Spanish profanity

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"Joder" redirects here. For the community in Nebraska, see Joder, Nebraska.

This article is a summary of Spanish profanity, referred to in the Spanish language as lenguaje soez (low language), maldiciones (curse words), malas palabras (bad words), insultos (insults), vulgaridades (vulgarities), juramentos (oaths), palabrotas (lit. "big words"), tacos (in Spain), garabatos (gibberish, in Chile), or groserías (impolite words). Spanish profanity varies in Spanish speaking nations, and even in regions of the same nation. Several of these words have linguistic and historical significance.

[edit] Verbs denoting the act of sexual congress

The following verbs are equivalent to the verb "to fuck" in English, though not always in all its possible meanings, and mostly limited to specific geographic regions.

• Chingar is a rude reference to La Malinche, La Chingada, the mistress of Hernando Cortes. Mexicans, or at least the Mestizos among them, sometimes refer to themselves as hijos de la Chingada, her offspring, and in this sense it is not considered a profanity. In Mexico chingar means "to fuck someone" or "to screw something up". In Spain it means to bother, an advantage, or to work hard. Chinga a tu madre ("go fuck your mother") is often considered the strongest Mexican curse, and vete a la chingada roughly translates "go fuck yourself". Other uses are somewhat more tame — a Mexican might say no me chingues, a fairly strong version of "don't annoy me" or "get out of here!", or if a Mexican is beaten in a business deal or in sports, me chingaron ("they screwed me") might be used. Also used is the expession "estás corriendo en la chingada", literally "you are running in that which is fucked". Soy chingón could mean in English "I rule" or "I'm the very best". ¡No chingues! means something like "No way!" (literally more like "don't screw around"), ¡Qué chingón!, could be used to say "Wow, that's cool!" in a more aggressive way. ¡Qué chinga! roughly translates to "What a heavy duty!" ¡A la Chingada! can be a curse at someone or an expression of shock.

• Cachar is commonly used in Peru for to have sex, while in Chile it can have this meaning when used as a noun (cacha) it's mainly used for to understand. It comes from the English to catch something or someone.

• Singar is most commonly used in Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Cuba and Puerto Rico to mean to have sex, but chingar also keeps the same meaning.

• Coger can be translated as to get, to seize, to catch, to take (e.g. a bus), used most commonly in Spain. However, in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile, it is used as synonymous of "to get (some)" in the sense of a sexual encounter, and cannot be said in polite company. It can be used in both senses (i.e. literal and obscene) in Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela and the Southwestern United States. In Puerto Rico coger is totally inoffensive, unless used clearly in a phrase having literal sexual connotation; it is used mostly as a way to say Go away, you annoyance!.

• Culear derives from culo, which means "ass" in most Latin American countries. In Spain, where culo means "buttocks", culear means moving one's buttocks, especially now among young people with the reggaetón music lyrics. In slang it also means to make life difficult for someone, but it is rarely used in Spain and has little or no sexual reference. In Panama, Nicaragua, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, and other Latin American countries, it means to have sex (not necessarily anal intercourse — compare with English slang "getting a piece of ass"). A more polite term for the buttocks is nalga.

• The phrase "Echar un polvo" actually means "to have sexual intercourse", most commonly used in Spain.

• In Panama, the word quemar (lit. to burn) and the word hacer(lo) (lit. to do (so)) also mean "to have sexual intercourse". When you say "Lo/La quemé" (I burned him/her) or "Lo hice con él/ella" (I did it with him/her), you mean "I had intercourse with him/her". Sometimes "quemar" means "to take advantage of him/her sexually".

• Follar another synonym, used particularly in Spain and to a lesser extent in Cuba, but also found elsewhere. In these countries it means to have sex.

• Joder means "fuck" in terms of intercourse, and also the notions of "fucking with someone" and "screw something up". In Spain, the word is also used as an interjection, as in, ¡Joder! ("Fuck!"). The word joder comes from the Latin futuere (cognate with French foutre, Italian fottere, Catalan fotre and Galician and Portuguese foder). In Southern South America, joder means both "to annoy" (e.g. "no jodas" = "no kidding") or "to have fun" (e.g. "vamos a joder" = "let's have fun") and is deemed mildly vulgar but not obscene. The substantive joda is used as "fun" (e.g. "la joda loca" = "great fun, wild party"), and the word jodido as "difficult" (e.g. "examen jodido" = "hard exam").

