Mexican

Mexicans most often say Cálmate to a friend and Cálmese to someone they address as usted. Tranquilo or tranquila is the gentle, everyday version.

The verb go is ir in Spanish. In Mexico people also use Vamos to say let us go and Ándale to urge someone on.

The Spanish form of Nathan is Natán, the name of the biblical prophet.

In Mexican Spanish a written laugh is jajaja. The letter j sounds like English “h”, so it is the same sound as “haha”.

In Mexican Spanish a “kitten” is gatito for a male and gatita for a female. Casual talk also uses michi, a word for any cat.

Butter in Mexico is mantequilla. The word manteca is different, because in Mexico it means lard or cooking fat.

Goodbye in Mexico is Adiós, but Mexicans often prefer softer farewells such as Hasta luego or Nos vemos. Adiós fits a polite goodbye.

In Mexico “dumb” in the sense of foolish is tonto, and a woman is tonta. A very Mexican word is menso or mensa, and baboso is ruder.

Salt in Mexican Spanish is sal, a feminine noun, so you say la sal. A pinch is una pizca de sal, and salty is salado. At the table you ask ¿me pasa la sal?

In Mexico a shooting with several shots is a balacera. Tiroteo is the standard Spanish word and disparos means gunshots.