Chevere??

[RT Gooch]

Hola. RT here.

My last trip, I heard the word "chevre" come out of a few different people's mouths in many different situations.

I **think** that it is a Spanish version of 'cool' or 'great', as in:

Girl (in my apartment with her clothes off): Hey! You are going to give me cash for this, right?
RTG: Of course I have a regalo for you.
Girl: Chevre!

or, at the blackjack table:

Girl (with 13 showing): Hit me.
Dealer gives her an 8.
Girl: Chevre!

I'm pretty sure it is a positive statement, but I'd like some confirmation before I use it myself. Thanks.

 

[Marathon Hombre]

It's pretty common in all of South America. I believe it's actually spelled "chevere." Anyway, yes, it basically means "awesome."

 

[Jack Jericho]

I'd rather translate it as "Cool!". But, as is usual with this kind of expresion, the true meaning is untranslatable.

 

[RT Gooch]

Well, pulling an eight on a 13 is pretty awesome; the first example gave me a feel for 'cool', so I guess it is situational.

Follow-up questions:

1. Do grown-ups use this expression? The girl in Example #1 was 18. I don't remember how old the girl in #2 was, but if she was over 23, I probably wouldn't have been paying attention.
2. Both examples were females. Do men use it as well?

Gracias.

 

[meretriki]

Very interesting little word; kids in Lima started saying it in the mid 70s right after the arrival of salsa music from NY & PR. (so yes, men and grownups do use it). People at parties in middle class and more "populous" neighborhoods would sing and dance to the hot new thing, a lot of the songs include the word 'chevere' and it kinda stuck in the Lima lingo; well, people would use to complement you on, say,your bellbottoms as in hey, chevere tu pantalon, people would say it just to show awareness of this new cool caribbean-american subculture; after time it's evolved in a number of ways, to mean neat, cool, comfortable. At a party back in the eighties, somebody aked me qiueres otro trago? being already buzzed and not wanting to get drunk, I answered no gracias, ya estoy chevere I dont' know why but it seemed aplicable. A fun couple who's into each other, could be called una pareja chevere. Or, proposition from you to an agreable party as in: you: te invito a una orgia a las 8 en mi hotel, vienes con tu amiga, la que le decen "la triple"? her: Ya, chevere!!... the loudness, the tone of voice and the inflection you give to the word nowadays apply to the level of "chevereness" that you wanna convey. If you kinda like that movie 2012 but didn't think it was awesome,awesome, you woud say chevere if asked for your opinion about it but, with the tone of voice you'd put if saying ehh, it was cool but not awesome, awesome. If you did love the flick you'd say chevere in whatever tone you express your excitement, or say cheverisima (accent on the i, female gender because of the word pelicula), (sorry for the bulk, but I have to be thorough about this).

 

[Captain James E. Raynor]

You all are right, chevere could be translated as cool. I am not pretty sure, but I think it could also mean "OK". Let's put up an example,

A: Oye, vamos a hacer algunas compras! (Hey, let's go shopping!)
B: Chevere! (OK!)

Is it wrong?

 

[meretriki]

...Is it wrong?

Yes. Chevere necessarily is going to mean better than ok. To the shopping proposal, answering "chevere" reflects enthusiastic agreement.

 

[Gangsta]

Besides other words some users here have mentioned, you could use "chevere" in spanish as you use "sweet" in english.
Example:
Are you staying to help me out? Sweet! (Te quedas para ayudarme? Chevere!)

 

[drais]

Etymology - Cuban term whose origin is the Efik word Chebere, which means "the bravest, the strongest or, alternatively, the most stubborn". The Eflk people came from Nigeria and its culture became influential in the development of the Cuban music at the turn of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.

Original term Chebere eventually turned into chevere and acquired a new meaning as "nice, agreeable, excelent, fashionable, etc". Thus its usage extended from Cuba to other parts of America such as Central America, the Caribbean, South America (Peru, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador) and Mexico.

Some scholars argued that chevere derived from a French military officer's surname, Jacques Francois de Chevert (1695 - 1769), who was praised because of the smart way he dressed.