no other word can: it means simply a thing or a situation. It’s the word you reach for when you can’t, or won’t, or don´t want to remember what something is called.
• ¿Y esa carajada para qué sirve?: And what’s that thing for?
• Tengo que arreglar una carajada en el banco.: “I have to sort out a thing at the bank.”
The bottom line
Spanish can be tricky, with one word having several different meanings, depending upon context and the country where it is spoken. If you add to that, the possibility of adding flexible diminutives and suffixes to root words to come up with whole new meanings makes it even more confusing. That is why it is important to closely pay attention to the way Costa Ricans speak, and when in doubt, most will be more than happy to explain what their tico expressions mean.