Spanish (Costa Rica)

Costa Rican Spanish (español costarricense; locale tag es-CR) is the national variety of Spanish spoken by roughly 5.2 million people in Costa Rica, where Spanish is the official language. It is internally diverse: Central Valley speech differs from varieties in Guanacaste, the Caribbean province of Limón, and communities along the Panamanian border. Seseo and yeísmo are widespread, while realizations of /r/, syllable-final /s/, and /x/ vary by region and speaking style. Its address system is especially distinctive: usted is used broadly in both respectful and familiar relationships, vos and voseo verb forms are also common, tú is comparatively limited, and ustedes replaces vosotros in the plural. Standard Spanish orthography is used, alongside a recognizable national vocabulary including widely known expressions such as mae and pura vida.