Spanish Girl Reacts to Mexican Spanish
Curious about the differences between Mexican Spanish and Spanish from Spain? Join Lucía from Spain as she reacts to videos from four Mexican Spanish speakers, comparing their speech styles. Along the way, you’ll learn new phrases, vocabulary, and insights to boost your Spanish skills. Stay till the end for helpful translations and surprises!
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IntroductionHow does Mexican Spanish differ from the Spanish spoken in Spain?Ay, ya se trabó también el WhatsappEstoy enojada, sinceramente, estoy muy enojadaPrometo que les quiero contestar, yo estaba ilusionada por estoVoy a comenzar a hablar con ustedesY esto te lo platico porque estaba analizando que es muy probable que a ti también de pronto te suceda o te encuentres en esta situaciónYo la mayoría del tiempo no sé qué hacer con mi vidaEstá bien padreAy, yo tengo una cosa que me da mucha graciaPero cuando era más pequeña, ni de chiste lo hubiese pensadoNuestros guías nos cuentan que se mudaron acá a Dresden en la década de los noventasEn general todo se sentía mucho más gris, mucho más tristeEstaba indignado y dijo “no mames”Yo creo que desafortunadamente siguen existiendo muchos prejuicios. Desafortunadamente sigue siendo un país extremadamente machista.Y es un obstáculo y es un impedimento para que esto funcione mejor¿Qué aporta la actuación a tu persona? Trabajar en equipo. Cuando tú llegas a un set, como este, pues hay muchos elementos que, si esos elementos no existieran, pues no estaríamos aquí.The moment has come! Here’s a little challenge for you:ConclusionIntroduction
How does Mexican Spanish differ from the Spanish spoken in Spain?
I am Lucía, I am from Spain, and I am going to watch some videos from 4 different Mexican Spanish speakers and I will analyze and compare their way of talking with mine. This will serve as a great Spanish lesson, as I will also translate those sentences to English. Stay till the end to learn a lot of new helpful Spanish phrases and vocabulary. Do you think I will understand everything they say? Let’s see.
We recommend watching the video below. A transcript is also provided for your convenience.
Edited transcript
The explanations below have been edited for accuracy and clarity. The video preserves the original spoken wording.
I’ll start with a video from Kimberly Loaiza, a Mexican influencer and singer.
Ay, ya se trabó también el Whatsapp
I understand everything perfectly in the video. Here we use different vocabulary, but we can totally understand what she’s referring to.
Mexico: Ay, ya se trabó también el Whatsapp
Spain: Ay, se ha quedado pillado el Whatsapp también
(Oh, Whatsapp also got stuck)
In this example, Mexican Spanish uses ya se trabó, while Lucía would naturally say ya se ha quedado pillado in her variety of Spanish. The choice between the simple past and the present perfect varies by region and by how speakers relate the event to the present; neither variety uses only one of these tenses.
In much of Spain, speakers often use the present perfect (pretérito perfecto compuesto) for a past event connected to the present, as in ¿Qué ha pasado? In Mexico, the simple past (pretérito perfecto simple) is often natural in the same situation: ¿Qué pasó? Both forms exist in both places, and usage varies within Spain and across Latin America.
Compare ¿Qué pasó? and ¿Qué ha pasado?: both mean “What happened?” The preferred form depends on the speaker and context.
Let’s keep watching.
Estoy enojada, sinceramente, estoy muy enojada
Mexico: Estoy enojada, sinceramente, estoy muy enojada.
Spain: Estoy enfadada, sinceramente, estoy muy enfadada.
(I am angry, honestly, very angry.)
Enojado or enojada is the same as enfadado or enfadada. Angry. In much of Spain, enfadado is more usual, though enojado is understood.
Another thing to point out:
In much of Latin America, speakers use seseo: s, z, and c before e or i have the same /s/ sound. In much of northern and central Spain, z and c before e or i have a /θ/ sound, similar to “th” in English think; s remains /s/. The letter c before a, o, or u is pronounced /k/ in both varieties.
These are normal regional pronunciations, not speech impediments. Kimberly pronounces sinceramente with /s/ sounds where Lucía would use /θ/ for the c; the spelling remains sinceramente in both cases. Seseo also occurs in the Canary Islands and much of Andalusia. I am from Seville, in Andalusia, although in this lesson I use the distinction between /s/ and /θ/ to illustrate the contrast.
Prometo que les quiero contestar, yo estaba ilusionada por esto
Mexico: Prometo que les quiero contestar, yo estaba ilusionada por esto.
