Cool Spanish

This is just a skim across the surface of the great wealth of Spanish slang. Although some may apply in
Latin America, the expressions featured are mostly from Spain.

Swear words tend to be more generally accepted in Spain than many other countries - we've divided up
the expressions so you know what to say and what not to say.

(* = familiar, ** = very familiar, *** = vulgar, R = plain rude, Lit. = Literally)

ARGUMENT

This is the area in which you're most likely to hear a huge variety of expressions ranging from simple
sarcasm to crude insults and creative metaphors. When things get a bit out of hand, verbal sparks can fly.

You're getting on my nerves

Dar la paliza (*) Lit. To give (someone) the thrashing. To bug/hassle (someone).
Se pasa el día dándome la paliza en el trabajo (*) She spends the day bugging me at work.

Un tío/Una tía paliza, pesado/a, pelma (**) An annoying man/woman.

Ser un plomo/plomazo (*) Lit. To be (as heavy as) lead. To be very dull and boring. Applies to both
people and things.
Su última novela es un auténtico plomazo (*) His latest novel is an absolute yawn.

Ser un muermo (*) Something or someone so quiet and/or boring that you fall asleep.
La discoteca fue un muermo total (*) The nightclub was dead.

Me importa un pimiento/pepino/comino/pito/tres cojones (*/**) Lit. I care as much as a

pepper/cucumber/cumin seed/a whistle/three testicles. In other words, I don't give a damn.
Nuestra opinión le importa un pepino (*) He doesn't care what we think.

Get lost

Cabrearse (*) To get pissed off.

Estar cabreado (**) To be pissed off.
Me estás cabreando (*) You're getting on my nerves.
Estoy cabreado (*) I'm pissed off.

Tocar los huevos/las narices (**/*) Lit. To touch (someone's) testicles/noses (yes, in plural to add more
drama!). To piss (someone) off.
Lleva todo el día tocándome las narices y se va a arrepentir (*) She's been getting on my nerves all
day and she's going to regret it.

Dar la lata/ser una lata (*) Lit. To give the tin/ be a tin. To be a pain.
Deja ya de dar la lata y vete a dormir (*) Lit. Stop giving the tin and go to sleep. Stop being such a pain
and go to sleep.

El horno no está para bollos (*) Lit. The oven is not ready for buns. It means you're not in the mood for
any nonsense.

¡Pírate! ¡Lárgate! ¡Piérdete! (**) Ways of saying: Get lost!

¡Déjame en paz! (*) Lit. Leave me in peace! Leave me alone.

¡Vete a freír espárragos! (*) Lit. Go off and fry asparagus. Basically disappear and do whatever you want
as long as it is out of my sight!

¡Vete a hacer puñetas! (**) Lit. Go off and make lace cuffs! Las puñetas were very fashionable in the
olden days, with very intricate designs requiring meticulous and patient job. Hence a way of telling
someone to get lost.

¡Vete a la mierda! (R) Lit. Go off to the shit! Obviously the rudest expression of the lot.

Looking for trouble

Borde (*) Lit. Edge. Used when someone has a bad attitude.
Es una tía super borde (*) She's a girl with really bad attitude.

Tener mala sangre/leche/uva (*) Lit. To have bad blood/milk/grapes. To be a bad-tempered, nasty
person.
Hay que tener mala uva para echarla así de casa (*) You need to be quite nasty to kick her out of home
like that.

Un animal, un/una bestia, un/una bruto/a (*) Lit. An animal, a brute. Used to describe someone when
they use unnecessary force.
¡Tío, eres un bestia, lo has vuelto a romper! (*) Mate, you're too much, you've broken it again!

Cabrón/Cabrona (**) Lit. Cuckold. Based on the word cabra "goat" with the intensifier, it means
"bastard/bitch".
La muy cabrona le robó el dinero (**) The bitch stole his money.

Poner los cuernos (**) Lit. To put horns (on somebody). To cuckold somebody. Hence the connection
with una cabra, a goat (see above).

EATING & DRINKING

Eating

Picar (*) To nibble.

