150+ Spanish Curse Words & Slang: A Candid Guide to Vocabulary

Spanish curse words, known for their intensity and regional flavor, are a vibrant and complex part of the language. Understanding these terms—from common insults like cabrón and joder to country-specific slang—is crucial for grasping cultural nuance, watching authentic media, or simply knowing what to avoid saying. This comprehensive guide provides a direct look at over 150 Spanish Curse Words, vulgar expressions, and offensive slang.

We’ll explain their meanings, usage contexts, and severity levels, covering terms from Spain, Mexico, Argentina, and beyond. Whether for linguistic curiosity or practical comprehension, this is your unfiltered resource for navigating the rougher side of Spanish conversation. ⚠️

Common & Universal Spanish Insults 🇪🇸

• Cabrón – A very common, versatile insult meaning “bastard” or “jerk”. 🐐
• Joder – The ubiquitous “to fuck”, used like “damn it” or “screw this”. 😤
• Mierda – Direct translation for “shit”, used in many frustrations. 💩
• Gilipollas – A strong Spanish term for “idiot” or “asshole”. 🤦‍♂️
• Coño – Vulgar for female anatomy, an exclamation like “damn!”. 😮
• Hostia – Literally “the host”, a common Spanish exclamation of shock. 😳
• Maricón – A strong, offensive slur meaning “faggot” or coward. 👎
• Hijo de puta – The classic “son of a bitch” insult. 👶
• La concha de tu madre – A very vulgar Argentine insult targeting mother. 🐚
• Me cago en… – “I shit on…” used to curse anything (God, milk). 🙊
• Subnormal – Means “retard” or “subnormal”, a harsh insult. 🧠
• Capullo – Spanish for “asshole” or “jerk”, like a closed bud. 🌸
• Pendejo – Widely used in Latin America for “idiot” or “punk”. 🧒
• Pelotudo – Argentine for “idiot”, literally “big balls”. 🏀
• Chingar – The Mexican versatile verb “to fuck” something up. 🇲🇽
• Bola de pendejos – Mexican for “bunch of idiots”. 👥

Vulgar Verbs & Action-Oriented Swears ⚡

• Joderse – Reflexive of joder, “to get screwed over”. 😓
• Follar – Spain’s primary verb for “to have sex”. 🛌
• Chingar – Mexico’s multifunctional verb for ruin or defeat. 🤼‍♂️
• Cagar – “To shit”, also means to ruin something. 🚽
• Cagarse en – “To shit on”, used to curse or disrespect. 💩
• Joder a alguien – “To fuck with someone” or bother them. 👆
• Dar por culo – Vulgar Spanish for “to annoy the hell out of”. 🍑
• Mamársela – Crude for “to suck his dick”, implies servitude. 👅
• Tocar los cojones – “To touch balls”, means to seriously annoy. 🏀
• Partir la madre – Mexican for “to beat the shit out of”. 👊
• Hacerse pendejo – To play ignorant or act like an idiot. 🤡
• Estar hasta la madre – To be fed up, “up to the mother”. 😠
• Mandar a la mierda – “To send to shit”, to tell someone off. ✉️
• Comerse a alguien – “To eat someone”, slang for intense kissing. 😘
• Irse a la chingada – To go to hell, to disappear. 👋
• Valer verga – Mexican for “to be worthless”, “to not matter”. 🍆

Sex-Related & Highly Offensive Terms 🚫

• Puta – The direct, harsh word for “whore” or sex worker. 💃
• Puto – The male equivalent, a strong insult for a man. 🕺
• Zorra – Another term for “slut” or “fox”. 🦊
• Maricón – A deeply offensive anti-gay slur meaning “faggot”. 🏳️‍🌈
• Marica – Slightly less strong, but still a gay slur. 👬
• Culo – Vulgar for “ass”, used in many crude phrases. 🍑
• Concha – Vulgar for female genitalia, especially in Argentina. 🐚
• Coño – Spain’s vulgar term for female genitalia. 🎯
• Polla – Crude Spanish slang for “penis”. 🍆
• Pene – The standard, anatomical word for “penis”. 🧬
• Verga – Common Latin American slang for “penis”. 🇲🇽
• Chocha – Vulgar slang for female genitalia in some regions. 🌮
• Leche – “Milk”, slang for semen in crude contexts. 🥛
• Mamar – “To suck”, the root of many vulgar expressions. 👄
• Follar – Spain’s primary, blunt verb for sexual intercourse. 🔥
• Coger – In most places means “to take”, in some means “to fuck”. ⚠️
• Chingar – In Mexico, can have a sexual connotation of violation. 🛡️

