Spanish · Joy & Hell-Yes
Cojonudo
koh-hoh-NOO-doh · /ko.xo.ˈnu.ðo/
Brilliant / fantastic (Spain)
2/5 Bar-safe
coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances
Literally
"Big-balled"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Spain builds its praise from "cojones" (balls): "cojonudo" means terrific, top-notch. Same logic as "de puta madre" but a touch politer. Very Spain — in Mexico it just sounds imported. Note "cojones" itself is Spain's all-purpose word for guts, nerve, and outrage ("¡qué cojones!").
Heard in the wild
El plan me parece cojonudo, vamos.
The plan sounds brilliant to me, let's do it.
Where it lands
Spain; absent/imported in Mexico
Quick answers
- What does "Cojonudo" mean?
- In Spanish, "Cojonudo" means "Brilliant / fantastic (Spain)". Literally it's "Big-balled". Spain builds its praise from "cojones" (balls): "cojonudo" means terrific, top-notch. Same logic as "de puta madre" but a touch politer. Very Spain — in Mexico it just sounds imported. Note "cojones" itself is Spain's all-purpose word for guts, nerve, and outrage ("¡qué cojones!").
- Is "Cojonudo" 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 "Cojonudo"?
- Say it "koh-hoh-NOO-doh" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ko.xo.ˈnu.ðo.
Related in Spanish
Chido CHEE-doh Cool / awesome / great ¡Chingón! cheen-GOHN Badass / awesome / kickass ¡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! 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
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