• Pisar, which is used in Central America (chiefly El Salvador and Honduras) and to some extent in Chile, translates as to step, which implies "stepping on" or being on top of another person during intercourse; like the rooster does to the hen.

• Ponchar is another variant of to fuck used in Panama and Mexico, also means to pinch. In other countries, it means "to strike out" (baseball) and is unoffensive.

• Rapar is a variant dealing with intercourse, used in the Dominican Republic. It seems to derive from the same Latin root as the English noun rape (although "Rapar" doesn't necessarily mean rape).

• Tirar (to pull, to shoot, or throw away, among other meanings) is sometimes used in Bolivia, Ecuador, Spain, Nicaragua, Perú, Chile and Puerto Rico, although it is rather common in Venezuela. In Mexico it is used when one says "me la tiré" (I fucked her).

Differences in regional Spanish can sometimes produce awkward situations in a communication between two Spanish speakers of different countries, but such differences are usually known internationally and taken humorously.

[edit] Chaquetearse

Chaquetearse is a verb that means to masturbate. It is not used in European Spanish. In Chile, it means "to change one's posture rapidly" (compare to English's flip-flop).

Also very common is the use of puñeta, which derives from puño ("fist"), and means to masturbate, as in "Me hice una puñeta". This sense requires the use of the word "puñeta" in singular; when used in the plural, like in "Vete a hacer puñetas," the meaning is completely different: this could be roughly translated as "Go to hell" and makes reference to the adornments that lawyers and judges wear in the wrist ("puño") of shirts. These adornments are very laborious and require many hours of production, so making such adornments ("hacer puñetas") is supposed to be unpleasant and tedious labor.

It may have another additional connotation in Mexican Spanish: it may mean 'to create false hopes' or 'to hallucinate', hacerse una chaqueta mental (literally "To masturbate your brain"); compare to the English expression "mental masturbation" and to the European Spanish "paja mental", which is an almost literal translation of the English phrase.

[edit] Mierda

Mierda is a term which signifies excrement; the connotations are approximately the same as those of "shit", although slightly less offensive, but more offensive than "crap". Terms such as vete a la mierda, however, means to go to hell. Caca is a less offensive term often used by children, and is loosely comparable to the English poop. [(Not used as a swear word in all countries)].

It is also used to describe unpleasant or negative things, such as tiempo de mierda ("shitty weather") or auto de mierda ("fucking/bloody car", "lemon"). The euphemisms miércoles (Wednesday) and eme (the letter m) are sometimes used in such constructions to avoid using the offensive word (like using "shoot" instead of "shit" in English).

[edit] Maricón

Maricón and its derivative words marica and marico are words used for referring to someone as a gay man, or for criticizing someone for doing something that, according to stereotypes, only a gay person would do. In Spain the word has a stronger meaning with a very negative emphasis; akin to faggot or poof in the English language. In southern Spain the term maricona refers to a male gay queen; which is often used humorously. Especially in Argentina, Chile and Mexico, maricón or marica are used to denote a "chicken" (coward), and it is not considered an expletive. Some examples of the uses of this word are:

• "Eres una marica." ("You are a faggot")
• "Mano, eres tremendamente maricón." ("Dude, you're really gay!"; note that maricón is actually used as an adjective here)
• "Yo sí soy maricón, ¿y qué?" ("I am gay, so what?")
• "No seas maricón" ("Don't chicken out")

Other synonyms are: Julai, Julandrón, Mariquita, Afeminado, Invertido (offical noun under Spanish dictatorship), Mariposa, Pulmón, Sarasa, Desviado, Bujarra, Hueco, Pato, Trucha, Joto, Trolo (Argentina), Pargo, Parcha, Parchita, Homogay, Homo, Loca

Probably the strongest profanity referring to an homosexual male is puto; it is highly offensive, but is sometimes used by members of the gay community to refer to themselves (to create a comical effect). This corresponds to the use of "bitch" between english-speaking lesbians or gays and in the prison population. Puto can also be used as a masculine equivlaent to the term puta, lit. "bitch".