Insults Targeting Intelligence & Character 🧠

• Gilipollas – Spain’s strong, classic insult for a foolish person. 🇪🇸
• Pendejo – A classic Latin American insult for a foolish person. 🧒
• Idiota – The direct translation for “idiot”, universally understood. 🤪
• Imbécil – “foolish”, a step stronger than idiota. 🤕
• Tonto – “Silly” or “fool”, a lighter, common insult. 🃏
• Subnormal – A harsh insult meaning “ignorant” or “subnormal”. ⚠️
• Tarado – Similar to “moron” or “dimwit”. 💡
• Mongólico – An offensive, outdated term like “mongoloid”. 🗺️
• Lameculos – “Ass-licker” or sycophant. 👅
• Chupaculos – Another term for “ass-kisser”. 😗
• Traga – Short for tragasables, “dick-swallower”, a lackey. 🍆
• Cobarde – “Coward”, a direct insult to one’s bravery. 🐔
• Vendido – “Sell-out”, someone who betrayed principles. 💰
• Hipócrita – “Hypocrite”, a common character insult. 🎭
• Cinico – “Cynical”, insulting someone’s sincere beliefs. 😐

Body Parts Used in Crude Expressions 🏃‍♂️

• Cojones – “Balls”, symbolizes courage or annoyance. 🏀
• Huevos – “Eggs”, also means “balls” and courage. 🥚
• Pelotas – “Balls”, used similarly to cojones. ⚽
• Pito – A childish or slang term for “penis”. 📯
• Pija – Argentine slang for “penis”. 🇦🇷
• Nalga – “Buttock”, less vulgar than culo. 🍑
• Tetas – Informal for “tits” or “boobs”. 🍼
• Pechos – The more neutral term for “chest” or “breasts”. 👚
• Trasero – Polite for “rear end” or “backside”. ↩️
• Panocha – Vulgar slang for female genitalia in some areas. 🌮
• Almeja – “Clam”, another crude metaphor for female anatomy. 🐚
• Güevo – A common misspelling/pronunciation of huevo. ✍️
• Carajo – An old term for penis, now an exclamation (“damn!”). 😠
• Pajero – From paja (masturbation), means “wanker” or loser. ✊
• Cerebro – “Brain”, used in insults about lack of intelligence. 🧠
• Cara – “Face”, used in insults like cara de… (face of…). 😶

Country-Specific Slang & Regional Curses 🌎

• ¡Qué chingados! – Mexican exclamation of “What the fuck?!”. 🇲🇽
• ¡La puta madre! – Argentine outburst, “The fucking mother!”. 🇦🇷
• ¡Concha de su madre! – Very strong Argentine mother insult. 🐚
• ¡La gran puta! – Argentine expression of major frustration. 💥
• Pibe / Piba – Argentina for “kid”, not a curse but local slang. 👦👧
• Che – Argentine interjection like “hey”, not offensive. 🤘
• Boludo / Boluda – Argentine for “idiot”, common among friends. 🏀
• Chévere – Venezuelan/Colombian for “cool”, positive slang. 😎
• Vaina – Venezuelan for “thing” or “stuff”, versatile word. 📦
• ¡Qué vaina! – Venezuelan “What a thing/situation!”. 🤷‍♂️
• Pana – Venezuelan for “friend” or “buddy”. 👫
• Chamo / Chama – Venezuelan for “boy” or “girl”. 🧒👧
• Weón / Weona – Chilean for “idiot”, used extremely frequently. 🇨🇱
• Culiado – Variation of culeado used in some South American countries. 🛏️
• Jueputa – Contracted form of hijo de puta used in Colombia. 🇨🇴
• ¡Qué gonorrea! – Colombian slang for “How awful!” (literally an STD). 🦠
• Mae – Costa Rican for “dude” or “guy”. 🧔
• Pura vida – Costa Rican for “pure life”, a positive greeting. ☀️

