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Slang file #012Cooling offFriends

What does compa mean?

Say itKOHM-pah/ˈkompa/noun (also a form of address)

Where you’ll hear it
  • Mexico
  • Central America
  • Panama
  • Paraguay
  • Spain

A casual, friendly Spanish word for a friend, pal, or buddy, short for compañero ("companion") or compadre ("godfather of your child," also "close friend").

Written by the Second Language TeamWritten

Compa is a casual Spanish word for a friend, like "buddy," "pal," or "man." It’s short for compañero ("companion") and, in Latin America, also for compadre. A compadre is the godfather of your child, and the word also came to mean a close friend [1]. You hear compa most in Mexico and Central America, in chats, in conversation, and in songs. People often use it as a greeting: ¿qué onda, compa? ("what’s up, buddy?"). In Spain it usually means a classmate or coworker.

Say it KOHM-pah. Both vowels are short and clean. The o is like "oh" without the small w sound English adds at the end, and the a is like the a in "spa." The word is the same for men and women. Only the small words around it change (el compa for a man, la compa for a woman), and the plural is compas [1]. It’s friendly and informal, not rude, and it fits a text to a friend better than an email to a client.

Word stats

How casual
Informal and friendly. It’s fine with friends and people you know a little, but too relaxed for a formal letter.
OK at work
Fine in a relaxed team chat, and in Spain it can even mean "coworker." Maybe skip it in your first email to the CEO.
Abuela-safe
Dictionaries call it affectionate, so there’s nothing to hide from abuela (grandma). She may prefer the long form, compadre.
Rudeness
Not rude. No dictionary lists a rude meaning. At worst it sounds too relaxed in a formal setting.
Freshness
Still an everyday word, but fewer people look it up than last year. Your compas know it already.

Spotted in the wild

Group chat · soccer friends in Mexico
  1. Diegoqué onda compas, partido el sábado?
  2. Youyes! a qué hora?
  3. Diegoa las 10. no llegues tarde compa 😅

What it means here: "Qué onda" means "what’s up," "partido el sábado" is "a game on Saturday," "a qué hora" is "what time," "a las 10" is "at 10," and "no llegues tarde" is "don’t be late." Compas means "buddies," and compa alone means "buddy."

WhatsApp from a friend in El Salvador · airport
  1. Mariocompa! ya llegaste?
  2. Youjust landed 🙌
  3. Mariova, te espero afuera, compa

What it means here: "Ya llegaste" means "did you arrive yet," "va" means "okay," and "te espero afuera" means "I’ll wait for you outside." Compa is a friendly "buddy" here.

Class group chat · Madrid
  1. Lucía¿quién viene al viaje de fin de curso?
  2. Pabloyo! con todos los compas de clase 🎉
  3. Lucíala compa nueva también viene

What it means here: Lucía asks "who’s coming on the end-of-year school trip?" and Pablo says "me, with all the classmates." Then Lucía says "the new classmate is coming too." In Spain, compa usually means a classmate or coworker, and la compa is a woman.

How to use it

  • ¿Qué onda, compa? (a greeting)¿Qué onda, compa? ¿Todo bien? ("What’s up, buddy? All good?")
  • mi compa + a nameMi compa Luis nos lleva al concierto. ("My buddy Luis is driving us to the concert.")
  • mis compas / los compas (a group of friends)Voy a ver el partido con mis compas. ("I’m going to watch the game with my buddies.")
  • thanks or goodbye + compaGracias, compa, te debo una. ("Thanks, man, I owe you one.")
  • compas de clase / del trabajo (Spain)Me voy de viaje con los compas de clase. ("I’m going on a trip with my classmates.")

Don’t say it like this

  • Sounds offEl compa María me ayudó.

    Say thisLa compa María me ayudó. ("My friend María helped me.")

    Compa doesn’t change for a woman, but the word before it does: el compa for a man, la compa for a woman [1].

  • Sounds off"KUM-puh"

    Say this"KOHM-pah"

    Spanish vowels don’t go soft. The o sounds like "oh" and the a like the a in "spa," so both stay clear.

  • Sounds offEstimado compa: le escribo para solicitar el puesto.

    Say thisEstimado señor López: le escribo para solicitar el puesto. ("Dear Mr. López: I’m writing to apply for the job.")

    Compa is friendly and informal. In a job application or a formal email, use the person’s name and title.

  • Sounds offMis compa vienen hoy.

    Say thisMis compas vienen hoy. ("My buddies are coming today.")

    For more than one friend, add an s: compas.

compa or not?

Is each of these compa? Pick an answer to find out.

  1. You text a close friend in Guadalajara, Mexico: "gracias, compa."

  2. You start a job application email to a company in Mexico City with "Hola, compa."

  3. A student in Madrid says she’s going on a trip with her compas de clase.

  4. You tell a friend about your buddy Sofía: "el compa Sofía."

The compa family

  • compadreThe long form: the godfather of your child, and in many places also a close friend.Compa without the shortcut, and sometimes with a baptism behind it.
  • compiA short form of compañero used in Spain for a coworker, classmate, or friend.Same idea, different ending, very popular in Spanish offices.
  • compayThe form heard in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico (also compai, compé, and compae in Puerto Rico), meaning buddy or compadre.Same buddy, a different ending.

Where it came from

  1. 1917Compa first appears in a dictionary: Alemany y Bolufer’s Diccionario de la lengua española, according to Iedra, a site that tracks the history of dictionary entries [3].
  2. 2014Compa enters the Royal Spanish Academy’s main dictionary for the first time, also according to Iedra [3].
  3. TodayNo one is known for coining it. It’s a natural shortening of longer words, and friends from Mexico City to Madrid keep using it.

Compa, compadre, or compañero?

Compa is a short form of two longer words. Most of the time it just means "buddy," but the longer word behind it can change the meaning a little:

Long wordWhat the long word meansWhat compa can mean
compañero / compañeracompanion, classmate, coworkerA friend or pal; in Spain, a classmate, coworker, or teammate [1]
compadrethe godfather of your child; also a close friendA close friend; in some countries, also a real compadre [2]

The Diccionario de americanismos, a dictionary of Latin American Spanish, marks the word as affectionate and used in relaxed, everyday speech [2]. Its meaning still shifts from place to place:

  • Mexico and Central America: a close friend, a friend, or someone you know. It’s also a common way to speak to a friend directly, as in ¿qué onda, compa? ("what’s up, buddy?") [2].
  • Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador: it can also mean your real compadre, the man who is godfather to your child [2].
  • Panama, Venezuela, and Peru: it can simply be a short way to say compadre [2].
  • Spain: a classmate, coworker, or teammate. People there also say compi, another short form of compañero.
  • Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico: you’ll more often hear compay, compai, or compé, and compae in Puerto Rico.
  • El Salvador and Nicaragua: compa has also been used for a fellow guerrilla fighter, a meaning tied to those countries’ history [2].

Women can be compas too. Say la compa for a woman and el compa for a man. Mi compa ("my buddy") works for both.

Sources

  1. compaReal Academia Española, Diccionario de la lengua española
  2. compaASALE, Diccionario de americanismos
  3. compaIedra

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