Spanish being a grammatically gendered language, switching the gender of adjectives and/or pronouns when referring to someone of either sex can imply homosexuality, much as in English one might refer to a flamboyantly gay man as her. Some words referring to a male homosexual end in an "a" but have the male article "el", a deliberate violation of Spanish grammar for a paradoxical effect. "Hada" is one of these words.

[edit] Paja

Paja directly translates to English as "straw", used in farms for cattle and other animals to lie on. In South America and Panama hacerse la paja means to masturbate. In most parts of Central America to masturbate is to pajearse. In South America and Spain is more often used as hacerse una paja. Pajero, or Pajillero in Spain, is a masturbator (wanker) and also can imply a weakling or a fool, due to cultural beliefs that masturbation created mental weakness. In certain countries, such as Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, Pajero (fem. Pajera) can also mean lazy person, and in Guatemala it means liar, "Vos sos bien pajero = you're such a liar". In Venezuela, hablar paja can mean either to talk nonsense "tú solo hablas paja = you're just talking nonsense" or small talk "estuve hablando paja con un amigo = I was talking small talk with a friend".

Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors has a sport utility named Mitsubishi Pajero. The original intention was to call the car after a South American wildcat, but the company's failure to check other uses of the word caused many chuckles. In the Americas and in Spain, the vehicle was rebadged as the Montero. (It has since been replaced in North America by the Mitsubishi Endeavor.)

In Peru the word paja can also mean cool: que paja tu carro "you have a cool/nice car".

In Chile, "pajero" reffers to a person extremly lazy, e.g. "Eres muy pajero" translates "you're extremley lazy"

[edit] Pendejo

Pendejo is etymologically related to the Latin pectiniculus, meaning pubic hair or anal hair. It may be translated as asshole in many situations, though it carries an extra implication of rank and willful incompetence.

In Mexico, Central and Northern South America, pendejo refers to a stupid person, synonymous with idiota, although it is a much stronger word in Mexico and Central America than it is in Panama, where, while still impolite, it is not as offensive, especially among younger people. In Peru it means a person who gains benefits from an advantageous situation in an immoral manner and if it used refering to a female, "ella es una pendeja", means she is promiscuous. In South America pendejo is also a vulgar, yet inoffensive word, for children. It also signifies a person with a disorderly or irregular life. In Puerto Rico it has different meanings depending on the situation. It can range from "Te cogieron de pendejo!" = "You were fooled!" (e.g. by a conman), to "Qué tipa pendeja!" = "What an asshole!" (e.g. when some unknown woman unexpectedly offends you with no apparent motive, and just leaves turning her back on you). In Mexico and some countries of Central America, especially El Salvador, "una pendejada" is used to describe something incredibly stupid that someone has done. In many countries, "pendejo" also means coward (with a stronger connotation), as in "No huyas, pendejo!" = "Don't run away, chicken-shit!".

In the Coen Brothers' movie The Big Lebowski, John Turturro's character Jesus Quintana - later revealed to be a sex offender - calls Walter (John Goodman) a 'pendejo' following an altercation with a firearm.

Can also be seen as Güevón (Venezuela).

[edit] Puta

Puta literally means whore, and can be extended to any woman who is seen as being sexually loose. The word is used in quite a few common expressions. Hijo de puta (lit. "son of a bitch") is roughly comparable to "son of a bitch", "bastard" or "motherfucker" in English.

Puta madre (lit. "whore mother"), on the other hand, while vulgar, can also be a term of praise, comparable to how "motherfucker" can be used positively in English, although more uniformly positive: "Escribe como la puta madre" might be rendered "He writes like a motherfucker"; "es una tía de puta madre" can mean she's an awesome chick.

The male equivalent puto has different meanings in different parts of the Spanish-speaking world: in many places it is a pejorative for a gay man (this usage is present in Don Quijote), in others it is simply a comment on a man being sexually loose (depending on context or tone, it can be extremely offensive or just a joke). Puto could also be translated as fucking, shitty or bloody; "¡deme el puto dinero!" means "give me the bloody money".

