flaite

Flaite - noun, a sketchy person who will rob you if given the chance, they often dress inspired by hip-hop, with sporty warm-up pants and baby soccer shoes. They give off bad vibes and inspire zero trust. Its best to steer clear of them.

Chile is full of flaites. I think of it this way: There are way more poor people in Chile than in the States. Chile has the largest gap between rich and poor in all of Latin American. So you have the filthy rich and the terribly poor. This is a recipe for envy. There are a lot of flaites and you will find them in most parts of the big cities here.

"¿Cruzamos la calle mejor? Hay unos flaites frente la botillería."
"Why don't we cross the street? There are some sketchy guys in front of the liquor store."


Flaite - adjetive, sketchy.

Esas minas eran enteras flaites.
Those chiks were totally sketchy.

For a more in-depth explanation in chilensis, check this out. The Urban Dictionary defines it in English.

Chilenismo, coloquial

te lo encargo

So I'm getting right down to business. This expression I just learned, and honestly I'm still not sure that I know all the meanings or even that I'm using it exactly right, but here we go.

I think "te lo encargo" loosely means "you should try it"
Te lo encargo is an expression that you use in the following cases:

Puta, el examen me fue como las weas. Te lo encargo.
Fuck, this exam went terribly. You should try it. - Here te lo encargo puts enfasis on how difficult the exam was.

Fui a los baños turcos hoy día y quedé como nueva. Te los encargo.
Today I went to the turkish baths and I feel like new. You should go.

"Te lo encargo" is not a vulgar expression. It's colloquial. I wouldn't use it in formal occasions.

These entries will have five categories of use: vulgar, colloquial, informal, normal, formal.

I'm not sure if this expression is Chilean or not. I don't hear it that often. Mostly my friend Fer uses it so perhaps it's a Ferism. But it's my new fave expression.

Test your Chilensis level

This is a music video called "enchufa" created by an Italian residing in Chile who's taken reggaeton to a new level. jejeje. But if you understand him you're doing well with your Chilensis. If not, you'll be struggling a bit trying to understand Chilean slang and swear words. I personally think Chileans speak the most difficult Spanish in the world, and several friends who are also native English speakers have said the same. Chilean Spanish (or Castellano, as they call it here) is difficult because many of them barely articulate syllables, they speak in a monotone, quickly, and often cut off the second half of their words. Here, I think Benni actually is quite easy to understand. Later I'll upload a more difficult video or two. But this is good for starters. A link to the lyrics.