Junk Food
Confess your cravings, weigh the guilt, and debate the delivery order — honestly, out loud.
In Latin America it's comida chatarra — 'comida basura' is Spain's word and sounds off everywhere else. A craving is un antojo, and your weakness is mi debilidad: mi debilidad son las papas fritas con queso. You pedir food rather than 'ordenar' it — anoche pedí comida a domicilio otra vez — and when the guilt shows up, so does the philosophy: los fines de semana me doy un gusto, todo con moderación, ¿no crees?
Below: the phrases for cravings, delivery-app confessions and childhood food nostalgia, how Mexico and Argentina say it differently — and a way to rehearse the whole takeout debate out loud, snacks optional.
The warm-up pack
The phrases for talking honestly about cravings, guilt, and the food you'd order again anyway — out loud, with a friend.
01 · Name your weakness first
Mi debilidad son las papas fritas con queso.
My weakness is fries with cheese.
Debilidad is the casual, self-deprecating word here — it opens the conversation without you having to justify anything yet.
02 · The playful confession
Cada vez que veo una pizza, caigo.
Every time I see a pizza, I give in.
Caer — literally 'to fall' — is how you say you've caved. It's funny, not guilty, and exactly how a friend would say it.
03 · Admit it before they say it
Sé que tiene demasiada grasa y azúcar.
I know it has too much fat and sugar.
Getting there first, with sé que, takes the edge off — you're not being lectured, you're already in on the joke.
04 · The half-hearted good habit
Trato de leer las etiquetas antes de comprar.
I try to read labels before buying.
Trato de is doing the work — it admits the habit without claiming you actually follow through every time.
05 · The honest delivery-app confession
Anoche pedí comida a domicilio otra vez.
Last night I ordered delivery again.
Otra vez is the self-aware part — you're naming the pattern before anyone else gets the chance to point it out.
06 · When it lets you down
Llegó frío y me dio rabia.
It arrived cold and that made me angry.
Me dio rabia is stronger and more natural than me molestó — it's what you'd actually say to a roommate, not a hotline.
07 · Justify the weekend treat
Los fines de semana me doy un gusto.
On weekends I treat myself.
Darse un gusto is the phrase for a deliberate, unapologetic treat — it reads as balanced, not guilty.
08 · Invite the other person in
Todo con moderación, ¿no crees?
Everything in moderation, don't you think?
¿No crees? turns a statement into an opening — it's how casual Spanish keeps a conversation going instead of just landing flat.
09 · Talk about it as a culture thing
En mi país la comida chatarra es muy popular.
In my country junk food is very popular.
Comida chatarra, not comida basura, is the natural term across Latin America — basura reads literal-trash, not idiomatic.
10 · Go back to being a kid
De niño iba con mis papás los domingos.
As a kid I'd go with my parents on Sundays.
Iba is the imperfect — the tense for 'used to', for a childhood routine, not one specific Sunday.
11 · Land the nostalgia
Esa hamburguesa me recuerda a mi infancia.
That burger reminds me of my childhood.
The line that turns small talk about snacks into something real — food memories are some of the easiest stories to tell.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/junk-foodRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| I ordered delivery again | pedí Rappi otra vez | pedí PedidosYa |
| when I was a kid | de chamaco | de pibe |
| kids today eat nothing but junk | los chavos comen puras porquerías | la juventud vive del fast food |
Watch out
The part no phrase list can do
Isabella
Your conversation teacher for this pack
In the Junk Food pack, the final lesson is a live debate — and Isabella plays your roommate: self-deprecating about her eating habits, fiercely loyal to her cravings, reading the delivery ratings out loud and acting hurt when the reviews are mean. Rainy Friday night, 9 PM, phone propped on the coffee table, both of you hungry. She wants your debilidad and the reason behind it, your verdict on the two orders she's torn between — and then she confesses she's cutting sugar starting Monday, so tonight has to count. Out loud. And she talks back:
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Junk Food is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Comida chatarra across Latin America — en mi país la comida chatarra es muy popular. 'Comida basura' is the Spain term; in Latin America it marks you as a textbook learner.
A craving: me dio un antojo enorme de helado — I got a huge craving for ice cream. It travels, too: cada cultura tiene sus propios antojos.
Pedir is the safe verb across Latin America: anoche pedí comida a domicilio. 'Ordenar' is heard in some countries, but pedí works everywhere.
Me doy un gusto: los fines de semana me doy un gusto. Mexico softens it with the diminutive — me doy mi gustito el sábado y ya — and the balancing line is trato de comer sano entre semana.
Gaseosa or refresco travel best — the word shifts by country, so listen for the local one and adapt once you land.