Spain: De verdad que os quiero contestar, esto me hacía mucha ilusión.
(I promise I want to answer you, I was excited about this.)
Another difference is the plural “you.” In Mexico and throughout Spanish-speaking America, ustedes is the ordinary plural form in both familiar and formal situations. In much of Spain, vosotros or vosotras is common for familiar plural address, while ustedes may be used formally; the Canary Islands and parts of Andalusia also use ustedes more broadly. The verb forms differ: vosotros sois, vosotros estáis versus ustedes son, ustedes están. Ustedes takes third-person plural verb forms.
I have changed some other things in the sentence for Spain, because that’s the way it would sound more natural here, but you could say it more similar to the Mexican sentence, like Prometo que os quiero contestar, yo estaba ilusionada por esto.
Voy a comenzar a hablar con ustedes
In Spain we also use comenzar, to start, but we say empezar more often.
Mexico: Voy a comenzar a hablar con ustedes.
Spain: Voy a empezar a hablar con vosotros.
(I’m going to start to talk with you guys.)
By the way~ On My Daily Spanish we have a free study guide that offers a step-by-step process to help you learn Spanish faster. You can download it for free here.
Will you understand the next Mexican YouTuber? This girl is great. Get ready to fall in love with her, she’s so cute and sweet. Let’s hear Yuya, a very famous Mexican YouTuber that I love.
Y esto te lo platico porque estaba analizando que es muy probable que a ti también de pronto te suceda o te encuentres en esta situación
She says “y esto te lo platico.” In Spain, we would say “y esto te lo cuento.” (And I tell you this…)
“Porque estaba analizando que…” I would say “porque estaba pensando que” but they say it like this too.
“Que a ti también te suceda.” The verb suceder, to happen, is also widely used here in Spain. But we use “pasar” more for that. “Que a ti también te pase.”
Mexico: Y esto te lo platico porque estaba analizando que es muy probable que a ti también de pronto te suceda o te encuentres en esta situación
Spain: Y esto te lo cuento porque estaba pensando que es muy probable que de pronto a ti también te pase o te encuentres en esta situación.
(And I’m telling you this because I was thinking that it is very likely that suddenly it will also happen to you or that you will find yourself in this situation.)
Yo la mayoría del tiempo no sé qué hacer con mi vida
We say it exactly the same in Spain. I found this sentence interesting for you to learn. It is very common between young people.
Mexico and Spain: Yo la mayoría del tiempo no sé qué hacer con mi vida. (Most of the time I don’t know what to do with my life.)
Está bien padre
In Spain we would say “Está muy bien” or “Está genial.” They use “bien” as “muy” a lot (very). And “padre” as “cool,” “good.”
Mexico: Está bien padre.
Spain: Está muy bien/Está genial.
(It’s great.)
Ay, yo tengo una cosa que me da mucha gracia
Here the Mexican speaker says me da mucha gracia, while I would say me hace mucha gracia. Both expressions can be understood; this example shows a difference in phrasing, not a strict rule separating Mexico and Spain.
Mexico: Ay, yo tengo una cosa que me da mucha gracia.
Spain: Ay, hay una cosa que me hace mucha gracia.
(Oh, there’s one thing that I find very funny.)
Pero cuando era más pequeña, ni de chiste lo hubiese pensado
That “ni de chiste,” we would say “ni de broma,” or the more vulgar “ni de coña.” Ni de coña is a common but vulgar option in Spain.
Mexico: Pero cuando era más pequeña, ni de chiste lo hubiese pensado.
Spain: Pero cuando era más pequeña, ni de broma lo hubiese pensado.
(But when I was younger, I wouldn’t have even thought about it.)
Ni de chiste, ni de broma, ni de coña = not even as a joke.
Spain has many accents and dialects. For this comparison I am using a pronunciation with the /s/–/θ/ distinction heard in much of central and northern Spain. Other Spanish accents, including many Andalusian and Canarian varieties, use seseo.
Next, let’s hear Luisito Comunica, a Mexican YouTuber who uses some expressions that may be less familiar to viewers from Spain.
Nuestros guías nos cuentan que se mudaron acá a Dresden en la década de los noventas
Hey, here he says “cuentan” and not “platican.” Interesting.
Mexico: Nuestros guías nos cuentan que se mudaron acá a Dresden en la década de los noventas.
Spain: Nuestros guías nos cuentan que se mudaron aquí a Dresden en la década de los noventa.
(Our guides tell us that they moved here to Dresden in the 1990s.)
