Ni modo is one of the most common expressions in Mexican Spanish. It means roughly “no way around it” or “oh well.” The dictionary of the Spanish Academy marks it as colloquial and Mexican. It is used “to indicate that something no longer has a remedy.”
People say it when a bus is missed, a deal falls through or a plan fails, and the conversation moves on.
In Mexico, pena means shame or embarrassment. The 2001 edition of the dictionary of the Spanish Academy lists this sense for the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. Me da pena means “I am embarrassed.” Qué pena means “how embarrassing.” Pena ajena is the embarrassment a person feels for someone else.
In El laberinto de la soledad, Octavio Paz recalls the answer of a maid who was asked who was in the next room: “No es nadie, señor, soy yo” (It is nobody, sir, it is me).
In the same chapter, “Máscaras mexicanas,” Paz describes el ninguneo: “El ninguneo es una operación que consiste en hacer de Alguien, Ninguno” (Ninguneo is an operation that consists of making Somebody into Nobody).
A pilón is the small extra that a Mexican vendor adds to a purchase, such as one more quesadilla. An article in the journal of the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico defines it as “una cantidad extra de mercancía que el comerciante regala a su cliente en agradecimiento por su compra,” an extra quantity of goods that the vendor gives the customer in thanks for the purchase.
The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy lists a Mexican verb for the other side of the relationship. Amarchantarse means “hacerse cliente habitual de un comerciante,” to become a regular customer of a merchant.
When a Mexican is called by name, or does not catch what was said, the polite answer is ¿Mande? The word comes from mandar, “to command,” and means roughly “at your command.” Its origin is unclear. One account links it to the colonial period, but no document supports this, and the word is used between equals.
Many Mexicans also call their mother mi jefa, “my boss,” and, with affection, jefecita.
Ahora means “now.” Mexicans add the diminutive and say ahorita, “little now.” The word can mean right now, in a moment, or later. A study in the linguistics journal of El Colegio de México found that in Mexico City ahorita is used in contexts where it cannot be read as an exact moment.
For real urgency, speakers double the diminutive: ahoritita.
Oyasumi o itadakimasu (お休みをいただきます): I will receive a day off. The humble verb itadaku, to receive, presents leave as something given by others. An article in President Online describes a request for leave that begins with an apology: Sumimasen. Raishū oyasumi o itadakimasu node. Excuse me. I will be taking a day off next week.
Ana o akeru (穴をあける): to make a hole. The dictionary entry for ana, hole, includes a gap left where a needed person is missing, with the example jin’in ni ana ga aku, a hole opens in the staff.
Shachiku (社畜): company livestock. The news site Limo defines it as a person who works sacrificing himself for the company he works for.
The origin of the word is uncertain. Limo says it is said to have been a buzzword of 1990. Mynavi News attributes it to the writer Azuchi Satoshi and dates its probable first use to a book of 1992.
Earlier labels for devoted workers were mōretsu shain, the fierce employee, and kigyō senshi, the corporate warrior.
Kōshi (公私): public and private. The Digital Daijisen defines it as public matters and private matters.
Kōshi kondō (公私混同): mixing public and private. Lumping public and private matters together without drawing a line between them. The definition uses the word kejime, a clear line or distinction.
Narenareshii (馴れ馴れしい): very familiar. The Daijisen dictionary also gives a second sense: rude, too unrestrained.
Shitashiki naka ni mo reigi ari (親しき仲にも礼儀あり): even between close friends, there is courtesy. However close the relationship, some courtesy must still be kept.