Spanish · Exclamations (You Dropped Your Phone)
¡Híjole!
EE-hoh-leh · /ˈi.xo.le/
Yikes / oof / wow / uh-oh
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"(softened 'hijo de…' — cut off before the bad part)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
A clean minced oath: it starts down the road of "hijo de…" and bails out at "híjole," the way English does "shoot" for the other thing. Perfect grandma-safe reaction to bad news, a big price, or an awkward spot. Cousins: "híjoles," "újule."
Heard in the wild
¿Cuesta tres mil? ¡Híjole, está carísimo!
It costs three thousand? Yikes, that's pricey!
Where it lands
Mexico (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "¡Híjole!" mean?
- In Spanish, "¡Híjole!" means "Yikes / oof / wow / uh-oh". Literally it's "(softened 'hijo de…' — cut off before the bad part)". A clean minced oath: it starts down the road of "hijo de…" and bails out at "híjole," the way English does "shoot" for the other thing. Perfect grandma-safe reaction to bad news, a big price, or an awkward spot. Cousins: "híjoles," "újule."
- Is "¡Híjole!" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "¡Híjole!"?
- Say it "EE-hoh-leh" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈi.xo.le.
Related in Spanish
¡No mames! noh MAH-mess No way! / You've got to be kidding me! ¡No manches! noh MAHN-chess No way! / Come on! (the polite twin of no mames) ¡Órale! OH-rah-leh Alright! / Wow! / Let's go! / Get on with it! ¿Neta? NEH-tah For real? / Seriously? — or as a statement, 'the honest truth' ¡Chin! CHEEN Darn! / Shoot! ¡Me lleva la chingada! meh YEH-bah lah cheen-GAH-dah I'm so screwed! / For fuck's sake!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Tough luck".
- French C'est nul ! That sucks / That's lame
- German Mist! Crap! / Rats! — the family-friendly 'damn'
- Greek σιγά Big deal / whatever / calm down / as if — dismissive minimizing.
- Italian Merda! Shit! / Damn it!
- Japanese 勘弁して Give me a break / spare me / oh, come on
- Korean 아이고 Oh dear / oof / good grief — the sound of Korea sitting down after a long day.
- Polish szlag Damn it — 'szlag by to trafił' = may a stroke strike it.
- Portuguese Chato Annoying / boring / a pain
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