¿Hay algo para picar? Is there anything to nibble?

Papear (*) To nosh.

El papeo is "nosh" or "grub". From the word papo/papada, the bit of flesh under the chin.
Ya es hora de papear algo (*) It's about time we ate something.

Ir de tapeo (*) To go for tapas.

¿Por qué no nos vamos esta noche de tapeo? Why don't we go out for tapas tonight?

Drinking

Una birra (*) Slang for beer, borrowing the Italian word for it.

Empinar el codo (*) Lit. To straighten up one's elbow like a pine. To have quite a few drinks, referring to
your arm's position when drinking.
A estas horas ya estará en el bar empinando el codo (*) At this time he'll already be at the bar having
a few pints.

Beber como una esponja (*) Lit. To drink like a sponge. To drink a lot.

Tener un pedo, peo (*) Lit. To have a fart. To be in a state of drunkenness. Not to be confused with
tirarse un pedo, peo (**) to fart.
Manolo tiene un pedo de mucho cuidado (**) Lit. Manolo has a very well cared for fart. Manolo's really
drunk.

Estar pedo, peo (**) To be drunk.

Estar mamado/a (*) Lit. To be breast-fed. Another way to refer to drunkenness.

Echar la pota/la pastilla/la papilla (**) Lit. To throw out the pan/the tablet/the baby's puree. To be sick.
Ya echó la pota dos veces (**) He's already been sick twice.

Una resaca (*) A hangover.

¡Joder! ¡Menuda resaca tengo! Fue el puto vino de ayer (**) Bloody hell! I am so hungover! It was that
crap wine yesterday.

FRIENDS & FAMILY

Un tío/Una tía (*) Lit. An uncle/aunt, but you'll hear these words a lot, particularly amongst young people,
to refer to birds/blokes. Used on its own, it refers to a mate.
Hola tío, ¿qué tal? Hello mate, how's things?

El/La colega, El/La colegui (*) Lit. Colleague. Mate, pal.

¿Qué pasa, colega? (*) What's up, mate?

El/La tronco (*) Mate, pal. Less frequent but more streetwise. Lit. a tree trunk.
Tranqui tronco (*) Chill out, mate!

La basca/la peña (*) The folk, the gang, the posse. A group of friends or people in general.
Vinieron Ángel y toda la basca (*) Ángel came along with the whole gang.
Ayer había mucha peña en el bar (*) There were a load of people in the bar yesterday.

El pariente/La parienta (*) Lit. The relative. The old man/The missus.

Mi pareja Lit. My partner. Applies to both members of an unmarried couple.

Es/son buena gente (*) Lit. He/She's/They're good people. He/She's/They're good trustworthy.
Es un poco coñazo (**) pero buena gente (*) He's a bit of a pain but a good guy.

Legal (*) Lit. Legal, but applied to people it means you can really trust them.
Es un tío legal (*) Lit. He's a legal uncle. He's a good bloke.
Al final se portó como una tía legal (*) Lit. In the end she behaved like a top sport.

Ser un cachondo/una cachonda (mental) (*) Applies to people with a good sense of fun.
No paramos de reír en toda la tarde, es que es un cachondo mental... (*) We did not stop laughing
the whole evening, he is bonkers ...
Warning - don't confuse with estar cachondo/cachonda (***) which means "to be on heat/horny"!

GIRLS & BOYS

Una tía, un tío (*) Lit. An aunt, an uncle. These are the generic slang terms for girl/woman and boy/man.
Used without un/una, it refers to a mate.
Me lo dio esa tía de ahí (*) That bird over there gave it to me.
¿Qué tal, tío? ¿Cómo andamos? (*) What's up, mate? How are you?

Una tía buena, un tío bueno (*) Lit. A good aunt, a good uncle. Slang for a fit girl or boy - drop un/una to
use it as an exclamation.

Estar bueno/a (*) To be fit (gorgeous). Not to be confused with ser bueno/a, to be good.
¡Hay que ver lo buenísimo que está Enrique!(*) Enrique is really fit!

