# Che (interjection)

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{{Short description|Spanish interjection}}
{{redirect|Che (Spanish)|for the Spanish digraph ⟨ch⟩ with the same name|Spanish alphabet}}
{{Redirect|Tchê|the Cyrillic letter|Tche{{!}}Tche (Cyrillic)}}
thumb|right|Signature used by Ernesto Guevara from 1960 until his death in 1967. His frequent use of the word "che" earned him this nickname.|class=skin-invert-image

'''''Che''''' ({{IPAc-en|tʃ|eɪ}}; {{IPA|es|tʃe|lang}}; {{langx|pt|tchê}} {{IPA|pt|ˈtʃe|}}; {{langx|ca-valencia|xe}} {{IPA|ca|ˈtʃe|}}) is an [interjection](/source/interjection) commonly used in [Argentina](/source/Argentina), [Uruguay](/source/Uruguay), [Bolivia](/source/Bolivia), [Paraguay](/source/Paraguay), [Brazil](/source/Brazil) ([São Paulo](/source/S%C3%A3o_Paulo_(state)) and [Rio Grande do Sul](/source/Rio_Grande_do_Sul))  and [Spain](/source/Spain) ([Valencia](/source/Valencian_Community)), signifying "[hey](/source/Hey_(interjection))!", "fellow", "guy".<ref>{{citation | entry= che | editor1= Mario Andrew Pei | editor-link= Mario Andrew Pei | editor2= Salvatore Ramondino | title=The New World Spanish/English English/Spanish Dictionary | page= 159 | year= 1968}}</ref> ''Che'' is mainly used as a [noun of address](/source/noun_of_address) to call someone's attention (akin to "mate!" or "buddy!" in [English](/source/English_language)),<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = von Tunzelmann
 |first1               = Alex
 |author-link1         = Alex von Tunzelmann
 |date                 = 13 September 2012
 |orig-date            = 2011
 |title                = Red Heat: Conspiracy, Murder and the Cold War in the Caribbean
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=CMya7T_-dRYC
 |publication-place    = London
 |publisher            = Simon and Schuster
 |page                 = lxxxi
 |isbn                 = 9781471114779
 |access-date          = 14 May 2023
 |quote                = [...] the word 'che' - meaning something like 'mate' or 'buddy'. It is used casually to grab the attention of a familiar friend, but develops an edge of impertinence if said to a figure of authority.
}} 
</ref>
but it is often used as [filler](/source/Filler_(linguistics)) too (akin to "right" or "so" in English). The Argentine revolutionary [Ernesto "Che" Guevara](/source/Che_Guevara) earned his nickname from his frequent use of the expression, which amused his Cuban comrades.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = von Tunzelmann
 |first1               = Alex
 |author-link1         = Alex von Tunzelmann
 |date                 = 13 September 2012
 |orig-date            = 2011
 |title                = Red Heat: Conspiracy, Murder and the Cold War in the Caribbean
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=CMya7T_-dRYC
 |publication-place    = London
 |publisher            = Simon and Schuster
 |page                 = lxxxi
 |isbn                 = 9781471114779
 |access-date          = 14 May 2023
 |quote                = The Cubans were amused by Guevara's characteristically Argentine speech, peppered with the word 'che' [...]. Guevara used it to everyone. The Cubans called him 'el Che'. It stuck.
}}
</ref>

==Etymology==
{{lang|es|Che}} is an [interjection](/source/interjection) of unclear origin. According to the {{lang|es|[Diccionario de la Lengua Española](/source/Diccionario_de_la_Lengua_Espa%C3%B1ola)}}, it is comparable to the archaic {{lang|osp|ce}} used in Spain to ask for someone's attention or to make someone stop.<ref>{{cite web |title=ce |url=https://dle.rae.es/?w=ce |website=Diccionario de la Lengua Española |publisher=Real Academia Española |access-date=9 November 2019 |language=es}}</ref> {{lang|es-005|Che}} is now mainly used in Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Paraguay. In Brazil, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the form ''tchê'' is used, and in the state of São Paulo the form ''ché'' is used.