Hayao Miyazaki's film 天球の城ラピュタ (Laputa: Castle in the Sky) was marketed outside Japan as merely "Castle in the Sky," as "la puta" means "the whore" in Spanish. The name was a reference to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, in which Laputa is the name of a flying island.

In some Latin American countries, hijo de puta is transformed into hijo de la gran puta (lit. son of the great bitch) or simply hijo de la gran (lit. son of the great). Also is shortened in a single word: hijueputa, hijuelagranputa...

[edit] Cojones

Cojones IPA: [ko'xones] (sing.: cojón) is a word commonly used to refer to the testicles in Spanish. The word is of Latin origin (see Latin profanity), from coleones (sing.: coleo), and is cognate with similar words in other Romance Languages, including collons (sing.: colló) in Catalan, collóns (sing.: collón) in Galician, coglioni (sing.: coglione) in Italian, colhões (sing.: colhão) in Portuguese and couilles (sing.: couille) in French. The word is used throughout the Spanish-speaking world, and while less formal than testiculos (testicles), is no more offensive than the use of balls to refer to the testicles in English. As in English, the word can be used to imply virility or courage: ¡El huevón tiene cojones! ("The guy's got balls!").

[edit] Other terms

• Almeja (clam) and conejo (rabbit) are also used as synonym of cunt (in Spain).
• Ahuevado/huevón/boludo (lit. that has balls/big balls; see "Huevón") is the word for jackass in many Latin American countries. "Awebao" is the popularly Panamanian form and good example of one of the most famous traits of a Panamanian accent, dropping final consonants (and sometimes even vowels). Even though an insult, it's also used, especially in Chile and Panama, the same way as dude in North America (much like güey in Mexico), comparably with Greek malaka. In Mexico, huevón is a pejorative term usually used for a habitually lazy or sedentary male. In Peru and Venezuela, güevón is the preferred form.
• Bicho ("bug") is the main vulgar word used to reference to a male penis in Puerto Rico , and also the very less used words pija, pingo or pinga, yet in most other countries it is just a reference to an insect, and not a vulgar word. In Venezuela it can be used as an exclamation. In El Salvador it is commonly used as the slang equivalent of "kids". In Nicaragua and some parts of Costa Rica, bicho is used to reference the vagina. In Spain, bicho is applied to people (both male and female) to mean a bad person, often used as mal bicho ("bad bug"). However, in other contexts, specially applied to children, it can mean a naughty boy or girl.
• Cabrón (literally "large goat"), in Spain, Mexico and Puerto Rico, implies a prick or a motherfucker. It may also imply that one's significant other is unfaithful and even worse they are aware of the fact and they're either too weak or stupid to do anything about it; a cuckold. The expression Ah cabrón! is used sometimes when one is shocked/surprised by something. Among close friends, the term is often inoffensive; however, it is not a word to be used casually with strangers. As an adjective it is equivalent to "tough" as "it is tough" (está cabrón). In Panama, it is used as an adjective to mean something/someone very annoying (that pisses you off); it comes from cabrear (to piss someone off). In Peru, cabro means "faggot", hence cabrón is its corresponding superlative (lit. "big faggot"). In Spain and Puerto Rico, it additionally refers to a husband who has a cheating wife and hence has "horns" like a goat. The term cabrón also means a prostitute handler, comparable to pimp in English.
• Diablo, literally the devil, is used as an expletive equivalent to "the hell" in English. No sabemos que diablo ese cabron hara means "We don't know what the devil that jerk is going to do!".
• ¡Demonios!, "demons", is used as a curse when something malfunctions or a mistake is made.
• Diantre is used as a minced oath for diablo.
• Maldita sea means goddamn it. It is commonly used as an interjection and almost universally across Spanish speaking countries. It literally means let it be damned (by God). Despite the literal meaning, it is widely used in Spanish-speaking television, since it is not considered very offensive, it is always much more preferable than a Coño.
• Carajo is a very common interjection, it can be translated to "damn it", e.g. Nos vamos a morir, carajo! ("We're gonna die, dammit!"). The diminutive, carajito, is used in the Dominican Republic to refer to (usually annoying) children, or to scold a person for acting immaturely, e.g. No actúes como un carajito ("Don't act like a brat!"). Caray is an inoffensive minced oath for this word. Ay caray could be translated "Dang it" or "Darn it!"
• Cagar means to (take a) shit. It also means to screw (something) up, e.g. ¡Cagaste la radio! ("You screwed up the radio!"). Particularly in Spain, there are a number of commonly-used interjections incorporating this verb, many of which refer to shitting on something sacred, e.g. ¡Me cago en Dios! (Lit. "I shit on God!"), ¡Me cago en diez! (Lit. "I shit on ten!"; a euphemism for ¡Me cago en Dios!, used because of the similarity between the pronunciation of Dios and diez), Me cago en tu madre (Lit. "I shit on your mother"), Cágate en tu madre (Lit. the command "Shit on your mother"), ¡Me cago en la leche! (Lit. "I shit in the milk!"), ¡Me cago en la Virgen! (Lit. "I shit on the Virgin!") and ¡Me cago en la hostia! (Lit. "I shit on the host!" - the bread used in Holy Communion). Depending on the context, these phrases may be extremely offensive in Catholic or Christian countries. In Spain also means to fail completely la cagaste (Lit. "you made it shit").
• Concha (Lit. shell) is an offensive word for a woman's vagina (i.e. something akin to English cunt) in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. It is commonly heard in the phrase ¡(La) concha (de) tu madre! (Lit. "Your mother's cunt"), which may be used either as an impersonal interjection expressing anger, surprise or frustration, or as a direct insult. Depending on the context, the phrase may cause massive offense. Chucha/Chuchamadre and Chucha de tu madre (respectively) are the Panamanian equivalents. In Puerto Rico, chocha or crica implies the word pussy although in other countries it may have a different (non vulgar) meaning. "¡Crica!" may also be used as an interjection, expressing anger or frustration, like "May I be damned!". Chocha is also a game bird in Spain. The painter Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes made a painting with that name depicting some of those hunted birds. The term conchetumadre is very common and very offensive in Chile.
• Coño is a vulgar word for a woman's vagina. It is frequently translated as "cunt" (and is, indeed, etymologically related) but is in reality significantly less offensive (it is much more common to hear the word coño on Spanish television than the word cunt on British television, for example). The word is frequently used as an interjection, expressing surprise, anger or frustration. If you hit your finger with a hammer, "¡Coño!" would be like "Shit!" or "Goddamn it!".
• Cuca (sometimes cucaracha) is the equivalent of "cunt" in Venezuela and Colombia. Slightly milder than coño. However in Chile, cuca means paddy wagon in criminal slang.
• Culo is the Latin American Spanish term for arse and the Iberian Spanish term for "buttocks". In El Salvador, "Culero" refers to a male homosexual, while in Mexico it refers to a prick/bastard. Terms cola and nalga are inoffensive words "buttocks".
• Fundillo or Fundío is heard in Mexico and the Southern, Spanish-speaking U.S. as the obscene word specifically for the human anus. It carries about the same weight as the American usages of the words "asshole" or "butt-hole" (but note that fundío is only used to refer to the anus and not as an insult towards a person.) "¡Métetelo en fundío!" (or in Mexican Spanish Métetelo por el fundillo means about the same as the English expression of reproachful refusal, "Shove it up your ass!"
• Huey/Güey is a common term in Mexico, coming from the word "Buey" that literally means ox or steer and is equivalent to "stupid" as an adjective or to a "cheated husband/boyfriend/cuckold" as a noun. Like cabrón, it is not as offensive when used among close friends. Young Mexicans and Chicano men use this word routinely in referring to one another, just as English word dude.
• Hueco In most Spanish-speaking countries, the word simply means a hole. In Chile and Guatemala however, it is also a derogatory word for a homosexual.
• Huevón (big egg) is a common word in South America, specially in Peru, Chile, and Venezuela (where it's pronounced more like "güevón" and, oftentimes, "ueón"). Its meaning goes from buddy to idiot. In Mexico it means to be a slacker.
• Huevos (literally "eggs"), pelotas (literally "balls"), and albóndigas (literally meatballs) all mean testicles in a profane manner. They are equivalent to "Cojones" in many situations. In Mexico, in a situation where any ambiguity might arise, it is reasonably common to avoid this word for its literal meaning of "eggs", substituting the inoffensive "blanquillos" (literally "little white ones"). Foreign missionaries in Bolivia are frequently targeted with this as an aggressive suggestion that they are homosexual (since they stay together at all times and are frequently pale, perhaps like the whites of eggs).
• Joto (literally a "jack" or a "knave", from Western card games) is a word used in Mexico and the Southern, Spanish-speaking U.S.-- usually pejoratively-- for a male homosexual. Arguably more universally offensive than the similar word, maricón, joto carries with it an accusation of utter fecklessness, societal worthlessness, and perhaps the hinted accusation of closeted homosexuality. A Mexican gay man, for example, might refer to himself risibly as a maricón, but probably not as a joto. Definitely not to be confused with the word jota, which refers to a traditional Spanish, Mexican or Argentine parlor dance.
• Mariposa (literally "butterfly"), "maricón"/"marica"/"mariquita" or "puto" (literally "male prostitute") all mean "faggot". A common variation, especially in Spain and Mexico, is "Mariposón".
• A verga is a part of a ship's mast (a yardarm), but its slang meaning is the penis in most Spanish dialects, and as a Latin word, in other romance languages as Italian. In Venezuela and Mexico the word is used quite commonly. In the former country it can be used as a generic stand in for an object that is being referred to, but also as an exclamation. A common expression in Mexico is "¡vete a la verga!", meaning "get out of here!" In Panama it is also known as "verguinton", spoken more frequently in the phrase "Ayala verguinton!" (equivalent to "Ayala verga!", meaning a more rude form of "damn!" or "Oh my god!"
• Monflor and its variant Monflora are used in Mexico and the Southern, Spanish-speaking United States to refer, usually pejoratively, to a female homosexual or Lesbian. Used very much the same way as the English word dyke. And, as with this English word, monflora can be extremely offensive-- or relatively benign, if used between friends, especially within the G/L communities. Oye, güey, no toques a esa chica; todos ya saben que es monflora. ("Hey, dude, don't hit on that girl; everyone knows she's a dyke.")
• Cueco, cuecón, and pato (lit. duck) are synonyms for faggot spoken in Panama.
• Mal nacido or mal parido, sometimes shortened in one word (Malnacido/malparido) (lit. badly born), is used in many Latin American countries as synonyms for motherfucker.
• Madre, depending on its usage (e.g. madrear, to beat, or hasta la madre, pregnant), can be profane in Mexican Spanish.
• Goma (rubber, condom) can be used as a minced oath. For example, vete a la goma can replace vete a la verga or vete a la mierda. In Chile, goma is also an offensive term for an assistant.
• Pinche literally means a cook's assistant, and is an expression of mediocrity. It is often aimed at another person, as in pinche guey, or to any particular object, which is usually of poor quality, esta muy pinche (it´s very low quality). In Mexico, it is often equivalent to the English terms damn or freakin' as in "estos pinches aguacates estan podridos..." ("These damn avocados are rotten..."), or "pinche Mario, no ha venido..." ("freakin' Mario hasn't come yet").
• In Panama and Chile, another common profanity exists: chucha. It is the equivalent to pussy/cunt (coño) and/or damn (coño/carajo). The phrase "Chucha de tu madre!"(lit. "your mother's pussy") actually means "You motherfucker!". "Chucha!"(alone) means "Damn!", "Cunt!", "Fuck!"...
• Commonly in Panama, the word "micha" is used to refer to the female pussy (Micha is also a type of bread). Picha is the equivalent to the male dick/cock.
• Ave Maria is used as an interjection of exasperation. It literally means "Hail Mary".

[edit] See also

• Albur
• Profanity
• Spanish language
• La Malinche
• Portuguese profanity
• Quebec French profanity
• Scottish Gaelic profanity
• Latin profanity
• Mat (language) - Russian sexual slang

[edit] External links

• Real Academia Española - Lists many of these words in its dictionary
• La página de la chingada - Different variations of chingar
• The Alternative Dictionaries - Spanish - Many variant forms of profanity in Spanish. Includes some usage indications
• List of slang terms in Spanish
• La hora chanante - Video explaining different bad words, specially hijo de putaes:Palabrota