When I visited Argentina last year a lot of people called their friend "Che" , I am assuming is related to Che Guevara but my question is how did it penetrate to the Argentinain slang and do Argentinas consider him as a role model?
"Che" Is a spanish word commonly used in Argentina by people to refer each other in a friendly way. The meaning of the word is "Friend". It is just like "mate" Is for british, and "buddy" is to americans.
This nickname stuck to Ernesto "Che" Guevara sometime during his 20s. However, it was wildely used in Argentina (and other south-american) countries even before it was became familiarized with "Che" Guevara
Just to calrify that Che is not actually a Spanish word, but has Italian origins, and is only used in Argentina (and maybe Chile?). In Mexico, for example, it is not used other that to refer to Ghe Guevara.
The origin of this word is unclear. It may have derived from several native South American languages: in Guarani language che means simply "I" or "my", in Tehuelche and Puelche (Pampa) languages che means "man", and in Mapudungun language (Mapuche) it means "people".
In other Latin American countries, the term Che is used to refer to someone from Argentina. For example, Ernesto "Che" Guevara earned his nickname from his frequent use of this expression, which, particularly to his Cuban comrades, was a curious feature of his idiolect.
Got an answer for momi? Would you like to comment on the posted answers, or vote for the one which you think is the best?
Sign up for a free account, or sign in (if you're already a member).
Other people asked questions on similar topics, check out the answers they received: