One of the problems with trying to understand slang in a foreign language is that you may not be able to use a dictionary to find out what it means. That's true even for extremely popular terms.

Some excellent examples of that can be found in a list released this week by SpinVox, a company that has designed software to convert the spoken word into text, such as for sending email or cell phone text messages. It compiled a list of the top 10 slang words used in email, text messages and blogs in Spain. Tops on the list is one I wasn't able to find in any mainstream dictionary is fistro, a term of contempt popularized by the comedian Chiquito de la Calzada. You won't find the second and third top slang words in the dictionary either.

A few of the top 10 can be found in the Diccionario de la Lengua Española of the Royal Spanish Academy, however. They are No. 4, canijo, which comes from a Latin American term for a small dog and means a small or weak person; No. 7, quinqui (spelled kinki in popular usage), referring to people belonging to groups that have been marginalized; No. 9, petardo, another term of contempt (it also is also a nonslang word for "firecracker" and has the same origin as the English word "petard"); and No. 10, pasmarote, sometimes translated as twit, often a person who is overly interested in trivial things.

Although English words are commonly used in Spanish slang, only one of them made the list: No. 8, friqui (pronounced the same as "freaky"), a strange person.

Rounding out the top 10, in order, are words that haven't yet been accepted by the authoritative Spanish dictionary. They are piltrafilla, a word popularized by a commercial for Calvo tuna and meaning a disorganized person; mal quedas, a reference to those who don't keep their promises; and quillo or quilla, a word you might call a friend; and picho, a synonym for a companion or close friend.

References: PeriodistaDigital, Movilonia.com, 20 Minutos, MadridPress.com.