What does ahre mean in Argentina? I have the answer for you!
It’s just an colloquial expression that most of the time is used to express that you are kidding, but actually it can be used in different ways.
Apparently, the origin dates back to the mid 2000s when floggers, a youth subculture that used to share photos of themselves on the old social network Fotolog.com, started using it.
What initially was probably something like ah, re tonto (read what does re means in Spanish?) was shortened and became just ahre.
It is used mainly by teenagers and people in their early twenties, but you will here people in their early thirties using it, too.
Older adults won’t know it it means!
What does ahre mean in Argentina?
But if you won’t use it, at least you should understand the meaning! There are three main usages:
1) At the end of a sentence
When used at the end of a sentence, ahre means that you are kidding or being ironic, so the other person shouldn’t take your comment seriously.
Te deberías teñir el pelo de rosa, ahre. (= you should dye your hair pink)
Macri es un excelente presidente, ahre.
Yo puedo cantar como Sinatra, ahre.
In this video you can see two young Argentine artists explaining the meaning to Marcelo Tinelli, the most famous TV host in Argentina (min 03:14).
And have you seen Stranger Things? Take a look at how Sadie Sink, the actress who plays Max in the Netflix TV show, got it right away! (min 00:55 – 01:11).
Also you can use it after you have said something really ridiculous or that doesn’t make sense.
Si voy al Himalaya y me encuentro con el yeti, me saco una selfie con él, ahre.
Cuando sea grande quiero ser como vos, ahre. (= someone aged 25 says ‘when I grow up’)
Finally, if you really mean what you say, ahre can soften it or make it seem less profound! For example:
Jajaja, qué estúpido sos, ahre.
You still call that person stupid, but hey, you said ahre, they should’t take it seriously.
Or let’s say you want to ask someone out on a date:
¿Cuándo vas a salir conmigo? Ahre. (= when are you going to go out me?)
You really meant it, but at the same time you said ahre, so you are playing safe!
2) As an answer
When you use it as an answer, you take someone’s comment as a joke, or you express that either you find it ridiculous or nonsensical, or that you don’t agree with it.
—Soy hermoso, si quiero puedo triunfar en Hollywood.
—Ahre.
—Messi es el mejor futbolista de la historia.
—Ahre.
3) Ahre igual sí
This is a total contradiction! That expression is used to reaffirm what you just said, even though some people may not agree with it or may find it silly.
Remember that igual in Spanish also is an adverb that means ‘anyways’.
It’s especially common among teenagers and young adults on social media.
Las playas de Argentina son re feas, las de Brasil son mejores, ahre igual sí.
Me encantan las canciones de Camilo, ahre igual sí.
And that’s all for today!
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Thank you very much and until next time,
Kevin.