The Basic Spanish Surf Terms You Need to Know

Learning a new language is hard. We are originally from the US but live in Mexico, and know how hard it can be for people (especially adults) to learn a new language. However, when traveling to Latin America, it can be helpful to have some basic Spanish surf vocabulary.

My experience in most parts of Latin America is that many surfers use some sort of Spanglish with their surf lingo. I’ll include some terms here in Spanish, as well as the English word if it’s often used. Keep in mind that I live in Mexico. Terms can vary greatly depending on the country. 

Waves

• Waves - olas

• Left - izquierda

• Right - derecha 

• Reef break - fondo de coral (literally coral bottom)

• Beach break - fondo de arena

• Point break - punto

• River mouth break - punto del rio

• Closeout - cerrada

• Face - la cara

• Wall - el pared

• Lip - el labio

• Pocket - el hueco

• Peak - pico or cresta

• Break/breaking - romper/rompiendo

• Tube - tubo

• Foam - espuma

• Impact zone - zona de impacto

• Set - grupo, but I often just hear “set”

• Tide - la marea

• Rip - corriente

• Choppy - picado, but I also hear “choppy” a lot

• Mushy - aguada or gordita

• Steep - empinado

• Inside - adentro

• Outside - afuera

• Deep - profundo

• Shallow - poco profundo (literally a little bit of depth)

Equipment

• Board - tabla

• Longboard - tabla larga

• Shortboard - tabla corta

• Nose - nariz o punta

• Tail - cola

• Leash - correa or just simply “leash”

• Rail - riel

• Fins - quillas

• Wax - cera

Riding Waves

• Paddle - remar or chapotear

• Surf - surfear

• Surfer - surfista or surfero

• Turn - girar

• Carve - giro fluido (fluid turn)

• Bottom turn - giro abajo 

• Drop in - bajar

• Fall - caerse 

• Wipeout - azotar 

• Cutback - recortar

• Ride - correr

• Catch a wave - agarrar (literally to grab)

• Floater - flotador

• Manuevers - maniobras

• Trick - truco

• Aerial - aéreo

• Style - estilo

• Fluid - fluido

• Backside - de espalda

• Frontside - de frente

• Goofy or regular - goofy or regular

• To steal a wave - lagartear in costa rica, robar in mexico 

Animals

• Stingray - mantarraya 

• Jellyfish - medusa

• Fish - pez

• Sea urchin - erizo

• Shark - tiburón

• Boat - barco for bigger boats, bote o lancha for smaller boats

Conditions

• Wind - viento

• Onshore/offshore - onshore/offshore

• North - norte

• South - sur

• East - este

• West - oeste

• Rain - lluvia

• Sun - sol

• Thunder - trueno

• Lightning - rayos

• Rocks - rocas (rocks) or piedras (stones)

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