Learning a new language always entails a great effort: studying grammar, understanding new words, discovering new habits and, in the case of Colombian Spanish, understanding the different gestures that, without pronouncing a single word, can mean a lot… really a lot! Not sure what I'm talking about? Take a look at this little guide to Colombian gestures:

“Lucia, have you seen my phone?” I asked my friend while she was busy with her hands. While I was waiting for an answer, she put her lips to hers as if she was blowing me a kiss while she “pointed” to a spot with her eyes (see picture above). "Lucia, did you see my phone or not?" Once again, there was no response, just weird frowns on her face. But then I found out that what she was doing was indicating the location of my phone: “over there, on the table!” And that was exactly where my phone was!

Then I asked Jenni what she thought about my friend Juan. Silently, she put her hand under his chin as if it were a beard. "A beard? But if Juan is hairless”, I told him. "Of course he is!" She replied, "What I want to say is that Juan is stupid."

Later that day I ran into Lory, one of our students here at Nueva Lengua. As part of the immersive cultural activities organized by the school, she and her classmates went out to a popular salsa club to put into practice what they learned in our dance classes. I asked her about the party, and she told me “Very cool, but… (gesture with hand)… it was so full!”. Now I know that when I go out with one of my Colombian friends and he puts his fingers together pointing to the sky, the place will surely be packed.

Visit one of the many market squares de Bogotá is an obligatory plan during your stay in the city, so Maricela and I decided to go to one for lunch. We were waiting for our ajiacos, when suddenly Maricela began to scratch her cheek. At first I thought she was scratching him, but when I turned around I saw that something suspicious was going on at the back table. And it was there that I understood what she was trying to tell me with her gesture: "Be careful, there is a thief!" Because, she remembers: a Colombian gesture can save your life or, in this case, your bag.

As you can see, non-verbal expressions are essential for communication and social interactions in Spanish, especially here in Colombia. So here we leave you others that you may come across during your classes at Nueva Lengua.

When someone is “tight” with their money, you will see Colombians raising their elbow and hitting it with the other hand, which means “You are tight-fisted!”.

"Gerardo, have you seen my bag?" He raises his arms and remains silent, as if to say "No idea!".

“Javi, do you think it will be sunny tomorrow?” and then he puts his hands together as if in prayer, looking up: "I hope it's sunny and it doesn't rain here in Bogotá!"

You will see many Colombians making this gesture, like a knife to the neck and often saying the word “paila” while doing it. It is usually used in negative circumstances, such as: “Today we cannot go to the Botero Museum because it is closed” – “Paila!”.

Used a lot during soccer matches of the Colombian National Team, this gesture expresses all the shame of seeing our captain miss a goal during a World Cup qualifier match.

“Jenny, I'm going to tell you a secret, but you have to keep it to yourself. Don't ever tell anyone." Jenny, being a good friend, swore to me that she would never do such a thing, and she kissed her thumb and index finger.

I hope you keep the promise!

“Angy, how long do you teach Spanish in Nueva Lengua?” – “Uhhhhhhhh”, followed by a gesture. He has been teaching here for a long time!

If a colombian answer you with this gesture followed by “uhhhhhhhhhh” – that could be longer or shorter considering the amount of time – will mean a long period of time.

"Javi, did you buy the ticket to the cinema?" – “Ouch! I forgot! ”, And she sent her hand to her forehead.

Get ready for this gesture when you see a Colombian couple fighting. It means "this is serious", "there will be problems" or also "this is so bad!".

Just as communication cannot be fully understood with words alone, learning a new language is about much more than grammar and vocabulary. Come to Nueva Lengua and learn Spanish by living it through adventure, gastronomy and dance.

Check the courses that we offer or write to info@nuevalengua.com for more information about our Spanish classes in Colombia.

This article was originally written in English

All the articles in this blog have been written by the teachers of our school and by students from different countries who traveled to Colombia to learn Spanish.
“You travel too and study Spanish in NUEVA LENGUA"

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