What does "che" mean?

Hey / dude — the word Argentines are named after.

Country: 🇦🇷 Argentina
Say it: cheh
Register: Safe anywhere

How it's actually used

Che gets someone's attention, softens a request, or just fills space. It goes at the start ("che, ¿tenés fuego?"), the middle, or the end. It is not rude and works across ages, which sets it apart from boludo.

Examples

Che, ¿vamos a tomar algo? Hey, want to grab a drink?
Che boludo, no te vi. Hey man, I didn't see you.

Where it comes from

Debated: possibly from Valencian, possibly from Guaraní or Mapuche. Ernesto Guevara got the nickname "Che" from Cubans precisely because he said it constantly.

Before you say it

Argentine, Uruguayan, and Paraguayan. Anywhere else it sounds like an impression.

Now actually use it out loud

Reading a definition isn't the same as saying it to someone. Lingo Kaiava is a voice tutor set to Argentine Spanish — it uses che the way locals do, corrects you in the moment, and never "fixes" the way real people actually talk into textbook Argentine Spanish.