Estar potable (*) Potable means drinkable, but used with estar this means to be fit (gorgeous).
Not to be confused with ser potable, to be drinkable.

Un chorbo, una chorba (*) Although it can mean fit (attractive), it is specifically used to refer to
somebody's boyfriend/girlfriend.
Esa tipa es la chorba de Jorge (*) That chick is Jorge's bird.
Éste es el chorbo de Marta (*) This is Marta's bloke.

Una piba, un pibe (*) A young girl, boy - especially used amongst younger people. The term is in general
use in Argentina and Uruguay, where it originated before crossing the Atlantic to become a cool word in
Spain.

Ir/Salir de marcha (*) Lit. To go out on a martial parade. To go out and party and have a good time. Other
words you can use in its place include juerga, movida, farra (*).
¡Menuda marcha hay en Ibiza! (*) There's some night life in Ibiza!
El fin de semana me voy de juerga a Madrid (*) This weekend I'm going out partying in Madrid.

Pasarlo bomba/en grande (*) To have a great time.

Lo pasaron en grande con Anita (*) They had a ball with Anita.

Un chiringo/chiringuito (*) Although it literally means a beach stall selling drinks and tapas, it also refers
to most drinking bars/pubs. Ir de chiringos is a common expression that means to go out drinking.

Un garito (*) Una garita is a sentry box, but this slang masculine version refers to any drinking venue.
Esta es la zona de garitos (*) This is the bar area.

El/La de la vergüenza (*) This is the name given to the last bit of food left in a shared platter. Literally, it
means "the one that brings shame" because everybody feels a bit guilty about taking it.
¿Alguien quiere la de la vergüenza? (*) Anyone want the last one?
No, cómetela tú. No, you can have it.

La Dolorosa (*) is Our Lady of Sorrows. It literally means "the painful one" and is used to refer to the
restaurant bill in a sarcastic way.
Pide la dolorosa, veremos cuánto nos clavan (*) Ask for the bill, let's see how much they rip us off for.

GOING OUT
Ir/Salir de marcha (*) Lit. To go out on a martial parade. To go out and party and have a good time. Other
words you can use in its place include juerga, movida, farra (*).
¡Menuda marcha hay en Ibiza! (*) There's some night life in Ibiza!
El fin de semana me voy de juerga a Madrid (*) This weekend I'm going out partying in Madrid.
Pasarlo bomba/en grande (*) To have a great time.
Lo pasaron en grande con Anita (*) They had a ball with Anita.

Un chiringo/chiringuito (*) Although it literally means a beach stall selling drinks and tapas, it also refers
to most drinking bars/pubs. Ir de chiringos is a common expression that means to go out drinking.

Un garito (*) Una garita is a sentry box, but this slang masculine version refers to any drinking venue.
Esta es la zona de garitos (*) This is the bar area.

El/La de la vergüenza (*) This is the name given to the last bit of food left in a shared platter. Literally, it
means "the one that brings shame" because everybody feels a bit guilty about taking it.
¿Alguien quiere la de la vergüenza? (*) Anyone want the last one?
No, cómetela tú. No, you can have it.

La Dolorosa (*) is Our Lady of Sorrows. It literally means "the painful one" and is used to refer to the
restaurant bill in a sarcastic way.
Pide la dolorosa, veremos cuánto nos clavan (*) Ask for the bill, let's see how much they rip us off for.

GOOD & BAD

Good

Una gozada (*) This noun applies to anything that's a very pleasant experience.
Es una gozada verle jugar (*) It's really great to see him play.

Guay (*) Cool. This is a catch-all adjective to describe anything that's cool.
¡Mira qué zapatos más guays! (*) Look! Such cool shoes

Guay del Paraguay (*) Lit. Cool from Paraguay. As cool as it gets - a silly rhyme that reinforces the idea
of cool.
El móvil que se compró está guay del Paraguay (*) The mobile he bought is really, really cool.

Alucinar (*) Lit. To hallucinate or make hallucinate. To trip. It assumes the object you're praising has had
such an impact it is comparable to an hallucinogenic drug.
Se compró un coche de alucina (*) Lit. He bought a car that makes you trip. He bought an incredible
car.

