"Onda" as a slang word

[mikemacabre]

Originally Posted by CrOtALiTo

Yes that phrase is very popular in anywhere, that is the equivalent to say What's up

Que onda mi chavo!!! this phrase is very colloquial between the Mexican folks.

What about "Ustedes son buena onda." How is onda used in this sentence. I know its a compliment towards 2 people or more. You all are good _____ .... people? Does onda in this sentence mean people?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

"Onda" in slang is a handy word with several meanings.

Some "traditional" uses I can think of now:
·Qué onda (qué pasa) -> What's up, what happens
·Buena onda -> Fine, nice, cool...
·Mala onda -> Bad, unkind, what a shame...

Some newer ones:
·Ser la onda -> To be the best thing
·No ser onda -> Not to be appropriate


·¿Qué onda, cómo te va? -> Hey there! What's up!
·¿Qué onda contigo? (¿Qué pasa contigo?) -> What's the matter with you?
·¿Qué onda con Juan? (¿Qué pasa con Juan?) Todavía estoy esperando que llegue. -> What happened to Juan? I'm still waiting for him to arrive.
·¿Qué onda con mi brazo? Me duele mucho. -> What's wrong with my arm? It hurts a lot.
·Mi mamá es muy buena onda; nunca me regaña. -> My mom is really cool, she never scolds me.
·Ustedes son buena onda. -> You're nice people.
·Qué buena onda que viniste a la fiesta. -> It's cool you came to the party.
·Tu jefe es muy mala onda por no darte permiso de salir temprano. -> Your boss is mean as he didn't let you go out early.
·Yo no hablo con María porque es mala onda. -> I don't talk to María because she's mean/unkind.
·Qué mala onda que se te descompuso el coche. -> It's bad that your car broke down.
·La música de esa banda es la onda. -> That band's music is the coolest.
·No es onda que no le hables tu hermano. -> You're doing wrong not talking to your brother.

[mikemacabre]

¡Graicas! Usted es buena onda.

[Glen]

Angélica, thanks for that list you provided. It's very useful. What about a usage I've heard for "to mean something in a good/bad way" as "decir algo de buena/mala onda"?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Aboout saying or doing something, I've heard "en buena/mala onda", which means to do/say something with a good/bad intention:
·En buena onda, regrésame mi dinero. Lo necesito mucho. -> Be kind and give me my money back, I really need it.
·Vamos a platicar en buena onda. -> Let's talk kindly.
·Le dije en buena onda que ya no me llamara. -> I told him nicely not to call me again.
·Juan me dijo en muy mala onda que no quería ser mi amigo. -> Juan told me very harshly that he didn't want to be my friend.
·Vinieron a amenazarme en mala onda. -> They threatened me very nastily.
·Escuché a los niños hablar en mala onda de sus papás. -> I heard the children talk harshly about their parents.


By the way, "estar de mala/buena onda" would mean to be in a bad/good and nasty/kind mood:
·Como estoy de buena onda, llévate las galletas y no me las pagues. -> As I'm in a nice mood, take the cookies and don't pay for them.
·Ay, estás de mala onda, no se puede hablar así contigo. -> Gosh, you're in a nasty mood, one can't talk to you like that.