A trash can.
The ordinary word for a bin — *tíralo al zafacón*. Shared with the Dominican Republic. Nothing slangy about it locally; it is simply the word.
Widely said to come from English "safety can", the containers used during US construction on the island. Disputed, but the story is universally told.
Say *zafacón* in Spain or Mexico and nobody will know it — they use *basura*, *papelera* or *bote*.
Reading a definition isn't the same as saying it to someone. Lingo Kaiava is a voice tutor set to Puerto Rican Spanish — it uses zafacón the way locals do, corrects you in the moment, and never "fixes" the way real people actually talk into textbook Puerto Rican Spanish.
Practice Puerto Rican Spanish free →
Free to start. No signup for your first conversation.