Bad

¡Mierda! (**) Shit!

As in so many other languages, when something goes wrong there's an immediate cry announcing
excrement.
¡Mierda, he vuelto a perder las llaves! (*) Shit, I've lost the keys again

...de mierda (**) Lit. ...of shit.

From that follows that whatever's gone wrong is made of excrement.
¿Dónde están las llaves de mierda? (*) Lit. Where are the keys of shit? Where are the damn keys?

Una mierda (**) Lit. A piece of shit. In Spanish you actually quantify it.
No me acuerdo porque tengo una memoria de mierda (*) I can't remember because my memory's
rubbish.

Chungo/a (*) Dodgy.

Es una tía un poco chunga (*) She's a bit of a dodgy bird.
Hortero/a (*) Naff and corny.
You may also hear hortera, ending in -a, even when talking in the masculine. Also: una horterada,
something as naff and camp as "knickers".
No te pongas esa chaqueta tan hortera (*) Don't wear that naff jacket.

HEALTH
Poor health

Estar pachucho (*) Lit. To be overripe. To be poorly.

Estar hecho polvo (*) Lit. To have turned into dust. To be knackered/poorly.
Warning - don't confuse with echar un polvo (***), literally to throw a piece of dust, which means to have
sexual intercourse.

Estar achacoso (*) To suffer ailments of old age but it can also be used in a more general sense to
indicate you're not feeling your best.
Está muy achacoso con sólo 25 años (*) He has so many aches and pains and he's just 25.

El/La matasanos (*) Lit. The one who kills the healthy. A derogative or humorous way to refer to a doctor.
Son las pastillas que me recetó el matasanos (*) They're the pills the doctor prescribed me.

Good health

Estar como un cañón (*) Lit. To be like a canon, i.e. in great health and full of energy.
Desde la operación está como un cañón (*) Since the operation he's as good as new.

Ser mano de santo (*) Lit. To be a saint's hand. You can use this expression to refer to something that
has done you a lot of good.
El anís es mano de santo para el estómago (*) Aniseed is a miracle cure for the stomach.

Estar vivo/a y coleando To be alive and kicking. In Spanish, instead of kicking, you wag your tail.

Sano/a como una manzana (*) Lit. To be as healthy as an apple, i.e. to have very good health.

The human body

El tarro, el coco (*) Lit. The jar, the coconut. Both mean the head.
Me duele el tarro (*) I have a headache.

Comerse el tarro/el coco (*) Lit. To eat away at the jar/coconut. Figuratively speaking it means worrying
thoughts are eating away at your brain.
No me comas el tarro con tus historias (*) Don't bug me with your tales.

En pelotas/En pelota picada (*) Literally "in balls". Butt naked.

Abrió la puerta en pelotas, ¡imagínate! (*) He opened the door butt naked, can you imagine!

La jeta (*) Literally, the nose of some animals, but in human slang, the full face. Also used to indicate that
someone is cheeky:
Y no ha vuelto a pagar, ¡qué jeta tiene! (*) Yet again she hasn't paid, what a cheek!

Las patas (*) Lit. Legs of an animal or a thing. However, for comic effect it can refer to a person's legs.
Llevo todo el día andando. ¡Tengo las patas rotas! (*) I've been walking around all day. My legs are
broken!

La panza (*) Lit. An animal's belly. Used to refer to the well-rounded human variety, hence Sancho
Panza's name in Don Quixote.

INTERJECTION
They do play an important part in every language. Sometimes whole words are just too much and then
interjections come in handy. The good thing about them is that they are very often international and from
the intonation you know exactly if you should stay or run.
Here is a little list of interjections you should know for getting around.

¡Ah!/¡Ajá! (*) I understand.

¡Anda! (*) Good heavens! Surprise.

¡Noo! (*) No! I don't believe it.

Mmm ... (*) I'm thinking.

