Po!

Last week we explored the question, "Cachái?"  To which, a perfectly good response may be, "Ya, Po!"  What the hell is 'Po!'? ...

In Spanish, 'por supuesto' means 'of course."  Chileans have efficiently and entertainingly shortened this to 'po' - pronounced as Edgar Allen Poe's last name, or as in you have no money, so you are "po." Of course you can still say 'por supuesto' (of course) but it's much more common to simple throw 'po' onto the end of the other part of your response - especially a yes or no.  It is important to recognize that you cannot use it alone.  You cannot simply reply 'po.'  If you want to reply with the expression 'of course' alone you have to say 'por supuesto' or maybe 'claro,' meaning 'clearly.'

It can be used as an addition to simple questions:
"Cómo estás?"  "Bien, po!"  
"Quieres tomar una cerveza?"  Sí, po!"
"Estás cansado?"  "No, po!"

It really comes into its own in more humorous situations:
"Estás borracho de nuevo hueón?"  "Yaaaaa, po!"
"Vamos a la chucha?"  "Vamos, po!"

Certainly you can you survive in Chile without a firm grasp of the word 'po.'  But it's not nearly as fun and you'll be missing out on an important piece of the culture.  So the next time you want to answer with a little more energy, throw a 'po' in there.  I promise you'll get a great reaction.