Not in Mexico. They're used as exact synonyms as far as I can tell. But you seem convinced that absolute synonyms don't exist. As a corollary to this, exact syn

Not in Mexico. They're used as exact synonyms as far as I can tell. But you seem convinced that absolute synonyms don't exist. As a corollary to this, exact synonyms between languages don't exist either, so exact translation is impossible. I'll agree that exact translation is impossible, but I think a good translator's job is to convey the closest possible linguistic experience possible. In this case, a chapulín is the closest Mexican equivalent to saltamontes or grasshopper. Although Mexicans will understand the word "saltamontes", it sounds a bit foreign and will resort to chapulín instead.