Spanish · Insults (Aimed at a Person)
Naco
NAH-koh · /ˈna.ko/
Tacky / trashy / classless
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"(slang) low-class"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
A loaded classist put-down: tacky, uncultured, "ghetto." Handle with care — it carries real class and racial baggage in Mexico, since it's historically been aimed downward at poor and indigenous people. Plenty of Mexicans reclaim it jokingly ("qué naco soy"), but from an outsider it lands ugly. Know it; deploy it almost never.
Heard in the wild
Qué naco poner esa música a todo volumen.
How tacky to blast that music at full volume.
Where it lands
Mexico (classist connotations — see usage)
Quick answers
- What does "Naco" mean?
- In Spanish, "Naco" means "Tacky / trashy / classless". Literally it's "(slang) low-class". A loaded classist put-down: tacky, uncultured, "ghetto." Handle with care — it carries real class and racial baggage in Mexico, since it's historically been aimed downward at poor and indigenous people. Plenty of Mexicans reclaim it jokingly ("qué naco soy"), but from an outsider it lands ugly. Know it; deploy it almost never.
- Is "Naco" 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 "Naco"?
- Say it "NAH-koh" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈna.ko.
Related in Spanish
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