Kid, young guy.
Means a boy, a young man, or affectionately anyone younger than the speaker. "Piba" for a girl. Maradona was "el pibe de oro." Warm, everyday, not rude.
Likely from Genoese Italian "pivetto," a young apprentice — lunfardo again.
Mexico says chavo, Colombia says pelao, Spain says chaval, Chile says cabro.
Reading a definition isn't the same as saying it to someone. Lingo Kaiava is a voice tutor set to Argentine Spanish — it uses pibe the way locals do, corrects you in the moment, and never "fixes" the way real people actually talk into textbook Argentine Spanish.
Practice Argentine Spanish free →
Free to start. No signup for your first conversation.