Spanish · Joy & Hell-Yes
¡Chingón!
cheen-GOHN · /tʃin.ˈɡon/
Badass / awesome / kickass
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"Big screwer"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The proud, profane crown jewel of Mexican slang: a person, a taco, a guitar solo, or a day can all be "chingón." "Ser un chingón" = to be genuinely great at something — it's a compliment Mexicans give with real warmth. Vulgar root (chingar), so it's a 3, but the sentiment is pure admiration. Clean cousin: "padrísimo" or "chido."
Heard in the wild
¡Está chingón tu proyecto, te quedó increíble!
Your project is badass, it came out incredible!
Where it lands
Mexico (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "¡Chingón!" mean?
- In Spanish, "¡Chingón!" means "Badass / awesome / kickass". Literally it's "Big screwer". The proud, profane crown jewel of Mexican slang: a person, a taco, a guitar solo, or a day can all be "chingón." "Ser un chingón" = to be genuinely great at something — it's a compliment Mexicans give with real warmth. Vulgar root (chingar), so it's a 3, but the sentiment is pure admiration. Clean cousin: "padrísimo" or "chido."
- Is "¡Chingón!" 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 "¡Chingón!"?
- Say it "cheen-GOHN" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: tʃin.ˈɡon.
Related in Spanish
Chido CHEE-doh Cool / awesome / great ¡Qué padre! keh PAH-dreh How cool! / awesome! De poca madre deh POH-kah MAH-dreh Freaking awesome / the best ¡A huevo! ah WEH-voh Hell yes! / damn right! Cojonudo koh-hoh-NOO-doh Brilliant / fantastic (Spain) Me late meh LAH-teh I'm into it / sounds good / I've got a feeling
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "That's awesome".
- French Ça déchire ! That rocks! / That's awesome!
- German Geil! Awesome! / Sick! / Hell yes!
- Greek ρε μαλάκα Hey man / dude / bro — the affectionate-insult greeting between friends.
- Italian Figo! Cool! / Awesome! / Sick!
- Japanese やばい Insane / crazy / no way — good OR bad, from context
- Korean 존나 Fucking / hella — the vulgar intensifier that goes in front of everything.
- Polish zajebisty Fucking awesome / badass — the great slang-POSITIVE of the jebać family.
- Portuguese Do caralho Fucking awesome — OR, with 'casa do', the middle of nowhere
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.