Exclamations, Interjections & Expressions of Anger 😠

• ¡Joder! – The Spanish classic for “Damn!” or “Fuck!”. 😤
• ¡Mierda! – The direct “Shit!” in a moment of anger or failure. 💩
• ¡Hostia! – Spanish “Holy shit!” (literally “the host”). 😳
• ¡Coño! – Spanish exclamation of frustration or surprise. 😮
• ¡Carajo! – Common “Damn it!” used across Latin America. 😠
• ¡Caray! – A softer, less offensive version of carajo. 😐
• ¡Rayos! – Very mild, like “Darn!” or “Shoot!”. ⚡
• ¡Diablos! – “Devils!”, a moderate exclamation. 😈
• ¡Demonios! – “Demons!”, similar to diablos. 👿
• ¡Por Dios! – “For God’s sake!”, a common plea. 🙏
• ¡La madre que te parió! – “The mother who bore you!”, angry. 👶
• ¡Me cago en…! – “I shit on…!”, a template for cursing. 🙊
• ¡Me cago en Dios! – A very blasphemous Spanish expression. ⛪
• ¡Me cago en la leche! – A common, bizarre “I shit in the milk!”. 🥛
• ¡Qué putada! – “What a bitch move!” or crappy situation. 🚫
• ¡Vete a la mierda! – “Go to shit!”, strong “go to hell!”. 👉
• ¡Vete al carajo! – “Go to carajo!”, another “go to hell”. 🔥
• ¡Anda a cagar! – “Go take a shit!”, a rude dismissal. 🚶‍♂️💩

Insults Involving Family & Relatives 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

• Hijo de puta – The universal “son of a bitch”. 👶
• Hijo de la gran puta – Emphatic “son of the great whore”. 🌟
• Hijo de perra – “Son of a female dog”, less common variant. 🐕
• La concha de tu madre – Targets “your mother’s shell” (vulgar). 🐚
• La puta madre que te parió – “The whore mother who bore you”. 👩‍🍼
• Tu madre – Simple “your mother”, a common retort. 👵
• Tu vieja – Informal “your old lady”, used in insults. 👴
• Culo roto – “Broken ass”, an odd but common insult. 🍑🔨
• Comehogares – “Home-eater”, someone who ruins family life. 🏠🍽️
• Malparido – “Ill-birthed”, means “bastard” or worse. 👶🚫
• Pariente de la cigüeña – “Relative of the stork”, mocking orphan. 🦢
• Tener más familia que un perro – “To have more family than a dog”. 🐶👥
• Donde Cristo perdió la chancla – “Where Christ lost his sandal”, remote. 👣🌵
• Estar más liado que la pata de un romano – “Busier than a Roman’s leg”. 🏛️🦵
• Ser la oveja negra – “To be the black sheep” of the family. 🐑⚫

Mild, Playful, or Less Offensive Swears 😏

• Maldito/a – “Damned” or “cursed”, a milder curse word. 👹
• Maldita sea – “Damn it” or “darn it”, a common expression. 🌊
• Diablillos – “Little devils”, a playful, mild exclamation. 😈👶
• Caramba – A very tame, old-fashioned “darn” or “golly”. 🎩
• Recórcholis – A comical, childish exclamation like “gee whiz!”. 🤡
• Cáspita – Another extremely mild, almost humorous “darn”. ✨
• Demonios – “Demons!”, stronger than diablos but not vulgar. 👿
• Por el amor de Dios – “For the love of God”, a frustrated plea. ❤️⛪
• Valiente – “Brave”, used sarcastically like “that’s a fine thing!”. 🦸‍♂️
• Vaya – “Wow” or “well”, a simple interjection of surprise. 🤔
• Anda ya – “Come on” or “get out of here”, expressing disbelief. 🙄
• No me digas – “Don’t tell me”, sarcastic response to obvious news. 🤐
• Qué fuerte – “How strong”, means “that’s intense” or “wow”. 💪
• Qué rollo – “What a drag” or “what a pain”. 🌀
• Es la leche – Spain: “It’s the milk”, can be amazing or terrible. 🥛⚠️
• Me da igual – “It’s all the same to me”, expressing apathy. 🤷‍♂️
• Pues nada – “Well, nothing”, a resigned or dismissive phrase. ✌️

