New Words "Asere" and "Cocotaxi" Added to the Spanish Language Dictionary

Two everyday Cuban words have now secured their place in the most consulted dictionary in the Spanish-speaking world. The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) and the Association of Spanish Language Academies (ASALE) introduced the 24th edition of the Diccionario de la lengua española (DLE) this past Friday, including "asere" and "cocotaxi," both distinctly Cuban terms.

The event, held on October 30 in Madrid, was led by Santiago Muñoz Machado, director of the RAE and president of the ASALE, alongside scholar Paz Battaner, who oversaw this edition.

During the ceremony, representatives from national language academies within ASALE each read a word that symbolizes their country, chosen from among the newly added entries. The Cuban Academy of Language selected "asere," a popular colloquial term in Cuba used to refer to a close friend or companion.

The Unique Cuban Flavor of "Asere" and "Cocotaxi"

The term "cocotaxi" has also been added to the DLE, defined as a "motorized tricycle used as urban transport with rear seating and a semi-circular body resembling the shape of a coconut," similarly marked as Cuban.

The inclusion of "asere" marks the end of a long journey toward official recognition. While it was already listed in ASALE's Dictionary of Americanisms—alongside its variant "acere"—its entry into the general DLE is a significant milestone, officially acknowledging it in the global reference for the Spanish language.

This addition was previously hinted at in September by linguistic journalist Cristian Martínez González, director of the Buen Idioma project, who noted that "asere" has become widespread in Cuban Spanish and should not be censored. Experts recommend the spelling with an "s"—"asere"—as it is the most commonly used, though the "c" variant is also acceptable.

Global Impact and Continued Evolution of Language

In 2021, the RAE featured "acere" on their social media as the Cubanism of the day, sparking debate among Cubans who pointed out that "asere" is the more standard spelling. The word gained international attention in March 2023 when "Team Asere" became the nickname for the Cuban team during the V World Baseball Classic.

The 24th edition of the DLE comes 12 years after the last one, published in 2014, and is the first to be initially conceived in digital format; the print version was derived from the online edition, rather than the other way around.

This comprehensive work contains 99,990 entries and approximately 209,000 definitions, along with 54,829 etymologies and 85,201 examples. The physical edition, published by Espasa in two hardcover volumes totaling 3,606 pages, has been available in bookstores since October 21. The digital version was updated on Friday on dle.rae.es.

Other new entries in this edition include terms like "IA," "app," "influencer," "podcast," "gordofobia," "ecoansiedad," "metaverso," and "narcolancha."

This edition also commemorates the 300th anniversary of the first volume of the Diccionario de autoridades (1726), a foundational work in Spanish academic lexicography.

Muñoz Machado noted that the online dictionary receives 100 million visits each month, and that the Cuban Academy of Language has been working since 2025 on a project to document Cubanisms with an eye toward this edition.

Paz Battaner encapsulated the essence of the work, stating, "Dictionary authors can only aspire to explain the meaning and use of words at a given moment or up to a certain point, but they cannot predict the future. Therefore, works that collect the lexicon of languages must evolve if they are to remain useful."