¡Ojalá! (*) I wish

Ojalá haga sol. I wish it would be sunny. Or someone may say 'I hope you win the lottery', and you reply
¡Ojalá! The etymology is quite interesting as it comes from the Arabic law šá lláh, meaning 'If Allah
wishes'.

¡Guau! (*) Wow! That's great!

¡Cuidado! / ¡Ojo! (*) Watch out!

¿Qué?/¿Eh? (*) I don't understand.

¡Ay! (*) Ouch! That hurts.

¡Pufff...!/¡Uf! (**) Yuck, yuck (smell).

¡Puag! (**) Yuck, yuck (taste).

¡Caray!/¡Caramba! (*) Blimey!

MONEY

La pasta, la plata (*) Dosh. The literal meaning of pasta is the same as in English (from Italian). Plata is
literally "silver" and it's also the generic term for money in Argentina and Uruguay.
¿Te queda pasta? Have you got any dosh left?

Costar una pasta (gansa) (*) To cost a lot.

Ese Ferrari le debe haber costado una pasta gansa (*) That Ferrari must have cost him some dosh.

Pagar un ojo de la cara/un riñón (y la mitad del otro)/un huevo/dos huevos (**) Lit. To spend an eye
in your face/a kidney (and half the other), or one, or even two, testicles (eggs). To spend "an arm and a
leg".
Tuve que pagar un huevo por el viaje (**) I had to pay through the roof for the trip.
Clavar (*) To charge excessively, to rip off. Lit. To hammer in - imagine the feeling you get when having to
pay over the odds!
Me clavaron 10 euros por una botella de agua (*) I had to pay 10 euros for a bottle of water.

Una clavada (*) A rip-off.

¿20 euros? ¡Vaya clavada! 20 euros? What a rip-off!

Ser (un/a) agarrado/a (*) To be tightfisted. Agarrar means to clutch, so when you're clinging on to money
that's what you become.
Nunca paga una ronda, es un agarrado (*) He never pays for a round, he is so tightfisted.

MOODS

Embarrassment

Quedarse/estar cortado/a (*) Lit. To be left cut/To be cut. To lose one's nerve/tongue (out of
embarrassment).
Intenté hablar con ella pero me quedé cortado (*) I tried talking to her, but embarrassment stopped
me.

Ser un/a cortado/a (*) To be a very shy and embarrassed person.

Para esas cosas soy muy cortada (*) I'm very shy about that sort of thing.

Fear

(No) tener cojones/huevos (**) Lit. To (not) have the testicles/eggs. To (not) have the balls.
¿A qué no tienes huevos para decírselo? (**) I bet you don't have the balls to tell him.

Acojonarse (**) To get/have your balls in your throat (from fear).

El examen de conducir me acojona mogollón (**) The driving test scares me to death.

See also: cojones

Happiness

Estar como unas castañuelas (*) Lit. To be like some castanets. To be very happy.
María está como unas castañuelas con su nuevo novio (*) María is as happy as a clam with her new
boyfriend.

Estar loco/a de contento (*) Lit. To be crazy with happiness.

Están locos de contento con el bebé (*) They are delighted with the baby.

Sadness

Un bajón (*) Lit. A big drop, for example when travelling on a plane. Figuratively, a downer.
Le ha entrado un bajón desde que rompieron (*) He's been on a downer since they split up.

Depre (*) Short for depresión. Used when you're heading for depression but not quite there yet.
Ser (un/a) depre (*) is to be a pessimist.
Es un tío depre - siempre contando sus penas (*) He's a pessimistic bloke - always talking about his
problems.
Estar depre (*) To be down.
Confusion

Estar zombi (*) Lit. To be like a zombie. To be scatterbrained, to think or act aimlessly.
Hoy no puedo concentrarme, estoy zombi total (*) I can't concentrate today - I'm completely
scatterbrained.

Estar en Babia (*) To have your head in the clouds. Babia was the retreat of early Castilian kings in the
Middle Ages: when they were there, they didn't have a clue what was going on.
Es un incompetente total, siempre está en Babia (*) He's completely incompetent, his head's always in
the clouds.

