Málaga dialect dictionary

People speak differently in Málaga. It’s not just the accent: there’s a vocabulary of its own, and an exam that everyone fails on the first day: order a coffee.

Here are the words you’ll hear and a full explanation of how the café system works.

Málaga’s ten types of coffee

The key to understanding this: In Málaga, you don’t order coffee by size, but by the exact ratio of coffee to milk. And it works like a scale, from more coffee to less:

Name	Proportion
Solo	100% coffee
Largo	90% coffee
Semilargo	80% coffee
Solo corto	60% coffee
Mitad	50% coffee and 50% milk
Entrecorto	40% coffee and 60% milk
Corto	30% coffee and 70% milk
Sombra	20% coffee and 80% milk
Nube	10% coffee and 90% milk
No me lo ponga (no coffee)	The empty glass

Bear in mind one nuance that hardly anyone explains: the first four —solo, largo, semilargo and solo corto— contain no milk. What changes is how full the glass gets with coffee. Milk starts being added from the mitad onwards.

And if you were to choose just two: order mitad if you’d like your usual latte, and nube if you like it weak.

Where does it come from, and why are there ten rather than nine?

It was invented by a specific person, in a specific place.

It was 1954, in the immediate post-war period, when coffee was expensive and in short supply. José Prado Crespo, owner of the Café Central, in Plaza de la Constitución, saw how much was wasted: each customer wanted it their own way, pointing at the glass, so coffee had to be poured away or made again.

So he set about tidying up and established nine names, from solo to nube, for a sign.

And here’s the best bit: when he arranged the sign in two rows, he noticed that nine did not fit evenly. There was one missing to complete the bottom row. It was then that one of his waiters thought of a tenth: “no me lo ponga” (“don’t serve me any”), the empty glass.

Café Central is still open, still belongs to the Prado family and preserves the tiled mosaic with the ten cups of coffee on the wall. If you’re not sure, pop in and have a look. It’s at the Plaza de la Constitución.

The words you are about to hear

From A to Z, the ones that are actually used:

• Aliquindoi: to be alert. “Estate al aliquindoi” means “keep your eyes open”. It is attributed to the English phrase look and do it heard in the port, although this folk etymology is unconfirmed.
• Aro: Of course, naturally.
• Boquerón: the man born in Málaga city.
• Bulla: being in a hurry. “Llevo bulla” means “I’m in a hurry”.
• Campero: the quintessential Málaga sandwich, served on a round, pressed roll.
• Cenachero: the fishmonger who was carrying two baskets on his shoulder. He has his own statue in Plaza de la Marina.
• Chavea: child.
• Chorraera: slide.
• Chuminá: nonsense. «That’s a load of rubbish.»
• Cusha: Listen, hey. The vocative used to get someone’s attention.
• Empanao: spaced out.
• Esmallao: starving.
• Espeto: charcoal-grilled sardines on a skewer.
• Fite: «Look at that». It’s used to express amazement and to say «I told you so».
• Guarrito: drill. It’s from the brand Wolf.
• Guiri: a foreigner. Usually without malice.
• Jartible: annoying, tiresome.
• Malaje: It’s either unfunny or in bad faith. It really is an insult.
• Mijilla: Just a little bit. «Give me a tiny bit.»
• Ozú: the catch-all: wonder, annoyance and the August heat.
• Pechá: A lot. «Loads of people.»
• Perita: Great.
• Petao: full.
• Quillo: from “chiquillo”. Málaga’s equivalent of “mate”.
• Tela: a lot, or difficult. «It’s a right faff to park.»
• Volantona: the flying cockroach. The worst word on this list.

If you get four right, you’ll pass the exam. The rest takes care of itself.

On etymologies

A word of warning: There are some explanations that are often repeated —aliquindoi from English, jopo from hop off, merdellón from French— which sound great but remain unconfirmed. These are folk etymologies, and that is how they should be presented.

Where to practise

The campero sandwich is the ultimate test: a round roll pressed on a griddle, with cooked ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato and sauces. It is unlike any other sandwich.

And as for the rest, traditional dishes from Málaga. The best sardine espetos are at the beach bars in Pedregalejo and El Palo.

If you’re interested in language and popular culture, you’ll also find malagueñas songs and the traditions of Málaga.

Excursions from Malaga

We are a local tour operator based in Málaga with over 50 years’ experience organising tours around Andalusia. Our guides are locals, so the local lingo is all part of the package:

Cusha—listen, places are filling up. You can find the entire catalogue at excursions, the city in What to see in Málaga in three days and the destination in The Malaga Guide.

Frequently asked questions

How do you order a coffee in Málaga?

It’s all about the ratio of coffee to milk, not the size. The scale ranges from ‘solo’, which is 100% coffee, to ‘nube’, with 10% coffee and 90% milk, passing through ‘largo’, ‘semilargo’, ‘solo corto’, ‘mitad’, ‘entrecorto’, ‘corto’ and ‘sombra’. If you just want to remember two: ‘mitad’ is the classic coffee with milk and ‘nube’ is the weakest.

Why are there ten different types of coffee in Málaga?

They were created in 1954 by José Prado Crespo, owner of the Café Central in the Plaza de la Constitución, to stop wasting coffee in the immediate post-war period. He established nine categories, ranging from «solo» to ‘nube’, but when he arranged the sign in two rows, he realised he was one short to make it even. A waiter then suggested the tenth: ‘don’t serve me any’, which refers to an empty glass.

Do all coffees in Málaga have milk in them?

No. The first four —solo, largo, semilargo and solo corto— contain only coffee; the difference is how full the glass is. Milk starts at the mitad, with 50% of each, and increases up to the nube. This is the detail that most confuses visitors.

What does «aliquindoi» mean?

To be on the lookout or alert. If someone tells you «stay on your toes», they’re asking you to keep your eyes peeled. It’s popularly believed to have an English origin, from the look and do it which was heard in the harbour, although this etymology is unconfirmed and should be taken for what it is: a traditional explanation.

What is a ‘campero’?

The quintessential Málaga sandwich: a round loaf of bread, pressed on a griddle, usually filled with cooked ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato and sauces. It’s unlike any other sandwich found elsewhere in Spain and is one of the things that people from Málaga living abroad miss the most.

Which words from Málaga are worth knowing?

You can get a long way with just a few: «cusha» to get someone’s attention, «quillo» as a form of address, «fite» to express amazement, «pechá» to mean «a lot», «chuminá» for something silly, «esmallao» for hunger and ‘ozú’ as a catch-all. With these, you can follow a conversation on a terrace without missing a beat.