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Examples Origin Usage

TRANSLATIONS DICTIONARY

güey
or guey or wey or buey [wey]

Published February 5, 2019

WHAT DOES GÜEY MEAN?

Güey, pronounced “whey,” is Mexican slang for

“dumbass” or “idiot,” although it is can also be
used more as a slang term for “man” or “dude.”

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RELATED WORDS

pinche, cabrón, bato, dudebro, del putas, no

mames, Papi, mija, mami

WHERE DOES GÜEY COME FROM?

Latina
The word güey comes from the Spanish word
buey, which literally means “ox” or “steer.” As
early as the 1840s, buey came to refer to a
“cuckold.”

The slang insult güey, for “idiot” or “stupid person”

emerges from the “cuckold” sense of buey. A man
whose wife cheats on him, you see, isn’t exactly
held in high esteem.

By the 1860s, buey had evolved into the form

of güey in dialects of Spanish. The original buey
is still sometimes used instead instead of güey in
slang Spanish.

MEMESHAPPEN

Guëy spread in popular slang in central America,

particularly Mexico, over the 1900s. Language is
ever changing, especially slang terms, and
so güey softened in tone to a more casual term
(of address) among male friends or
acquaintances, à la “man,” “dude,” or “bro” in
English.

For example, you could ask a friend “Who’s that

güey?” (“Who’s that guy?”). Or perhaps you could
greet someone with “¿Qué onda, güey?” (“What’s
up, man?”).

I hate Jameson, why the fuck did I drink

Jameson. Whoever is reading this dont let.lme do
it again guey.

— caramel apple (@xmadisonmae)

January 21, 2019

EXAMPLES OF GÜEY

Serio guey, there’s always hot

papis at this coffee shop

@IsamiraSlewa, January 2019

Once they're done, Morrison

intends to retire from
performing live. Given how
much music he's given Salt
Lake City over the past 25
years, that's a bummer, güey.

Randy Harward, Salt Lake City Weekly,

March 2018

SEE MORE EXAMPLES

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WHO USES GÜEY?

The word güey is especially associated with

Mexican slang, but it’s used throughout central
America and their populations/descendants in the
United States.

As noted, güey is informal, so it wouldn’t be

appropriate in business or other formal contexts.

bruh ain’t that the: “ya guey, por favor guey,

pinche pendejo guey.” pose
https://t.co/IQIL8HathE

— SwollBoyQ (@gaberv) January 21, 2019

Between friends (both male and female), güey is

a friendly term to refer to someone without using
their name. But güey can also be wielded as an
insult.

Happy birthday to my roommate thanks for

putting up with me and doing pendejadas with me
te quiero guey
pic.twitter.com/ZddO4k6m9a

— gisell (@Hernandezz_35) January 15, 2019

Güey is such a common slang term that it’s often

used in Spanglish (mixed Spanish and English).
It’s commonly found in the expression ¡No
mames güey!, which roughly translates to “You’re
kidding me!”

JUST ADDED

National Medal of Arts, Talk Like a Pirate Day,

adorkable, brigading, MTG

NOTE

This is not meant to be a formal definition of güey

like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but
is rather an informal word summary that hopefully
touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and
usage of güey that will help our users expand
their word mastery.

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