I guess you have heard that Colombia is “un país feliz” (a happy country) right? Well that’s no doubt 100% true; Colombian people are some of the happiest and most friendly people you will ever come across. However, Colombia is not the only country full of nice and “chevere” people, Argentina is also known for being a place where people welcome you just as if you were a native Argentinian. But there is something special about Argentinians.

They are a little wilder, they travel with an adventurous spirit just like the Americans or Europeans. They love to explore the world and to experience new journeys. Now that you’ve learned a little bit about the awesome people in Colombia and Argentina, let’s dive into the 5 major differences in spoken Spanish between these two countries. There are key things to note in terms of accent and pronunciation that you should consider if you are planning to make a trip to Colombia or Argentina.

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5 major differences between Argentinian Spanish vs. Colombian Spanish

1) The Use of the Pronoun You - “usted,” “tu,” and “vos”

One interesting fact about Colombia that you might not know is that they have 3 ways of saying the pronoun “you” and it changes per region.

According to their accents, Colombia is divided into 12 regions or states. But what you need to know when you visit this beautiful country is that in the coast (Cartagena, Santa Marta, Barranquilla) and in the capital (Bogota) they speak with the pronoun “tu.”  They also use “They also use “usted” in Bogota. In Medellin, they use both “tu” and “vos.” Finally, in Cali they say “vos” instead of the pronoun “tu.”

These are the cities you are most likely to visit so it is certainly something to keep in mind before arriving. But don’t get stressed out about it! Among these three different words, you can always use “tu” or “usted” wherever and the people will understand you just fine.

As you can see, Colombia has three words for the pronoun “you” whereas Argentina only uses “vos.” This actually looks like it is easier to learn the Argentinian Spanish, but to be honest that’s not really the case.Using “vos” implies learning a different conjugation for the verbs in the present simple as we will see ahead.
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2) The Verb “to be” For the Second Person Singular in the Present (“es,” “eres,” and “sos”) Tense

If you are planning on going to Argentina you need to get ready for the question, “¿De donde sos?” or “¿De donde sos vos?”

Personally, I was quite perplexed by these questions during my first couple weeks in Buenos Aires. I had never heard these phrases before in my life. My previous Spanish classes failed to mention these peculiar phrases. The basic question that just about everyone knows, “Where are you from?” translates to “¿De donde eres?”

However, this common question is basically not used in Argentina. No one, and I mean absolutely no one, uses “tu” or “usted,” they just use “vos” and therefore “sos.”  So if you want to sound like a legit Argentinian you’ll have to say “vos sos” instead of “tu eres” or “usted es”.

Contrastingly, in Colombia, you will hear the three conjugations, “es,” “eres,” and “sos” depending on the city you go to. This lines up with the standard Spanish that you have likely been taught in school. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t follow these rules in each country. Quite frankly, I certainly didn’t the first few weeks in Argentina, and people understood me just fine. Similarly, if you use “sos” or “vos” in Colombia, you will find your native friends very easily able to adapt and understand your question.
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3) Verb Conjugation for the Second Person Singular in the Present Tense

Colombians follow the rules you were taught for the conjugation of the verbs in the second person present tense. You modify the verb per the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and you always place an emphasis on the first or second syllable of the verb according to the number of syllables.

But guess what? In Argentina, they place the emphasis on the last syllable. Opposite to the Colombians, the Argentinians always do this with all the verbs when it comes to the present simple tense.

Here’s some examples to make it more practical. Keep in mind the Colombian equivalent is on the left while the Argentinian version is on the right.

‍Argentinians include the accent mark so make sure you remember this curious case when you go to “el país de los viajeros latinos.”
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4) “Yeismo” in Colombia and the Argentinian “sh”

“Yeismo” is very common in most countries in Latin America and especially in Colombia. What is “Yeismo” you might be wondering? It’s when people pronounce both the letters “Y” and “LL” which makes the sound of a regular “Y”.

This letter “Y” makes the English sound of the letter “J,” so what you’ll see is that most Latinos make the English “J” sound when saying any word that contains either “Y” or “LL”.

However, Argentinians are exclusive when it comes to pronouncing these two letters.  Instead of the regular “Y” sound they use the “sh” sound. It might be a little difficult to be able to pronounce “Y” and “LL” with a “sh” sound but it’s all a matter of practice.

Let’s see some examples to make this a little more clear.

5) Colombians Do Not Pronounce the “D” on the Endings of Most Words

I am pretty sure you don’t know this, but there is something rather unique about Colombian people.The majority of Colombians do not pronounce the “D” on the words that contain this letter in the last syllable.  They do this without altering the meaning of the word when there is a vowel before the “D”.

Let me show you some examples to make some sense of it.

*llegado (arrived)   ==>    llega-o

*pagado (payed)     ==>    paga-o

*mirado (seen)        ==>    mira-o

However, they don’t do this when it comes to the conjugation of the verbs in the present progressive (“-ing” form in English) nor with any other word where the “D” goes after an “N.”  

Take for example the word donde (where).It’s only in these cases when they properly pronounce the “D.”  If the “D” sound was omitted when following an “N,” then the word would just not sound right. I am talking about cases like this: Hablando (Speaking), working (trabajando), studying (estudiando), etc.

On the contrary, Argentinian people actually make sure they pronounce the ending of all the words that contain “D” on the last syllable and tend to make a strong emphasis on the endings of the word that goes at the end of a statement.
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Wrapping It Up

Now that you know these 5 curious differences between spoken Spanish in Argentina and Colombia, you are free to explore these beautiful paradises and meet these truly wonderful people. Remember, no one is perfect so don’t be surprised if you don’t understand every person you come across.  I know I certainly didn’t and still don’t. Just like in the US or Great Britain, accents vary from state to state and country to country so naturally some people will be easier to understand than others.

Most people are more adept to understanding you then you are to comprehending them (at times). Doesn’t that make sense? If a foreigner is speaking broken English to you, more than likely you’ll be able to understand them despite their inability to do it grammatically correct. Don’t worry about knowing it all by heart.

The idea is that you understand the culture and the people better but you don’t necessarily have to sound like a native to be able to communicate. In both countries, they will understand you just fine if you only use “tu” or “usted.” If you don’t drop the “d” it’s not the end of the world in Colombia. I know I don’t and I have been living here for a little while now.

But if your goal is to sound like a legit Argentinian or Colombian then pay attention to these rules and start practicing.  Mix in a couple expressions like “Que bacano” in Colombia or “Que barbaro” in Argentina whenever you want to say: “that’s awesome”.

Pretty soon the locals will start to confuse you as a native…  but don’t count your breath, I’m still waiting for that day.