Spanish · Frustration (Traffic, Bureaucracy, Life)
Me vale madre
meh BAH-leh MAH-dreh · /me ˈβa.le ˈma.ðɾe/
I couldn't care less / I don't give a damn
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"It's worth mother to me"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Peak Mexican not-caring. Since "madre" is the worthless pole of the slang universe, something being "worth mother" to you means it's worth nothing. Softer dials: "me vale" (mild), "me vale gorro" (kid-safe), and up top the vulgar "me vale verga." Attitude condensed into three words — coarse, so not a work phrase.
Heard in the wild
¿Que qué van a decir? Me vale madre.
What'll people say? I couldn't care less.
Where it lands
Mexico (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Me vale madre" mean?
- In Spanish, "Me vale madre" means "I couldn't care less / I don't give a damn". Literally it's "It's worth mother to me". Peak Mexican not-caring. Since "madre" is the worthless pole of the slang universe, something being "worth mother" to you means it's worth nothing. Softer dials: "me vale" (mild), "me vale gorro" (kid-safe), and up top the vulgar "me vale verga." Attitude condensed into three words — coarse, so not a work phrase.
- Is "Me vale madre" offensive?
- It's genuinely rude — a 3/5 (Watch your audience) on the Punch-o-Meter. Fine among friends, never at work or with people you've just met.
- How do you pronounce "Me vale madre"?
- Say it "meh BAH-leh MAH-dreh" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: me ˈβa.le ˈma.ðɾe.
Related in Spanish
¡Me lleva la chingada! meh YEH-bah lah cheen-GAH-dah I'm so screwed! / For fuck's sake! Está cabrón ess-TAH kah-BROHN It's intense / rough / seriously impressive Ni modo nee MOH-doh Oh well / nothing to be done / it is what it is ¡Qué hueva! keh WEH-bah What a drag / ugh, I can't be bothered Valió madre bah-LYOH MAH-dreh It's ruined / it's all gone to hell ¡Qué oso! keh OH-soh How embarrassing! / so cringe
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.