Caribbean
Video Chat with People from the Dominican Republic
Bachata and merengue were born in the Dominican Republic, and music still sets the mood from Santo Domingo's Zona Colonial to Santiago de los Caballeros, Puerto Plata on the north coast, the bays of Samaná and the beaches of Punta Cana. Spanish is the language, spoken fast and full of local slang, so don't be shy about asking someone to slow down. English is more common in tourist areas and among people with family in the United States.
The country stays on Atlantic Standard Time (UTC-4) all year, matching New York in summer and running an hour ahead in winter, so evenings are easy to share with the US East Coast. Baseball is a big deal, so ask about a favorite team or player. Food talk comes easily too: la bandera (rice, beans and meat), mangú with fried cheese and salami for breakfast, tostones and sancocho.
The Dominican Republic at a glance
| Flag | 🇩🇴 |
|---|---|
| Official name | Dominican Republic |
| Capital | Santo Domingo |
| Region | Americas · Caribbean |
| Official language | Spanish |
| Currency | Dominican peso ($, DOP) |
| Calling code | +1 |
| Time zone | Atlantic Standard Time (America/Santo_Domingo) |
How to say hello
A few words of Spanish make a great first impression, even if you switch to English right after.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | ¿Qué lo que? | keh loh KEH | What's up? (Dominican slang) |
| Spanish | ¡Hola! ¿Cómo tú estás? | OH-lah, KOH-moh too ehs-TAHS | Hi! How are you? |
| Spanish | Buenas | BWEH-nahs | Hi (short for good morning, afternoon or evening) |
Tips for chatting with people from the Dominican Republic
- In text chat, "¿Qué lo que?" often shrinks to "klk", so now you'll recognize it.
- Dominican Spanish often drops the final s, so "¿Cómo tú 'tá?" is "¿Cómo tú estás?"; ask them to repeat if a word slips past you.
- Ask which team they follow in the winter baseball league, such as Licey, Escogido or the Águilas Cibaeñas.
- Want to warm up first? Our Spanish phrases work across the Spanish-speaking world.
Only meet people from the Dominican Republic
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from the Dominican Republic, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for Dominican Republic and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from the Dominican Republic, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from the Dominican Republic are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Neighboring countries
The Dominican Republic borders 1 country. Curious about the people next door? Meet them too: