Swear Words & Profanity
Educational guide to Spanish profanity and swear words from Spain and Latin America. These words can be highly offensive: learn to recognise them, and be very careful using them.
- words
- 48
- phrases
- 36
The essentials
The 27 swear words you are most likely to hear, each labelled with where it is used and how strong it is. Spain first, then Latin America.
¡Joder, qué calor hace! Fuck, it's so hot!
¡Hostia, qué susto! Holy shit, what a scare!
¿Qué coño haces? What the fuck are you doing?
No seas gilipollas Don't be a dickhead
¡Vaya mierda de día! What a shitty day!
¡Qué cabrón eres! You bastard!
¡Hijo de puta, lo has conseguido! Son of a bitch, you've done it!
¡De puta madre! Fucking brilliant!
¡Me cago en la leche! For fuck's sake!
¡Eres tonto del culo! You're a fucking idiot!
No me chingues Don't fuck with me
¿Qué onda, güey? What's up, dude?
No seas pendejo Don't be an idiot
¡Vete al carajo! Go to hell!
¡A la verga! Fuck it!
Eres bien culero You're such an arsehole
Es una puta She's a bitch
¿Qué hacés, boludo? What are you doing, dude?
Sos un pelotudo You're a dumbass
¡La concha de tu madre! Motherfucker!
¿Cachai, huevón? You get it, dude?
¡Conchetumadre! Motherfucker!
¡Hijueputa! Son of a bitch!
¡Qué gonorrea! What a bastard!
Ese malparido That bastard
¿Qué más, marico? What's up, dude?
No seas cojudo Don't be stupid
In real life
What people might shout in the same situation in Spain, Mexico and Argentina.
Traffic and driving
Someone cuts you up in traffic
- Spain: ¡Joder, qué cabrón! Bloody hell, what a wanker!
- Mexico: ¡No mames, güey! No way, mate! / What the fuck!
- Argentina: ¡Qué hijo de puta! What a son of a bitch!
Heavy traffic jam
- Spain: ¡Me cago en la leche, vaya atasco! Bloody hell, what a jam!
- Mexico: ¡Está de la chingada el tráfico! This traffic is fucking awful!
- Argentina: ¡Qué quilombo el tránsito! What a bloody mess this traffic is!
Someone takes your parking space
- Spain: ¡Será gilipollas! What a tosser!
- Mexico: ¡Qué culero! What a dick!
- Argentina: ¡Qué forro! What a prick!
Surprise and shock
Something amazing happens
- Spain: ¡Hostia puta! Holy fuck!
- Mexico: ¡No mames! No fucking way!
- Argentina: ¡No me jodas! You're fucking kidding me!
You see something unbelievable
- Spain: ¡No me jodas! You're fucking kidding!
- Mexico: ¡A la verga! Holy shit!
- Argentina: ¡No puede ser, boludo! No way, mate!
A sudden fright
- Spain: ¡Hostia, qué susto! Fuck, what a scare!
- Mexico: ¡Puta madre! Fuck! / Holy shit!
- Argentina: ¡La puta madre! Holy shit!
Context and intensity
These expressions can be highly offensive. Understanding them helps with films, series and real-life situations, but using them wrongly can seriously damage relationships and your professional reputation.
How strong is it?
- Mild
- Generally acceptable in casual conversation, like "damn" or "crap" in English.
- Moderate
- Vulgar but commonly used, like "shit" or "arsehole".
- Strong
- Offensive in most contexts, like "fuck" or stronger.
- Very strong
- Highly offensive: avoid in almost all situations.
Cultural context
Among friends
Many swear words become terms of endearment between close friends. Cabrón in Mexico or boludo in Argentina can be affectionate when said with the right tone.
Professional settings
Never use these words at work, in job interviews or in formal situations. Even mild swear words can damage your professional reputation.
Regional sensitivity
A word that is mild in one country can be extremely offensive in another. Coger means "to take" in Spain but has a vulgar meaning in Mexico.
Learning value
Understanding these expressions helps you follow real Spanish films, music and conversations. You will know when someone is angry, joking or being offensive.
All words by theme
Every other word on this page, by country. Each word appears once. Open a group to see it.
Spain
3 words
Es una cabrona She's a bitch
¡Y una polla! No fucking way!
¡La madre que te parió! Damn you!
Mexico
7 words
No seas pendeja Don't be an idiot
No mames, wey No way, dude
¡Qué puto calor! It's fucking hot!
No seas mamón Don't be a pain
No seas mamona Don't be a pain
Eres bien culera You're such an arsehole
Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru
11 words
Che, boluda Hey, girl
Sos una pelotuda You're a dumbass
Ya po, weón Come on, dude
Oye, weona Hey, girl
Esa malparida That bitch
Ey, marica Hey, dude
No seas cojuda Don't be stupid
¡Concha su madre! Damn it!
Softer alternatives
Polite alternatives you can use instead of the harsh words.
Spain
| Harsh | Softer | How it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Joder | Jolín/Jolines | Family-friendly version (like "blimey" for "bloody hell") |
| Hostia | Ostras | Polite surprise (like "goodness" for "Christ") |
| Me cago en... | Me cachis en... | Softer frustration (like "darn" for "damn") |
| Coño | Córcholis | Old-fashioned mild surprise (like "crikey" for "bloody hell") |
| Mierda | Miércoles | Day substitute (like "sugar" for "shit") |
Mexico
| Harsh | Softer | How it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Chingar | Fregar | To bother (like "sod" for "fuck") |
| No mames | No manches | Softer disbelief (like "no way" for "bollocks") |
| Puta madre | Ay, caray | Mild frustration (like "blimey" for "bloody hell"). Not poca madre, which is its own Mexican slang: ¡qué poca madre! = how shameless! |
| Pendejo | Menso | Calling someone daft (like "plonker" for "wanker") |
| A la verga | A la fregada | Expressing frustration (like "blast" for "fuck") |
Argentina
| Harsh | Softer | How it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Boludo | Che | Friendly address (like "mate" for "you tosser") |
| La puta madre | La pucha | Mild frustration (like "blimey" for "fucking hell") |
| Mierda | Miércoles | Day substitute (like "fudge" for "fuck") |
| Pelotudo | Tarado | Calling someone daft (like "muppet" for "dickhead") |
| Concha | Caracho | Old-fashioned exclamation (like "crikey" for "bloody hell") |
Going further
Two more situations (sport and work) and where you will hear these words in films, music and series.
Sport and competition
Your team scores a goal
- Spain: ¡De puta madre! Fucking brilliant!
- Mexico: ¡A toda madre! Awesome! / Fucking great!
- Argentina: ¡La puta madre, qué golazo! Holy shit, what a goal!
The referee makes a bad call
- Spain: ¡Eso es una mierda! That's bullshit!
- Mexico: ¡No mames, árbitro vendido! No way, the ref's been bought!
- Argentina: ¡Andá a cagar, referee! Go fuck yourself, ref!
Your team loses
- Spain: ¡Hostia, qué mal jugamos! Damn, we played badly!
- Mexico: ¡Valimos verga! We were crap!
- Argentina: ¡Jugamos como el culo! We played like shit!
Work frustrations
The computer crashes and you lose your work
- Spain: ¡Joder, no me jodas! Fuck, don't do this to me!
- Mexico: ¡A la verga, todo mi trabajo! Fuck, all my work!
- Argentina: ¡La concha de la lora! For fuck's sake!
A difficult boss or colleague
- Spain: Mi jefe es un cabrón – My boss is a bastard
- Mexico: Mi jefe es un pendejo – My boss is an idiot
- Argentina: Mi jefe es un pelotudo – My boss is a dickhead
Getting extra work on a Friday
- Spain: ¡Me cago en todo! I shit on everything! (Fuck this!)
- Mexico: ¡No mames, es viernes! No fucking way, it's Friday!
- Argentina: ¡Me chupa un huevo, me voy! I don't give a fuck, I'm leaving!
Where you will hear these
Films
- El secreto de sus ojos (Argentina): Boludo, pelotudo, la concha de tu madre
- Amores perros (Mexico): Chingar, pendejo, cabrón, no mames
- Ocho apellidos vascos (Spain): Joder, hostia, gilipollas, me cago en...
Music
- Reggaeton (Various): Cabrón, puta, maldito, joder
- Rock en español (Various): Mierda, coño, chingar, puta madre
- Trap latino (Various): Hijueputa, cabrón, perra, maldito
TV series
- La casa de papel (Spain): Joder, puta, coño, hijo de puta
- Club de cuervos (Mexico): Güey, chingar, pendejo, no mames
- El marginal (Argentina): Boludo, concha, cagar, quilombo
Put it into practice
Practise recognising these words, with audio where we have a recording.