Conductor en La Pintana con 320 multas impagas
B2 Spanish listening practice · Chilean Spanish · Curated for upper-intermediate learners
What does “patente” mean in Chilean Spanish?
This Chilean news report describes a car “sin patente delantera ni trasera,” with no front or rear patente. For a Spanish learner that’s a friendly trap: in Chile and Argentina patente means licence plate, not “patent.” In Spain you’d say matrícula, and in Mexico placas. Same language, three different words for the same thing.
The clip is a goldmine of Chilean officialese: fiscalización (an enforcement operation), permiso de circulación and revisión técnica (the documents a car needs), multas impagas (unpaid fines), and carabinero (a Chilean police officer). Picking up patente unlocks the rest of this very Chilean news vocabulary.
Vocabulary frequency
How common is the vocabulary in this B2 Spanish listening practice listening practice?
General Spanish frequency
Spoken Spanish frequency
Words above this video’s level
Quick glosses for vocabulary that goes beyond this video’s B2 level.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-ESP 2011 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸In Chilean news on outlets like Meganoticias and Mega
- ▸During a fiscalización (roadside vehicle check) by Carabineros
- ▸On Chilean car paperwork: permiso de circulación, revisión técnica
- ▸In Southern Cone conversation about traffic and multas (fines)
- ▸Anywhere Chileans or Argentines talk about cars