Madness

Tener un cacao mental (*) Lit. To have cocoa in your mind. To have your mind in a mess. Cocoa needs a
lot of stirring, hence the feeling in your head.

Estar como una cabra (*) Lit. Like a goat. Figuratively, mad as a hatter.
Se quiere ir a vivir a Siberia - está como una cabra (*) He wants to go and live in Siberia - he's mad as
a hatter.

Faltarle un tornillo (*) Lit. To be missing a screw. To have a screw loose.

¿Para eso llamas a las dos de la madrugada? ¿Y a ti qué tornillo te falta? (*) Is that why you're
ringing at 2am? You got a screw loose or something?

PLAY UP/PLAY DOWN

Un pelín (*) Lit. a tiny hair, meaning a very little bit, often used to soften your statement.
¿Puedes bajar la tele un pelín? Can you turn the telly down a wee bit?

Un mogollón de... (*) In Spanish, this word evokes abundance, chaos, lots of things or people.
Había (un) mogollón de tráfico (*) There was heavy, chaotic traffic.

una pasada (de...) (*) When something goes past its limit (whether time or quantity) you say se ha
pasado, "it's gone over". Hence una pasada means "a lot".
Esos pantalones me gustan una pasada (*) I like those trousers a lot.

cantidad (de...) (*) Used with either la or una, cantidad means "quantity". On its own however, it's slang
for "a lot" as above. Cantidad de... is also used with adjectives to mean "very".
Había cantidad de gente en el concierto (*) There were loads of people at the gig.

Tela (*) Lit. "fabric" or "cloth". It's used in the following expressions to indicate there are lots of things to
do or something is excessive: ¡Tela! ¡Manda tela! ¡Tela marinera!
Hace tela de frío (*) It's freezing cold.

RELIGIOUS TERMS
Many general expressions can be traced back to Catholic themes. Although religious people frown upon
them, they're in general use and you can even hear them on prime-time TV shows. Here are some of
them.

Hostia

Hostia (**) Lit. Host. Colloquially used to mean several things:

Dar/pegar una hostia (**) To hit, slap or smack.
Como no te calles, te voy a dar una hostia (**) If you don't shut up, I'm going to smack you.
... de la hostia (**) Lit. ... of the host
This expression is added to nouns to indicate if something's very good, very big or very intense:
Tengo un frío de la hostia (**) I am absolutely freezing.
Se compró una casa de la hostia (**) She bought a massive house.

Es la hostia (**) Lit. It's the host

It's amazing, funny, cool or incredible; it can be applied to people and things:
Su nuevo coche es la hostia, tiene de todo (**) His new car is amazing, it has the lot.

La Virgen

La Virgen María (*) is Mother Mary, but la virgen is used colloquially to mean the following:
... de la virgen is added to nouns to indicate if something's very good, very big or very intense.
¡Virgen Santa! ¡Virgen Santísima! (*) Oh my God! Goodness me!
¡Virgen Santa! ¿Qué te ha pasado? (*) Oh my God! What happened to you?

Dichoso

dichoso/a (*) Lit. full of happiness, usually of a religious nature. However, it's mostly used to curse
something that's gone wrong:
Ya se ha vuelto a estropear el dichoso ordenador (*) The damned PC has broken down again.

SPECIAL MEANINGS
Some common words acquire a different meaning in slang:

Madre
Un rollo
Leche

(* = familiar, ** = very familiar, *** = vulgar, R = plain rude, Lit. = Literally)

Madre

Madre, "Mother" appears very often in colloquial Spanish.

Ciento y la madre (*) Lit. A hundred and the mother. Too many people.
No pudimos entrar porque éramos ciento y la madre (*) We were not allowed in because there were
too many of us.

¡La madre que te/lo/la/os parió!(**) Lit. The mother who gave birth to you/him/her ...
This expression denotes anger or annoyance with someone.

¡Madre mía! ¡Mi madre! ¡Madre! (*) Lit. My mother! Mother!

A common exclamation showing fear, surprise, etc.
¡Madre mía! ¡Qué perro más enorme! My God! What a huge dog!

