Every country has a flag, food and symbols that identify them. But what about a single word?
During the 6th International Congress of the Spanish Language (VI Congreso Internacional de la Lengua Española) celebrated in Panama, the blog Papeles Perdidos, created by the newspaper El País, published an atlas of the representative words of Spanish-speaking countries. They asked 20 writers which word they consider “best reflects your country.” The storytellers, poets and essayists responded with what they consider the most authentic words from their country, and this the word from Honduras:
Honduran Spanish Word: PIJA
Honduran writer María Eugenia Ramos says that pija is the most authentic Spanish word in Honduras. She explains that, “the word pija (meaning penis) and its derivatives have so many different meanings in Honduran Spanish that it has become part of our identity… it expresses everything from enthusiasm to indifference, to anger and to altered states of consciousness.” From there expressions like the following have emerged:
• pijuda: very good
• me voy a la pija: I’m going away
• me vale pija: I do not care
• estar a pija: to be angry or drunk
• pijinear: partying
• ser pijudo or ser pijuda: being a good person or something very well done
Check out these other Honduras Spanish Slang Word articles.
