The language of the indigenous people that Spaniards met for the first time in the grand city of Tenotichlan may seem very remote from your experience. I think you’ll be surprised how many words, especially food vocabulary you already know.
Many of the world’s favorite foods come from Mixteca (Aztec) culture, see the chart below.
Náhuatl: Sabes más que creías
El idioma de las personas indígenas que los españoles encontraron por la primera vez en la gran ciudad de Tenotichlan (ahora Ciudad de México) puede parecer muy lejos de tu experiencia. Pero creo que te quedarás sorprendid@ cuanto vocabulario de comida ya tienes.
Muchas de las comidas favoritas mundiales vienen de la cultura mixteca/azteca. Mira la tabla siguiente:
| Nahuatl (Aztec/Mixteca) | Español | English |
| xocolatl 🍫 | chocolate | chocolate |
| cacáhua | cacao | cacao |
| tomatl 🍅 | tomate | tomato |
| ahuácatl 🥑 | aguacate | avocado |
| tamalli | tamal | tamales |
| chilli 🌶️ | chile | chili |
| xicamatl | jícama | jicama |
| camohtli | camote | sweet potato |
| molli | mole | mole (mo-lay) |
Which Mixteca foods have you eaten today?
¿Cuáles comidas mixtecas comiste hoy?
¡Olé! –Rebecca
Fake Flamenco 
I didn’t know this but it makes sense. We were most confused when avacado is not aguacate in Peru and Bolivia but is the quechua (I think) word palta. It was very difficult to get out of the aguacate habit. Maggie
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Thanks for your great comment, Maggie! Yes, the Quechua word for avocado, palta, is used in much of South America, including Chile.
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Our friend got confused once in Peru and meant to say I don’t have any ‘plata’ (money) but instead said I don’t have any ‘palta’ avacados!
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No avocados = I’m penniless! Don’t leave home without one. 🙂
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🤣🤣
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Interesting post, thanks for sharing!
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Thanks, Vidah. These foods are now part of our daily life. Hard to imagine life without them!
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Agreed!
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Chilies and chocolate
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Two important food groups! 😉
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🤣😂
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Well, yes and no. I had to look up both jicama and tamales, both of which are unknown here in the UK. I often wonder how it is that Spanish and Portuguese so completely took over from the pre-existing languages of South America quite so comprehensively. Any ideas?
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Thanks, Margaret! I didn’t know what jicima was until I went to college in California. 🙂 I had my first tamales in Texas. As for Spanish and Portuguese taking over in Latin America, they are the official languages (French and English in the Americas too). But people still speak many indigenous languages to this day.
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That’s good to know. We see documentaries on TV from time to time from Latin America with apparently fairly isolated groups, probably not highly educated, talking in Spanish or Portuguese to the interviewer, looking very comfortable doing so.
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Yes, and many people are bilingual in an indigenous language and Spanish as well.
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Fascinating.
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Thanks, Rosaliene!
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What a cool lesson. Thanks, Rebecca!
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Thanks, Wynne. These foods seems so ubiquitous to us now!
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Beautiful and yummy post!
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Thanks, Neal! We love our foods from the Anericas.
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Very true. many words come from nahuatl. And more than those. When we first arrived in Mexico we had trouble doing grocery shopping, so many names here are different. Elote, ejote, etc…
Feliz año Rebe. Mis mejores deseos…
Abrazo
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Thanks, Brian. Each Spanish speaking country has its own multiple language influences. I find there are always new words to learn. ¡Prospero año nuevo! Have you seen the new year poetry?
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Nope. On your blog I guess? Hopping right over. (This past week has been Hell, just coming out of it.)
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Sorry your week’s been rough. Mine too. One funeral and another scheduled.
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Oh. Sorry about that. My condolences. (Indeed there was one funeral last week.)
Mi pésame.
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Gracias, igualmente.
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This is fun and interesting 🙌🏻
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Thanks, Devang. Which are your favorites from the list?
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From this list?
Chocolate and tomatoes.
Tomato in hindi is called Tamatar ( टमाटर)
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Interesting, thanks Devang. What about chocolate in Hindi?
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Who would’ve thought that we used so many Náhuatl words in our everyday life?? Now I know where the words chocolate, avocado, and tomato come from! Very insightful, Rebecca!
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Thanks, Rebecca, my tocaya (tocaitl) (person of the same name) We have so many borrowed words in English, it’s good to know some of the indigenous sourced ones. 🙂
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Wow, I had no idea that so many of our beloved foods originated from the Mixteca culture. It’s fascinating to see the connections between the language and the food we eat. I can’t help but think about how much more there is to learn and discover about the world’s cultures. ¡Gracias por compartir esta información!
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Gracias, Sebastian! Our world cuisines would not be as tasty without these important contributions.
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You know I love this! Definitely some of my favorite foods!
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Thanks, Michele. They are keystones of modern US cousine!
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Peppers, chocolate, and avocados – staples in my diet!
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Yes, I imagine for many of us no week goes by without them, perhaps no day!
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