Colombian content creator Laura Vargas, who lives in Madrid, said in a TikTok video that she was stunned to hear Spaniards use the word "petardo" to describe their children, since the same word is considered deeply offensive in her home country.
Vargas, who posts under the handle @lau.vargas64, said the term is used in Spain as a colloquial way to describe someone tedious or tiring, but that it also carries an affectionate tone when applied to small children. In Colombia, she said, the word means something very different.
She said Colombians use the word to describe someone they consider contemptible, someone they strongly dislike, an undesirable person they want nothing to do with. That was why she was so unsettled to hear Spaniards apply it to young children.
What 'Petardo' Means in Colombia
Vargas said the expression is very badly viewed among Colombians and is never used to refer to a child, no matter the circumstances. She said there is simply no way a Colombian would call a child a "petardo," even in a moment of extreme anger.
After spending time living in Madrid, however, Vargas came to understand that the word carries no such weight in Spain. There, she said, it is used affectionately to describe children who are restless and intense, based on the contexts in which she has heard it, referring to people who are fidgety and move around a lot.
A Shared Language With Local Differences
Spanish is one of the four most widely spoken languages in the world, with more than 600 million speakers globally, according to the Instituto Cervantes, Spain's public institution for the promotion of the Spanish language. It originated from the Latin spoken by inhabitants of northern Hispania and spread across many territories over the centuries.
Spanish is the official language of 21 countries, including Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Colombia, as well as Equatorial Guinea in Africa. In each of these places, the language has adapted to local culture and ways of life, producing everyday words that carry very different meanings from one country to another.
Other Words That Change Meaning
Vargas's video pointed to a broader pattern of words that look identical across Spanish-speaking countries but carry different meanings. Beyond well-known examples, such as "piso" being used for an apartment in Spain where other countries would say "suelo" for floor, or "refrigerador" being used instead of "nevera" for fridge, other differences run deeper.
The word "torta," for instance, refers to a cake or small pastry in some countries, while in Mexico it also means a type of sandwich. The word "plata" refers only to the metallic chemical element silver in Spain, but in countries such as Argentina it is also common slang for money.
A Living, Shifting Vocabulary
These mismatches illustrate how language functions as a living construct that adapts to the traditions, lifestyles and needs of its speakers. Vocabulary shifts constantly across regions, meaning that what should technically be a single shared language ends up branching into thousands of local variations in meaning.
