Lets take a walk through the Gritty streets of Spain, learn some Spanish curse words and insults while we are at it. If you wanna speak more like a native from Spain, then you need to learn a few Slang words if you are serious!

Here you have the 15 most common Spanish curse words to help you cuss and insult in Spain like a pro! These are some of the most useful words you’ll ever need when you are in the Streets of Spain. Practice them until you can remember them in the appropriate context and don’t ever forget to put the necessary emphasis on the exclamation!

We even got one of the voice actors from Gritty Spanish to come in and voice each of these words in a real sentence!

So be sure to check out at the end of this post!

1. Gilipollas

The origin of this expression comes from 16th Century when a famous State Worker called Gillmón and his two daughters, who were also famous because of not being really smart (they were compared with “pollas” – chicken. They used to go to public events where people would say “here comes Gil y pollas”. Because of the characteristics of his daughters, the insult “gilipollas” stuck for people with non-privileged minds. Nowadays, it can stand for “idiot” or “stupid” too…

Example:

“Mi vecino es un gilipollas, siempre está haciendo ruido sin pensar que no vive solo.”

“My neighbor is an idiot, he is always making noise without considering he is not living alone..”

2. Capullo

“Capullo” in Spanish is the envelope of worms before they are born. From this definition, it probably got more of the meaning of the worm itself, nowadays being used to refer to people who are really disgusting or ungrateful. It can also be an asshole, prick or the like.

“Pablo es un capullo, no se lleva bien con nadie y habla mal de todo el mundo.”

“Pablo is a really disgusting person, he doesn’t get along with anyone and he talks shit about everyone.”

3. Cabrón

Cabrón is a word that was originally used as a way to talk about someone who’s wife had cheated on him. “Cabrón” stands for goat and goats are not the most loyal animals in the world. Nowadays cabrón can be used in a bad way and in a not bad and familiar way. The first one could stand for the English “asshole”: “you are an asshole, you shouldn’t say that to him”. The other way it is used mostly when someone who we appreciate is lucky:

Example:

“Qué cabrón, has ganado la lotería.”

“What a bastard, you have won the lottery.”

4. Tonto

Tonto is a way to talk about someone that is not very smart. The origin of the word is still uncertain but most of the theories say that it is just an imitation of a sound that this kind of person could do when trying to speak.

Example:

“El chico es un poco tonto, le he explicado el problema tres veces y aún no lo entiende.”

“The guy is a little dumb, I’ve explained the problem three times and he still doesn’t get it.”

5. Burro

The use of burro is similar to “tonto” but is used in a more offensive way. The origin and use of the word is clear as “burro” in Spanish stands for “donkey”.

Example:

“Qué burro eres! ¡No has entendido ni una palabra de lo dicho!”

“You’re such jackass! You haven’t understood a single word I’ve said!”

6. Mamón

The origin of mamón is also pretty clear. “Mamar” is the acción of being breast-fed, “to suck” literally. The word mamón was originally used as a way to refer to people who take advantage of other people:

Example:

“José es un mamón, siempre está pidiendo dinero a su madre.”

“José is a hanger-on, he is always asking his mother for money.”

Mamón can also be used to describe a person that’s behaving like a dumb-ass or idiot.

Another Example:

“Qué mamón es Juan, siempre está molestando a todo el mundo.”

“Juan is a dumbass, he is always bothering everyone.”

7. Payaso

Payaso is a very common word in Spanish. As “payaso” stands for “clown”, it can be used for people who doesn’t take anything seriously. As you know, we say this in English as well.

Example:

“Èl un payaso, le conté mis problemas y se rió de mi”

“He is a clown, I told him my problems and he laughed at me)

“Miguel es un poco payaso, siempre está intentando hacer gracias, gritando y dando brincos”

“Miguel is a clown, he is always making jokes, yelling and jumping”

8. Soplapollas

“Soplar” stands for blowing. “Polla”, originally meant “chicken” but nowadays means male genitals, you can guess the meaning for yourself. An example of use can be given by just replacing the meaning on the example for “capullo”.

Example:

¿Te he dicho alguna vez que eres un soplapollas?”

“Have I ever told you that you’re a cock sucker?”



9. Hostia

“Hostia” is what a priest feeds to his parishioners in church. In a curse way, Spaniards use “hostia” in two meanings: The first of them is like a slap or a punch:

For an example:

“Raúl le dio una hostia a Pablo porque es un capullo”

“Raúl punched Pablo because he is an asshole”

Other Examples:

“Juan estaba paseando con su bicicleta cuando se dio una hostia.”

“Juan was riding his bike when he crashed.”

The other meaning we give to “hostia” is similar to “Damn!!” in English.

“¡Hostia! ¿Has visto ese accidente?”

“Damn! You’ve seen that accident?”

10. Me cago en X

Me cago en.. is a very common way to curse someone out. “Cagar” means “to take a shit”, so this is probably the most disgusting way to curse at someone. X can be replaced with any other word: “en ti”, “en tu madre”, “en tus muertos”, etc.

Example:

“El otro día me intentó robar la cartera.”

Me cagué en su madre y además le di dos hostias.”



“The other day, he tried to steal my wallet.”

“I cursed him out and I gave him two punches.”

Me cagué is the past tense…

11. Vete a la mierda

Literally, this means, “send someone to take a look at a shit”. If you’re arguing with someone and just want to stop and tell them, “go to hell”, then “Vete a la mierda” is a great phrase to use, no doubt.

Example:

“Mira, no me cuentes más excusas, vete a la mierda.”

“Hey, don’t tell me anymore excuses, go to hell.”

12. Joder

Literally “to fuck”. It has some derivatives like “que te jodan” which stands for “fuck you”. If you just used, “joder”, as an exclamation (¡Joder!), it would mean exactly the same as “¡hostia!”.

Examples:

“¡Joder! ¿Has visto ese accidente?”

“Fuck! Have you seen that accident?”

“¡Joder! ¿viste que pasó con ese tipo?”

“Fuck! You saw that happened to that guy?”

13. A tomar por culo

Really expressive way to say the same as with “vete a la mierda.”

Literally “fuck off”, but used this way when you want to stop arguing with someone for an example. Like if you are arguing with someone for a while, stop and say, “Get the fuck outta here! I don’t have anything else to say”, then, a tomar por culo should be perfect if you want to be nasty about it when you’re in the Streets of Spain.

Example:

“El otro día estuve, discutiendo mucho tiempo con mi vecino. Al final, no podía más y lo envié a tomar por culo.”

“ The other day, I argued a lot with my neighbor. Eventually, I couldn’t take anymore and told him to fuck off.”

14. A tomar por saco

The same as “a tomar por culo” but less offensive.

Example:

“Mira, no te soporto más, ¡a tomar por saco!”

“Hey, I can’t stand you anymore, fuck off!”

15. Que te den

Que te den is probably the less offensive of the three ways of saying, “Fuck you”/”Fuck Off”.

Example:

“Esta conversación ya ha llegado a su límite, Pedro. No te aguanto más. ¡Que te den!”

“This conversation has come to an end, Pedro. I can’t stand you anymore. Fuck you!”

And here is a video of a Gritty Spanish voice actor saying those same phrases in his Spaniard accent!

Now, I think you’re more than ready to deal with a native Spanish speaker in any context. You can curse back at them the same way they would curse back at you, but if you are not a person that likes to curse, you’ll understand them perfectly and know where you stand with that person, correct? Check out some Curse words and insults out of Colombia here.