Herman Jerome

In Mexico “breast” is pecho for the chest and seno for a woman’s breast. For poultry meat, such as chicken breast, Mexicans say pechuga.

In Mexico a storm is a tormenta. A thunderstorm is a tormenta eléctrica and a tropical storm is a tormenta tropical.

Treasure is tesoro in Mexico, the same as in all Spanish.

Thirty is treinta in Mexico, the same as everywhere in Spanish. Numbers above it add y and the units, as in treinta y uno.

A whale is a ballena in Mexico, as in all Spanish. A humpback is ballena jorobada and a gray whale is ballena gris.

In Mexico the polite term is empleada doméstica or trabajadora del hogar. The older word sirvienta is still heard but many people find it disrespectful.

In Mexico a park is parque. The town square in many Mexican towns is called zócalo or jardín and works as a central meeting place.

In Mexico a headache is dolor de cabeza. The usual way to say you have one is Me duele la cabeza, literally “my head hurts”.

In Mexico a country, meaning a nation, is a país. The countryside is el campo, so the two meanings of English “country” use different words.

In Mexico the abbreviation for “RIP” is Q.E.P.D., short for que en paz descanse. You also see D.E.P. for descanse en paz in messages and death notices.