If you don't speak Spanish....

You don't know what you're missing.

Seriously, this page is a glossary of Panamanian slang terms, many of which are derived from English, ie. referring to twenty-five cents as a "cuara" (Quarter), or to something bad as being "focop" (f**ked up).

The major sources of English words adapted into the Panamanian vocabulary have been the thousands of americans who have passed through the isthmus since 1903, although almost as significant are the West Indians who came to Panama to work on the canal. Many of their descendants still speak a form of English as a second language.

Back to front page

1