Profanities & Blasphemous Expressions ⛪

• Me cago en Dios – The ultimate blasphemy, “I shit on God”. 🙊⛪
• Me cago en la hostia – “I shit on the host”, highly offensive. 🍞💩
• Hostia – Literally “the Eucharist wafer”, a common swear. 😳
• Por el culo te la hinco – “I stick it in your ass”, vulgar & aggressive. 🍑🔨
• Vete a freír espárragos – “Go fry asparagus”, a silly dismissal. 🍳🌱
• Que te den – Short for que te den por culo, “screw you”. 👉🍑
• Que te folle un pez – “May a fish fuck you”, a bizarre Spanish curse. 🐟❤️
• Me suda la polla – “My dick sweats for it”, I don’t give a damn. 🍆💦
• Me importa un pepino – “I care a cucumber”, I don’t care. 🥒
• Me importa un comino – “I care a cumin seed”, I don’t care. 🌿
• Me importa un pimiento – “I care a pepper”, I don’t care. 🌶️
• Me importa un rábano – “I care a radish”, I don’t care. 🥕
• Me la trae al pairo – “It brings it to me flat”, I don’t care. 🍃
• Me da igual que llueva pepinos – “I don’t care if it rains cucumbers”. 🥒🌧️
• Estar hasta los cojones – “To be up to the balls”, fed up. 🏀⬆️
• No tener huevos – “To not have balls”, to lack courage. 🥚🚫
• Tener huevos – “To have balls”, to be brave. 🥚✅
• Tener pelotas – “To have balls”, to be brave or bold. ⚽✅

Slang for Drunk, High, or Intoxicated 🍺

• Borrachó / Borracha – The standard word for “drunk”. 🥴
• Ebrio / Ebria – More formal term for “inebriated”. 🍷
• Pedo – Slang for “drunk” in Mexico and other areas. 🇲🇽
• Estar pedo – “To be drunk”, very common Mexican slang. 🥴
• Curda – Slang for “drunkenness” or “hangover”. 🍻
• Escabio – Argentine slang for “alcohol” or “booze”. 🥃
• Chupi – Spanish slang for “drink” or “booze”. 🍸
• Colocado / Colocada – Slang for “high” on drugs. 🌿💊
• Fumado / Fumada – “Smoked”, means “stoned” or “high”. 🍁
• Pacheco / Pacheca – Mexican slang for “stoned”. 🌵
• Marihuano / Mariguana – Slang for a marijuana user. 🌿
• Flipar – Spain: “To flip out”, to be high or amazed. 🤯
• Colgado / Colgada – “Hung”, can mean spaced out or high. 🪢
• Puesto / Puesta – “Placed”, another slang for being high. 📍
• Viajando – “Traveling”, means tripping on psychedelics. ✈️🍄
• Volarse – “To fly oneself”, to get very high. 🚀

Words for Fool, Idiot, or Simpleton (Non-Vulgar) 🤡

• Tonto / Tonta – The most common word for “silly” or “fool”. 🃏
• Tontuelo / Tontuela – A diminutive, “little silly one”. 👶
• Tontito / Tontita – Another diminutive, “silly little one”. 🍼
• Bobo / Boba – “Silly” or “fool”, slightly stronger than tonto. 🤪
• Bobalicón / Bobalicona – An augmentative, “big fool”. 🤪🔍
• Lelo / Lela – Means “dazed”, “slow”, or “dim”. 🐌
• Papanatas – A “gullible person” or “sucker”. 👁️👄👁️
• Candil – An old-fashioned word for a “simpleton”. 🕯️
• Mentecato / Mentecata – A formal-ish word for “fool”. 🧠❌
• Necio / Neciá – Means “stubborn fool” or “ignorant”. 🤦‍♂️
• Zoquete – Means “blockhead” or “dense person”. 🧱
• Zote – Another term for a “clumsy oaf” or “dolt”. 🤷‍♂️
• Majadero / Majadera – “Annoying” or “pesky” person. 🐝
• Ceporro – Spanish slang for a “big ignorant oaf”. 🐶
• Garrulo / Garrula – Means “boorish” or “crude” person. 🪵
• Palurdo / Palurda – “Bumpkin” or “country hick”. 🚜
• Paleto / Paleta – Similar to palurdo, “rube” or “hick”. 🌾