See also: ¡Virgen!

See also: ... de puta madre

Un rollo

Un rollo is literally a roll (of paper or other material), but in colloquial speech it has many different
meanings.
Un buen/mal rollo (*) Lit. A good/bad roll. Something good/bad
Meterse en asuntos de pareja es siempre un mal rollo (*) To meddle in other people's relationships is
always a bad idea.

Enrollarse bien/mal (also ser enrollado/a) (*) Lit. To roll up well/badly. To get on well/badly with
somebody or something. To be cool.
Son muy enrollados con las fiestas que organizan (*) They are very cool with the parties they give

Es un rollo (*) Lit. It's a roll. It's a bore (a thing or a situation).

No vayas a ver esta película, es un rollo (*) Don't go to see this film, it's a real bore.

Tener un/medio rollo(*) Lit. To have a/half a roll. To have something going.
Sí, Antonio tuvo medio rollo con Carmen (*) Lit. Yes, Antonio had half a roll with Carmen. Yes, Antonio
had something with Carmen.

Leche

Leche, literally "milk". This totally harmless substance acquires a new dimension when it comes to
slang ...
Una leche (*) Lit. A milk. A crash, a smack, a punch.
Como sigas dando la lata te va a dar una leche... (*) If you carry on being a pain she's going to thump
you ...

Tener mala leche (*) Lit. To have bad milk. To be very bad tempered.
Yo le tengo miedo, tiene una mala leche de la hostia (*) I'm scared of him, he has a really awful bad
temper.

... de la leche (*) Lit. ... of the milk. A hell of a lot of ...
Tengo un constipado de la leche (*) I have a terrible cold.

Ser la leche (*) Lit. To be the milk. To be the pits.

Ana es la leche, ha vuelto a llegar tarde hoy (*) Lit. Ana is the milk, she was late again today. Ana is
unbelievable, she was late again today.

SOCIETY

Un pijo/una pija (*) A posh, stuck-up person. This easily identifiable social group tend to dress in labels,
have lots of money and speak in a very particular way. It can also be used as an adjective to indicate that
something or somewhere is posh.
Ayer cenamos en un restaurante muy pijo (*) Yesterday we had dinner in a very posh restaurant.

Una maruja - maruja (*) is a conversational form of María and a generic term for housewives with little
education and interest in others' comings and goings. You may be compared to one if you start gossiping.
No seas maruja (*) Lit. Stop acting like a maruja.

Un/una pureta (*) What younger people call older people, who they invariably consider uncool.
El tío ese es un pureta, tendrá treinta años (*) That guy's oldish, he's about thirty.

Un/una cursi (*) Applies to someone affected or twee, especially in an old-fashioned way. Also applies to
novels, films or song lyrics that are sugary.
Es tan cursi que parece que vive en el siglo XIX (*) She's so twee she looks like she's living in the 19th
century.

Un/una guiri (*) If you're reading this you probably are one - it's a general term to designate a foreign
tourist and foreigners in general.

El/la facha (**) A loaded word, it was originally slang for "fascist" but many left-wingers also apply it to
anyone right-wing or conservative, not only in politics but in social attitudes.
Es una manifestación de fachas en contra del matrimonio gay (**) It's a "fascist" demonstration
against gay marriage.

SEXUAL SWEARWORDS

Coño, carajo

Coño, carajo These can express surprise, anger or simply be used to give emphasis. Literally, and
respectively, they are the female and male private parts. They're much more widely used metaphorically
in a naughty rather than rude sense, nothing like their literal translation in English.
¡Coño, qué hambre tengo! (**) Blimey, I'm hungry!
¿Vienes de una vez, coño? (**) For heaven's sake, are you coming or not?

¿Qué/cómo/dónde coño... ? (**) What/how/where the hell... ?

¿Dónde coño están las llaves? (**) Where the hell are the keys?

Un coñazo (*) A real pain (figuratively speaking).

Este tío es un verdadero coñazo (*) This guy is a real pain.

