01 · The universal complaint
No funciona.
It doesn't work.
Two words cover almost any broken device — start here before getting specific.
andbefluent.com/spanish/techbro
Tech Bro
Name your devices, ask for the WiFi, and explain what's broken — out loud.
First rule of Latin America: a phone is el celular — el móvil is Spain, and saying it marks your Spanish as imported. A computer is la computadora (everyone shortens it to la compu). When something breaks, keep it simple and concrete: no funciona (it doesn't work), no carga (it's not charging), está lento (it's slow), then necesito ayuda. And the question that rescues every trip: ¿cuál es la clave del wifi? — in Mexico the password is la clave.
Below: device, connection, and problem words lesson by lesson, what changes country to country, the traps to skip — and a way to learn it all by saying it in a live conversation, not flipping flashcards.
The warm-up pack
The sentences you reach for the moment something stops working.
01 · The universal complaint
No funciona.
It doesn't work.
Two words cover almost any broken device — start here before getting specific.
02 · Narrowing it down
No carga.
It's not charging.
Swap funciona for carga the moment the problem is specifically the battery.
03 · The other common symptom
Está lento.
It's slow.
For anything sluggish — a laptop, an app, or the wifi itself.
04 · Asking for the fix
Necesito ayuda.
I need help.
Short, direct, and exactly as much as you need to say before someone jumps in.
05 · Getting unstuck
¿Cómo conecto?
How do I connect?
Works for wifi, a printer, bluetooth — any "how do I hook this up" moment.
06 · The question that saves every trip
¿Cuál es la clave del wifi?
What's the wifi password? (Mexico)
Clave beats contraseña in daily Mexican Spanish — locals barely reach for the longer word.
07 · Borrowing a phone
Pasame el celu.
Pass me the phone. (Argentina)
Celu is Argentina's affectionate shortcut for celular — said constantly, never formally.
08 · The favor everyone asks eventually
¿Me prestás el cargador?
Can I borrow your charger? (Argentina, voseo)
Argentine voseo, and reportedly the single most useful phrase on any trip.
09 · Explaining a dead battery
Se me murió la pila.
My battery died.
Literally "my battery died on me" — more alive than "no carga," and heard across Latin America.
10 · Asking someone to email you
Mandame un mail.
Send me an email. (Argentina)
Argentine imperative, no accent needed — mail stays English even in Spanish.
11 · Asking for a hand
Échame la mano con esto.
Give me a hand with this. (Mexico)
Warmer than necesito ayuda — it asks a specific person, not just states a need into the air.
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/techbroRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| cell phone | el celular | el celu |
| headphones | los audífonos | los auriculares |
| it doesn't work | no jala / no sirve | no anda |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
In the Tech Bro lessons, Olivia makes you use every word in the moment you'd actually need it. First job: get online — describe the problem and ask her ¿cuál es la clave del wifi?. Then you're at an electronics store, naming your device and asking for el cargador that fits it. Finally you're on with tech support: the laptop won't turn on, so it's no funciona, necesito ayuda, and following their instructions step by step — out loud, in Spanish. No flashcards, no drills; just the conversations you'll actually have.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 5 lessons and Tech Bro is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
In Latin America, always el celular — Argentines affectionately clip it to el celu. El móvil is what Spain says. Use celular anywhere in the Americas and you're right.
In Mexico: ¿cuál es la clave del wifi? — la clave beats la contraseña in daily speech. In Argentina wifi even goes feminine: ¿me pasás la wifi? If it's down, the complaint is se cayó el internet.
No funciona works everywhere. Locals go looser: Mexico says no jala or no sirve, Argentina says no anda. For something frozen or stuck, keep it simple: está lento.
No carga — it's not charging — covers the practical problem. The colloquial version you'll hear all over Latin America: se me murió la pila, my battery died. The charger you now need is el cargador.
Latin America says la computadora — la compu in everyday talk — while Spain says el ordenador. A laptop is la laptop, or el portátil in Colombia and Venezuela; both are understood everywhere.