Spanish Internet & Texting Slang (Online Curses) 💻

• WTF – Used as-is, pronounced “doble-ve te efe”. ❓
• OMG – Used as-is, pronounced “o eme ge”. 😮
• WTP – “What the fuck” adapted. 🤬
• STFU – “Shut the fuck up” in English acronym form. 🤐
• GTFO – “Get the fuck out” in English acronym form. 🚪
• F – From “Press F to pay respects”, used for failure. 🇫
• NOOB – Used as-is for “newbie” or inexperienced player. 🎮
• PT – Short for puta sometimes used in gaming. 👩
• CTM – Acronym for concha de tu madre. 🐚
• HDP – Acronym for hijo de puta. 👶
• Vete a la V – “Go to the V”, euphemism for verga or mierda. ✌️
• Qlo – Short for culo. 🍑
• Xfa – Short for por favor (“please”). 🙏
• Tkm – Te quiero mucho (“I love you a lot”). ❤️
• Mdr – Me da risa (“It makes me laugh”). 😂
• Nmms – Mexican texting slang, short for no mames. 🤐
• Ntc – No te creas (“Don’t believe it” / “just kidding”). 😜
• Gpi – Gracias por invitar (“Thanks for inviting” sarcastically). 🎉
• Saludos al niño – “Greetings to the kid”, weird online sign-off. 👶✉️

FAQ: Spanish Curse Words

What are the most common Spanish curse words?
The most universal and frequently used Spanish swear words are joder (to fuck), mierda (shit), cabrón (bastard/jerk), coño (damn!/vulgar), and puta (whore). The phrase hijo de puta (son of a bitch) is also extremely common.

Are Spanish swear words the same in every country?
No, they vary greatly. For example, coger means “to take” in most places but is vulgar in Argentina. Pendejo is a common insult in Mexico but less so in Spain. Argentina uses concha and boludo, while Spain uses coño and gilipollas.

How offensive is the word ‘maricón’?
Maricón is a deeply offensive homophobic slur, equivalent to “faggot” in English. It should be avoided entirely as it is highly derogatory and hurtful, even when not directed at a gay person.

Is it okay to use these words if I’m learning Spanish?
As a learner, you should understand these words to comprehend media and avoid misunderstandings, but use them with extreme caution. Misuse can cause serious offense. It’s best to stick to milder expressions like caramba or diablos until you fully grasp the cultural context.

What are some mild Spanish exclamations I can use safely?
Safer, milder alternatives include caramba, rayos, diablos, vaya, por Dios, and maldita sea. These express frustration without the vulgarity or high risk of causing offense.

Why are there so many blasphemous curses in Spanish (like ‘me cago en Dios’)?
Spanish, particularly in Spain, has a strong tradition of blasphemous expressions (blasfemias) rooted in the historical influence of the Catholic Church. Using religious terms profanely is a culturally specific way of expressing intense emotion.

Conclusion

Navigating the world of Spanish curse words requires more than just a vocabulary list—it demands an understanding of cultural context, regional variation, and severe social taboos. This guide has provided a detailed look at over 150 terms, from universal insults like cabrón to country-specific slang like boludo and weón, always noting their potency and appropriate context. Remember, understanding these words is key to grasping authentic Spanish, but using them requires great caution. When in doubt, opt for the milder alternatives. With this knowledge, you’re now better equipped to comprehend the full, vibrant, and sometimes rough spectrum of the Spanish language.