Pepe's Chile

A Gringo's Culture Guide to Chile

  • Home
  • Culture
  • Travel
  • Pesos
  • Facts
  • About
  • Book
  • Español
Home » Origin of Chile’s Name

Origin of Chile’s Name

Keiandra wrote and asks:

I was wondering if you could tell me a little about your country and how it got its name and any other important things I should know

You can find lots of information about Chile on my site:
Interesting facts about Chile
Chilean culture

According to Wikipedia, there are numerous ideas of how Chile’s name originated:

According to one theory the Incas of Peru, who had failed to conquer the Araucanians, called the valley of the Aconcagua “Chili” by corruption of the name of a tribal chief (“cacique”) called Tili, who ruled the area at the time of the Incan conquest.
Another theory points to the similarity of the valley of the Aconcagua with that of the Casma Valley in Peru, where there was a town and valley named Chili.
Other theories say Chile may derive its name from the indigenous Mapuche word chilli, which may mean “where the land ends,” “the deepest point of the Earth,” or “sea gulls;” or from the Quechua chin, “cold”, or the Aymara tchili, meaning “snow.”
Another meaning attributed to chilli is the onomatopoeic cheele-cheele—the Mapuche imitation of a bird call. The Spanish conquistadors heard about this name from the Incas and the few survivors of Diego de Almagro’s first Spanish expedition south from Peru in 1535-36 called themselves the “men of Chilli.”

I’ve heard a few misconceptions about Chile’s name. While there are various possible origins of Chile’s name, there are a few things that are certain:

Chile isn’t spelled Chili today.

Chile isn’t called that because the country’s shape is long and could look like a chili pepper.

Chile’s official name is La República de Chile, or Republic of Chile.

Comments

  1. peter says

    April 14, 2008 at 10:53 am

    Hey Joseph,
    Great webpage. I just sent it out to all of my guides so that they can read up on your info for our tours. If you ever come back, visit us on La Bicicleta Verde
    http://www.labicicletaverde.com
    Peter

  2. Ingrid says

    June 8, 2010 at 11:59 pm

    Hi Pepe! I enjoyed reading your views about Chile. I was looking for information to share for our september 18 and I couldn’t stop laughing with your ‘Boca chueca’.
    thanks, great job!

    • Pepe says

      June 9, 2010 at 8:37 am

      @Ingrid – Yes, the boca chueca is one of my favorite legends in Chile!

  3. pavlos says

    December 25, 2011 at 1:47 am

    the origyn of araucanains the r greeks agordin to the left creece3000 yaers ago to explorethe world

  4. Lastensairaala says

    April 5, 2014 at 6:23 am

    Terve, pätevä arvio.

Traveling to Chile?

Learn the secrets of Chilean culture that every gringo should know:

Click to see the book

Get your culture book today

Traveling to Chile?

culture book

Find out what you should know before landing in Chile.

The Gringo’s Culture Guide to Chile is designed to help you understand Chileans, their culture, food, language, and daily life so you can enjoy your time in this beautiful country and not be blindsided by culture shock.

Read The Gringo’s Culture Guide to Chile

Copyright © 1995-2022 Joe Rawlinson. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy