Spanish Internet Vocabulary: 5 Essential Terms
Navegador, buscador, nube, troyano and wifi: the Spanish words you need to talk about the internet, and how to pronounce them like a local.
Swear words, or “tacos” as they’re called in Spain, are left out of almost every Spanish textbook. Yet you’ll hear them everywhere: in the street, in bars, in films and in everyday chats between friends. At Jaleo Madrid, where our motto is #spanish4life, we think understanding them is part of speaking real Spanish. Whether you use them is up to you, but knowing what they mean will help you follow what’s going on around you. Here’s our guide to the most common ones.
Joder is the most versatile swear word in Spain. It’s close to the English “fuck”, but with a broader range of uses: surprise, frustration and even something positive.
As a verb, its literal meaning is very vulgar, but it is much more often used to mean “to annoy”. Read the full guide: what joder means in Spanish.
Literally a vulgar word for the female genitals, coño is mostly used as an exclamation of surprise, happiness or frustration, or to add emphasis to a question.
Watch the spelling: without the ñ, “cono” means cone. Read the full guide: what coño means in Spanish.
From coño comes “coñazo”, something very boring or tedious. It’s one of the milder words in this family, but still not for polite company.
“Huevos” (eggs) and “cojones” are vulgar words for testicles, and they turn up in plenty of expressions. “Un huevo” or “un cojón” means “a lot”, while “estar hasta los huevos / cojones” means to be fed up, or for a place to be packed. More in our guide to saying “a lot” in Spanish like a local.
Spanish builds many colourful insults by joining a verb and a noun, like “lameculos” (arse-licker, or ass-kisser in US English) or the milder “aguafiestas” (party pooper). See how they work in our guide to Spanish compound words.
Want the feeling without the swearing? Spanish children say “jope”, “jopeta” or “jopelines” instead of joder, so they can show their frustration without getting into trouble with adults.
The golden rule: understand them all, use them carefully, and don’t drop them into every sentence. Overusing them sounds crude.
Swear words are only part of the everyday Spanish you won’t find in textbooks: discover more in our guide to Madrid slang. And if you want to practise real Spanish with native teachers, come to our conversation classes in Madrid.
Navegador, buscador, nube, troyano and wifi: the Spanish words you need to talk about the internet, and how to pronounce them like a local.
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