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cursing.in curse like a local

Spanish · Exclamations (You Dropped Your Phone)

¡Carajo!

kah-RAH-hoh · /ka.ˈɾa.xo/

Damn it! / hell

2/5 Bar-safe

coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances

Literally

"Dick / damn (origin disputed)"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

A pan-Hispanic "damn it," useful because it's the same everywhere from Mexico to Madrid to Buenos Aires. "Vete al carajo" = go to hell; "¿qué carajo?" = what the hell? "Del carajo" can even mean "awesome" in some countries. Coarse but friendly — a solid, non-regional curse. A charming folk etymology claims it comes from "crow's nest" (the old ship lookout), but that story is disputed and unproven — treat it as legend, not fact.

Heard in the wild

¡Carajo, se fue la luz otra vez!

Damn it, the power went out again!

Where it lands

Pan-Hispanic (universal)

Quick answers

What does "¡Carajo!" mean?
In Spanish, "¡Carajo!" means "Damn it! / hell". Literally it's "Dick / damn (origin disputed)". A pan-Hispanic "damn it," useful because it's the same everywhere from Mexico to Madrid to Buenos Aires. "Vete al carajo" = go to hell; "¿qué carajo?" = what the hell? "Del carajo" can even mean "awesome" in some countries. Coarse but friendly — a solid, non-regional curse. A charming folk etymology claims it comes from "crow's nest" (the old ship lookout), but that story is disputed and unproven — treat it as legend, not fact.
Is "¡Carajo!" offensive?
It's on the mild end — 2/5 (Bar-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances.
How do you pronounce "¡Carajo!"?
Say it "kah-RAH-hoh" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ka.ˈɾa.xo.

Related in Spanish

Hijo de la chingada EE-hoh deh lah cheen-GAH-dah Son of a bitch (the heavy Mexican version) ¡Chin! CHEEN Darn! / Shoot! ¡Mierda! MYEHR-dah Shit! / crap ¡Puta madre! POO-tah MAH-dreh Goddammit! / fucking hell! ¡Me lleva la chingada! meh YEH-bah lah cheen-GAH-dah I'm so screwed! / For fuck's sake! ¡Joder! hoh-DEHR Fuck! / damn it! (the Spain default)

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Damn".

how to say "Damn" →

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