Mexican Slang Words (in Spanish) — Just the Basics

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⚠️ This article contains swearwords and rude language both in English and Spanish.

Every time I looked up Mexican slang before getting to Mexico City (where we stayed for a month), I got overwhelmed by lists that were long and probably outdated and in alphabetical order, which is not the order in which the universe is.

So here’s my list of just the basics of Mexican slang, in Spanish, of course.

Not all of these slang words and phrases are uniquely Mexican. Some are more broadly Latin American. But I’m not a native Spanish speaker (and I doubt readers of this blog are), so these should all be useful to anyone intending to figure out what’s going on in Mexico.

General word of caution — Swearing in non-native languages is usually awkward (other than English). This is mostly for understanding what people are saying.

A vibrant illustration of a bustling street market in Mexico City, showcasing rich textures, bold colors, and minimalist design elements that capture the lively atmosphere and cultural essence of contemporary Mexican markets.

Core Mexican Slang Words I Hear All the Time

These are words I hear all the time. It might just reflect people I hang out with (typically in an MMA club I was visiting, Zenith BJJ).

  • Wey / Guëy — This is kind of like “dude”. It’s a bit informal, and some consider it rude, but between guys, it’s very commonly used. Qué onda, wey? Qué te pasa, wey? Ni pedo, wey!
  • Nomás — the Mexican way of saying “solo”. Me quedo aquí nomás tres semanas.
  • No mames! / No chingues! — Means “No way!” as an expresison, or can also be “Damn!”. No mames, pasó eso? or No mames, se me olvidó la cartera! Combine it with another as an expression of surprise: No mames, wey! (There’s also the vanilla version, no manches).
  • Chido/chida — “Cool” or “nice”. Like la gente aqui es muy chida, or “que chido ese coche” (note, I equally hear coche and carro). You can also just say “Chido!”
  • Órale! — “Let’s go”, “OK” or “Wow!”. Quieres ir? Órale, vamos!
  • Ni pedo! (pedo literally means “fart”) — like “Oh well”, “What the heck!” or “What else could we do??” or “I guess you know what to do.” No hay taxis? Ni pedo, caminamos… Quería reparar mi teléfono, pero lo dejé peor… ni pedo, compro un nuevo.
  • Neta — “Really?” Neta? Dijo eso?
  • Pinche — “Goddamn” (or “bloody” in British English) as an adjective. Dondé está el pinche coche? Eres un piche idiota.
  • Chingar — Super versatile word. Technically means “fuck” but it can be used in a huge variety of ways. E.g. it can mean
    • “To annoy”, e.g. deja de chingar!
    • “To steal”, like pon esta cadena para que no te chinguen la moto
    • “To mess up / screw up”, se me chingó la moto, chingaste la única oportunidad que tenías!
    • “To have bad luck”, no encontré estacionamiento, me chingué caminando media hora.
    • “To beat / defeat”, nos chingaron completamente en el partido
    • “To work hard”, quiero ganar mas, así que le estoy chingando
    • “To have sex”, no quiere que sean amigos, solo quiere chingársela.

More Colourful Words

Below are words I hear but less often. They’re useful, but I don’t think they’re as “core” as the above.

  • Chingón/a — “awesome” or “badass” (as a noun). Este es un lugar muy chingón, or “mi amiga es una chingona”. Qué chingón! — “How awesome!”
  • Cabrón — “dumbass”, “idiot”, or “skilled”. Que hacés, cabrón? You can also use it as an expletive. No mames, cabrón! or Cabrón, no pensé en eso. Can also be a compliment of a skill, like “Ese güey es bien cabrón para los negocios”
  • Huevón — a lazy person or idiot. Derived from “egg”. A mild swearword. No seas huevón! “Don’t be lazy!” Vamos, huevón, ándale. Used elsewhere in Latin America, too.
  • Verga: “Dick”, but can be negative OR positive. Negatively, me vale verga means “I don’t give a shit”, or vete a la verga means “go to hell”. You can exclaim Verga! as “Damn!”. But if someone says eres la verga it means “you’re the bomb!”
  • Chingada madre — “Damn it!” Something you can hear people mutter to themselves if they stub their foot or forget something. Me corté el dedo, chingada madre!
  • Pendojo/a. “Dipshit”, “dickhead”, “stupid”. No seas pendejo, no andes de noche con el teléfono en la mano. You can even call yourself this, like qué pendejo soy! when you do something dumb.
  • Chingada — “bad”, “hell”. Vete a la chingada is “go to hell”. Or esto está de la chingada means “it’s very bad”. Or a la chingada con esto!, meaning “to hell with this!”
  • Huevonada — stupid things. Por qué estás haciendo huevonadas? or No hagas huevonadas.
  • Pendejada — dumb things, similar to huevonada, like no hagas pendejadas or deja de hablar pendejadas.

Wrap up

This article is as much a reference list for me as anything else. I might try to use a few of these rather than just hear them… but again, the goal is to understand, more than anything else!

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