The words Peruvians actually connect sentences with
Real Spanish speech runs on markers that carry no dictionary meaning: o sea rephrases, igual concedes, la verdad hedges, en todo caso resets. Learning six of them does more for how you sound than another two hundred nouns.
Draft copy. Every claim needs a native-speaker check before publishing — the byline is what makes this citable, so it has to be earned.
Why these are a B2 topic
By B2 your grammar is not what marks you out. What marks you out is that your sentences arrive one at a time, correct and unconnected, while everyone around you is stitching theirs together with small words that are not in the dictionary in any useful way.
These markers do not add information. They tell the listener what you are doing — rephrasing, conceding, softening, changing direction. That is why speech without them sounds like reading.
The six to learn first
o sea
The all-purpose rephraser: I mean, that is, so basically. By some distance the most frequent marker in Peruvian speech.
- No vino. O sea, sí vino, pero se fue rápido.
- Está caro. O sea, para lo que es.
Also a filler while you find the words, which is exactly what you need when you are still finding them.
igual
Not “equally”. It means anyway or even so — conceding a point and carrying on regardless.
- Está lloviendo, pero igual voy.
- Igual no importa.
This one is worth having early because it does the job of a whole clause.
la verdad
Honestly, to be fair. Hedges what follows, and softens a disagreement.
- La verdad, no me gustó.
- La verdad que sí.
en todo caso
In any case, either way. Resets after a tangent and gets back to the point.
- No sé si viene. En todo caso, nosotros vamos.
de hecho
In fact, actually. Introduces something that sharpens or corrects what was just said.
- No es caro. De hecho, es más barato que el otro.
nada que ver
Nothing to do with it, not at all. A complete rebuttal in three words, and very Peruvian.
- — ¿Es por la plata? — Nada que ver.
The next tier
| Marker | Signals |
|---|---|
| pues / pe | softening, emphasis — see below |
| entonces | so, then |
| este… | filler, like English um |
| digamos | let’s say, sort of |
| más o menos | roughly, so-so |
| por si acaso | just in case |
| al final | in the end |
| sobre todo | above all |
| a ver | let’s see, right then |
| claro | of course, right — also just agreement |
| ya pues | come on / alright, by tone |
| ¿cómo así? | how come? Softer than ¿por qué? |
¿Cómo así? is worth adopting deliberately. ¿Por qué? can read as demanding a justification; ¿cómo así? asks the same thing and sounds curious instead.
pe, and why to wait
pe is a worn-down pues, and it ends a great many Peruvian sentences: ya pe, no pe, claro pe, dale pe.
It is warm, it is unmistakably local, and it is the one thing on this page to recognise for months before producing. A foreigner using it in week two reads as trying it on; using it after a year reads as belonging. The full explanation is in What does “ya pe” mean?.
The hedging family
Peruvian Spanish avoids hard commitments, and a cluster of markers exists to keep things loose. Recognising them as soft rather than literal is the difference between diarising a meeting and not.
- de repente — maybe, not “suddenly”. Its own lesson.
- vamos viendo — we’ll see.
- cualquier cosa te aviso — I’ll let you know if anything changes, which often means the plan is soft.
- ahorita — in a moment. The moment varies.
- tal vez / capaz — maybe. Capaz takes the subjunctive: capaz que venga.
Somebody who says de repente nos vemos el viernes has told you politely that they are not committing. Hearing that correctly is a B2 skill and it is mostly what this page is for.
How to actually learn them
Not from a list. Pick two — o sea and igual are the highest-value pair — and use them deliberately for a week until they stop feeling deliberate. Then add two more.
Trying to deploy twelve at once produces speech that sounds like someone performing fluency, which is a worse outcome than the unconnected sentences you started with.
Practise
Which marker fits?
- Está lloviendo, pero ___ voy.
- No me gustó. ___, esperaba más.
- No sé si viene. ___, nosotros vamos.
- — ¿Fue por eso? — ___. (not at all)
- No es caro. ___, es más barato.
→ 1 igual · 2 O sea (or la verdad) · 3 En todo caso · 4 Nada que ver · 5 De hecho.
Related
- Window words: the small words that carry a conversation — the A1 version
- Peruvian question tags
- Tú or usted in Peru
Topics Joining ideasRegister and politenessPeruvian Spanish
O sea, igual, nada que ver
Eight questions on the small words that do not translate, including the ones that tell you a plan is not really a plan.
-
1Está lloviendo, pero ___ voy.
Answer
igual — *Igual* concedes the point and carries on anyway — it is not “equally”. One word doing the work of a whole clause, which is why it is worth having early.
-
2No vino. ___, sí vino, pero se fue rápido.
Answer
O sea — *O sea* rephrases what you just said, and it is the most frequent marker in Peruvian speech. It also buys you a second while you find the next words.
-
3— ¿Es por la plata? — ___. (Not at all.)
Answer
Nada que ver — *Nada que ver* is a full rebuttal in three words and it is very Peruvian. *Más o menos* would half-agree, which is the opposite of what you mean.
-
4Someone says *de repente nos vemos el viernes*. What have they told you?
Answer
Maybe — they are not committing to Friday. — In Peru *de repente* means maybe, not suddenly, and here it is doing the polite work of leaving the plan loose. Hearing that correctly is most of what these markers are for.
-
5No es caro. ___, es más barato que el otro.
Answer
De hecho — *De hecho* sharpens or corrects what was just said — in fact, actually. It is the marker for going one step further than your own last sentence.
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6Why do Peruvians often prefer *¿cómo así?* to *¿por qué?*
Answer
It asks the same thing without sounding like a demand. — *¿Por qué?* can read as asking someone to justify themselves; *¿cómo así?* sounds curious instead. Same information, much softer, and worth adopting deliberately.
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7A friend says *ahorita te aviso*. When should you expect to hear from her?
Answer
In a moment — and the moment is loose. — *Ahorita* means in a bit, and how long a bit is varies. It belongs to the same family as *de repente* and *vamos viendo*: warm, and deliberately uncommitted.
-
8A Peruvian friend ends a message with *ya pe*. The safest move is:
Answer
Recognise it, and leave producing it for much later. — *Pe* is a worn-down *pues* and it is warm, not curt. Using it in week two reads as trying it on; using it after a year reads as belonging.