In Spain, in the Valencia region, the form ''xe'' is used, with a similar meaning.<ref>{{cite web |title=che |url=https://dle.rae.es/?w=che |website=Diccionario de la Lengua Española |publisher=Real Academia Española |access-date=9 November 2019 |language=es}}</ref>

Due to its spread in South America, alternative etymologies have been suggested by analogy with indigenous words:

*In [Tupi-Guarani](/source/Tupi%E2%80%93Guarani_languages),{{Specify|date=October 2025}} spoken by certain ethnic groups from Argentina to Brazil, {{lang|tup|che}} means simply "I" or "my."<ref>{{citation | author=Antonio Ruiz de Montoya | author-link=Antonio Ruiz de Montoya | title=Vocabulario y tesoro de la lengua Guarani (ó mas bien Tupi) | volume=2 | year=1876 | publisher=Frick | page=119b | url=https://archive.org/details/gramaticaydiccio02ruiz}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=October 2025}}
*In the native [Araucanian](/source/Araucanian_languages) and [Chonan](/source/Chonan_languages) language families of the Southern Cone, {{lang|mis-005|che}} means "man" or "people" and is often used as a suffix for [ethnonyms](/source/ethnonyms) in these languages (such as [Mapuche](/source/Mapuche_language), [Huilliche](/source/Huilliche_language), [Tehuelche](/source/Tehuelche_language), and [Puelche](/source/Puelche_language)).<ref>{{citation | author=Federico Barbará | title=Manual ó vocabulario de la lengua pampa | year=1879 | publisher=Casavalle | page=64 | url=https://archive.org/details/manualvocabulari00barb}}</ref>
* In [Kimbundu](/source/Kimbundu_language), spoken by Congolese slaves during colonial times, {{lang|kmb|xê}} means "[hey!](/source/Hey_(interjection))", an interjection for calling someone.<ref>{{citation | author=A. de Assis Junior | title=Dicionário kimbundu-português | entry=Xê | page=376 | publisher=Luanda Argente, Santos | url=https://archive.org/details/dicionriokimbu00assiuoft}}</ref>

==Usage==
The first recorded use of {{lang|es-AR|che}} in Spanish America appears to be in 19th-century Argentine writer [Esteban Echeverría's](/source/Esteban_Echeverr%C3%ADa) short story "[The Slaughter Yard](/source/The_Slaughter_Yard)" ("{{lang|es-AR|El matadero}}"), published posthumously in 1871 but set in 1838–1839 in the [Rosas](/source/Juan_Manuel_Rosas) era.

<blockquote><poem>{{lang|es-AR|Che, negra bruja, salí de aquí antes de que te pegue un tajo—exclamaba el carnicero.}}<ref>See [https://archive.org/stream/3328511_5#page/n499/mode/2up page 225] of the first uniform edition of Echeverría's works, ed. [Juan María Gutierrez](/source/Juan_Mar%C3%ADa_Gutierrez), Mayo, Buenos Aires, 1874, Vol. 5, accessed 22 November 2015.</ref>

("Hey, you black witch, get out of here before I gash you," said the butcher.)</poem></blockquote>

===Falkland Islands===
In the [Falkland Islands](/source/Falkland_Islands), {{lang|en-FK|che}} is commonly used by [English speakers](/source/Falkland_Islands_English) ("{{lang|en-FK|G'day che, how's things?}}"). It can also be written as "{{lang|en-FK|chay}}".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://pengoingsouth.wordpress.com/2016/05/26/not-so-urban-dictionary/ |title=Not-So-Urban Dictionary |date=2016-05-26 |work=Pengoing South |access-date=2017-11-09 |language=en-US}}</ref> The word is sometimes used to describe someone who is a particularly traditional Falkland Islander ("{{lang|en-FK|He's a proper che}}").{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

===Valencia===
In [Spain](/source/Spain), {{lang|es-ES|che}} is widely used in [Valencia](/source/Valencian_Community) and [Terres de l'Ebre](/source/Terres_de_l'Ebre), [Catalonia](/source/Catalonia) (written as {{lang|ca|xe}}), as an interjection. With the spelling "{{lang|ca-valencia|xe}}" in [Valencian](/source/Valencian_language), its main use is to express protest, surprise or exasperation. {{lang|es-ES|Xe!}} is one of the symbols of the Valencian identity to the point where, for example the [Valencia CF](/source/Valencia_CF) is often referred to with the nickname "Xe Team".<ref>{{cite web |title=Why are the Valencia players called 'Ches'? |url=https://www.laliga.com/en-GB/news/why-are-the-valencia-players-called-ches |website=La Liga |access-date=9 November 2019 |date=10 July 2015}}</ref>

===Philippines===
In the [Philippines](/source/Philippines), {{lang|und-PH|che}} (also spelled {{lang|und-PH|cheh}}) is used to express the dismissing another person or interrupting another person's speech, similar in context to the English expression "Shut up!".

==See also==
* [Argot](/source/Argot)
* [Cocoliche](/source/Cocoliche)
* [Lunfardo](/source/Lunfardo)
* [Re (exclamation)](/source/Re_(exclamation)) – a similar interjection in the [Balkans](/source/Balkans) of identical usage 
* [Vesre](/source/Vesre)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|che#Spanish}}

Category:Che Guevara
Category:Languages of Argentina
Category:Spanish slang

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Che (interjection)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_(interjection)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_(interjection)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.