In Latin America in general they use “acá” a lot, but in Spain we say “aquí,” for “here.”
And Luisito says “la década de los noventas.” In Spain we would say “la década de los noventa,” in singular. The plural noventas is heard colloquially in some American varieties; standard written Spanish uses the singular numeral for decades in both Spain and Latin America. Los años 90 (noventa), los años 80 (ochenta). We write it without an s.
En general todo se sentía mucho más gris, mucho más triste
Mexico: En general todo se sentía mucho más gris, mucho más triste.
Spain: En general la sensación era mucho más gris, mucho más triste.
(In general everything felt much grayer, much sadder.)
In this context I would more naturally say la sensación era for “everything felt.” That is a preference in phrasing, not a rule that sentirse can only describe people. The Mexican speaker’s todo se sentía is understandable.
Estaba indignado y dijo “no mames”
No mames is a common but vulgar Mexican expression. Depending on context, it can show disbelief, surprise, or annoyance—roughly “No way!” or “Are you serious?” The Spanish alternatives below convey the reaction but are milder in register, so do not use them as exact equivalents in every situation.
Mexico: Estaba indignado y dijo “no mames.”
Spain: Estaba indignado y dijo “¿qué dices?/¿Qué me estás contando?”
(He was indignant and said, “What are you saying?”)
So in Mexico and Spain we have some words that differ, but much of the vocabulary is shared, while regional word choices and pronunciation can vary. We can understand each other perfectly. Coming up, I’ll show you that our Spanish is really the same. And a fun challenge awaits you at the end, so don’t go anywhere!
Next is a man that had all the girls in Spain and Latin America in love with him when I was a teenager. This is Alfonso Herrera in a recent interview.
Yo creo que desafortunadamente siguen existiendo muchos prejuicios. Desafortunadamente sigue siendo un país extremadamente machista.
Mexico and Spain: Yo creo que desafortunadamente siguen existiendo muchos prejuicios. Desafortunadamente sigue siendo un país extremadamente machista. (I believe/I think that unfortunately many prejudices still exist. Unfortunately, it is still an extremely sexist country.)
Y es un obstáculo y es un impedimento para que esto funcione mejor
Mexico and Spain: Y es un obstáculo y es un impedimento para que esto funcione mejor.(And it is an obstacle and it is an impediment for this to work better.)
We say it exactly the same.
¿Qué aporta la actuación a tu persona? Trabajar en equipo. Cuando tú llegas a un set, como este, pues hay muchos elementos que, si esos elementos no existieran, pues no estaríamos aquí.
Exactly the same.
Mexico and Spain: ¿Qué aporta la actuación a tu persona? Trabajar en equipo. Cuando tú llegas a un set, como este, pues hay muchos elementos que, si esos elementos no existieran, pues no estaríamos aquí. (What does acting bring to you? Teamwork. When you arrive at a set, like this one, there are many elements that, if those elements did not exist, we would not be here.)
Much of the vocabulary in this formal interview is shared across Mexico and Spain. Accent and intonation still differ, and regional word choices can differ too. Formal contexts may make some of those differences less noticeable.
When you can see the biggest differences is when talking slang. As it is everywhere in the world. Slang is very local. Also in Spain even from one town to another we use different slang. So imagine from one country to another.
Ok, great job!
The moment has come! Here’s a little challenge for you:
Spain and Mexico Spanish quiz: I’ll give you an expression from the video; see if you can recall the alternative Lucía used. These are regional preferences in this lesson, not words restricted to one country.
1. In the Mexican clip you hear acá. Which word does Lucía use for “here”?
Click to reveal the correct answer:
Answer: “Aquí.”
2. Lucía says contar or hablar. Which verb from the Mexican clip means “to tell/chat”?
Click to reveal the correct answer:
Answer: “Platicar.”
3. The Mexican clip uses enojado. Which alternative does Lucía use for “angry”?
Click to reveal the correct answer:
Answer: “Enfadado.”
4. Lucía says está genial. Which Mexican expression from the clip means “it’s great”?
Click to reveal the correct answer:
Answer: “Está bien padre.”
5. The Mexican clip uses ustedes. Which familiar plural pronoun does Lucía use in her Spain example?
Click to reveal the correct answer:
Answer: “Vosotros,” or “vosotras.”
Conclusion
Now, do you dare to put your new Spanish knowledge to the test? You can do this quiz for beginners I prepared here to check if you can remember these and if you know some other basic words. You can also learn a lot of new words with it. Check it out.