Joder

Joder (also pronounced joer) (**) Literally it has the same meaning as the English F-word, but it's more
often used with its figurative meanings. It usually means to "cock up" something or to be "screwed up":
¡Ya la han jodido! (**) They've already screwed it up!
Nos han jodido con tantos impuestos (**) They've screwed us with so many taxes.

Joder on its own is used exactly like coño above, to indicate surprise, anger or admiration:
¡Joder, cómo llueve! (**) Hell, it's peeing down!

Jopé, jopelines, jolines, jolín (*) These are a few euphemisms to replace joder. They're usually used by
children or adults who want to avoid swearing.

Puta

Puta is short for prostituta. At times it's used in its proper sense, but more often as a very strong insult,
especially if a family connection is made, in phrases that would translate as "son of a prostitute" or "your
prostitute mother". However, it's actually more commonly resorted to as an adjective to express anger.
Puto/a (as an adjective and always in front of the noun)
Tengo que ir al puto médico (**) Lit. I have to go to the prostitute doctor. I have to go to the effing doctor.

... de puta madre (**) Lit. ... of the prostitute mother

Although it may sound contradictory, this is a praising expression meaning "very good" or "excellent". It
can be applied to people and things:
Tiene un coche de puta madre (**) Lit. He has a car of the prostitute mother. He has a fantastic car.
Warning - do not confuse ... de puta madre with tu puta madre (***), which is an expression used as an
insult, usually a rude reply to someone who's already insulted you.
Hijo/a de puta (R) Lit. Son/daughter of a whore
Depending on the context, tone and how well you get on with the person you're talking to it may be said
not necessarily as an insult.

Huevos, cojones, pelotas

Huevos literally means "eggs" and pelotas are "balls", but these words are also slang for "testicles"
(cojones). The expressions with these words are endless and in many instances you can use either
word. Here are a few useful expressions, but don't be surprised if you hear testicles mentioned in other
contexts!

Estar hasta los huevos/cojones de ... (***) Lit. To be up to the eggs/testicles with... To be fed up with...
Estoy hasta los huevos/cojones de Arturo (***) I've had enough of Arturo.

Tener huevos/cojones (**) Lit. To have eggs/testicles. To be brave.

Para hacer eso hay que tener muchos huevos (**) To do that you need to have balls.

¡Y un huevo/cojón! (***) Lit. And an egg/testicle! The meaning is similar to the English "Yeah, right!" or
"No way!" but a bit ruder.
¡Y un cojón me voy a levantar yo a las 7 para ayudarle! (***) No way am I getting up at 7 to help him!

Por huevos/cojones (***) Lit. For eggs/testicles. It means a reason is not required for someone to do
something.
Tiene que venir a las 8 por huevos (***) Lit. S/he has to come at 8 for eggs. S/he has to come at 8
because s/he has to.

Costar un huevo (**) Lit. To cost an egg. Used to indicate that something is very expensive.
Este abrigo me costó un huevo (**) This coat cost me a fortune.

TECHNOLOGY
Un emilio/ismael (*) This is a comic take on the English word "email". Both words are actually Christian
names. The proper word is un correo electrónico.

Un ordeñador (*) A comic take on the Spanish word for a computer, un ordenador. Ordenar is to put
things in order, to arrange them. Ordeñar is to milk a cow or a goat. The phonetic similarity aids the comic
effect resulting in the absurdity of the comparison.

Una parabólica (*) Not a maths formula, but short for una antena parabólica, a satellite dish.

El/La güeb (*) The web.

Un/una güeb (*) A website.
Comic effect is achieved by subverting the original English spelling.

Mandar un texto (*) To send a text message.

The principles of texting in Spanish are the same as in English, i.e. shorten words, drop vowels and use
the phonetic values of letters spelt out.
tbo mñn = te-be-o, i.e. te veo mañana - c u 2moro, i.e. see you tomorrow
nos bmos to2 aki = nos be-mos to-dos aki, i.e. nos vemos todos aquí we'll all meet here
q kk = qué ka-ka, i.e. qué caca, what crap tqm = te quiero mucho, I love you lots