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In honor of #flashbackfriday we are bringing back an oldie but a goodie… Our Dominican-English dictionary! In the past, we posted regular articles that helped our readers understand some of the most popular “Dominican” words, expanding and refining their local vocabulary with something interesting, but also very useful! For better communication within this wonderland that is the Dominican Republic, let’s get started…
To begin this new edition of our dictionary, we have: “Dique or Dizque”. Many consider it an incorrect use of the verb “decir” or the phrase “Dicen que”. It means “Supposedly, he/they say” or it seems, apparently, allegedly, gossip. The phrase can indicate irony or doubt … let’s practice:
“Dique, Dizque“
Dominicans – and many Spanish speaking countries as well for that matter – in simple terms, use this word to refer to “it seems” or “supposedly” but mainly in reference to gossip.
Example 1:
¿Tu escuchaste que Juanita no fue a trabajar “dizque” por que esta enferma? Y ahí la vi yo posteando fotos en la playa – Did you hear that Juanita did not go to work because “supposedly” she is sick? And yet, I see her posting pictures on the beach.
Example 2:
Dominican 1: Que bonita esa cadenita que tienes puesta – How pretty that necklace you’re wearing.
Dominican 2: ¿Si? Me la regalo Juan, “dizque” es de oro. – Really? It was a gift from Juan,”supposedly” it’s gold.
Example 3: Let’s use other words that we learned before!
Dominican 1: ¿Tienes pensado ir al concierto de este fin de semana? Va ta apero. – Do you plan to go to the concert this weekend? It’s going to be awesome.
Dominican 2: Bueno… Yo estoy arranca’o pero Pedrito“dizque” me va a comprar la boleta asi que vamos a ver. – Well… I’m really broke, but Pedrito is “supposedly” going to buy my ticket so let’s see.
So far we’ve learned: gaviarse, jumo, guayarse, deg