jangueo

What it means

1. 1.

   Hanging out; going out with no fixed plan. The verb is janguear, and it covers everything from a street corner to a club.

2. 2.

   Used of a person's general habits: 'él e' de mucho jangueo' means he is always out.

Examples with translations

• Vamo' a janguear un rato.

  Let's go hang out for a bit.

• Ese jangueo te va a costar el trabajo.

  All that going out is going to cost you your job.

Where it comes from

From English 'hang out', with Spanish verb morphology attached and the h respelled as j. It came into Dominican Spanish through New York rather than directly, which is why it is strongest among the diaspora and in Santo Domingo, and weaker in rural speech.

First attested: 1980s

Other forms

Spellings and variants:

janguear