Spanish · Joy & Hell-Yes
Está cabrón
ess-TAH kah-BROHN · /es.ˈta ka.ˈβɾon/
It's intense / rough / seriously impressive
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"It's [a] big goat"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The situation version of "cabrón," and beautifully two-faced: "está cabrón" can mean "damn, that's hard / that sucks" or "damn, that's impressive," and only tone tells them apart. "Está cabrón el examen" (the exam's brutal) vs. "está cabrón cómo cocina" (it's incredible how she cooks). Rude root; friends only.
Heard in the wild
Está cabrón encontrar chamba ahorita.
It's rough finding work right now.
Where it lands
Mexico (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Está cabrón" mean?
- In Spanish, "Está cabrón" means "It's intense / rough / seriously impressive". Literally it's "It's [a] big goat". The situation version of "cabrón," and beautifully two-faced: "está cabrón" can mean "damn, that's hard / that sucks" or "damn, that's impressive," and only tone tells them apart. "Está cabrón el examen" (the exam's brutal) vs. "está cabrón cómo cocina" (it's incredible how she cooks). Rude root; friends only.
- Is "Está cabrón" 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 "Está cabrón"?
- Say it "ess-TAH kah-BROHN" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: es.ˈta ka.ˈβɾon.
Related in Spanish
Chido CHEE-doh Cool / awesome / great ¡Me lleva la chingada! meh YEH-bah lah cheen-GAH-dah I'm so screwed! / For fuck's sake! ¡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 Cojonudo koh-hoh-NOO-doh Brilliant / fantastic (Spain)
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Unbelievable".
- French Oh la vache ! Holy cow! / Wow! / Whoa!
- German Verdammt nochmal! God damn it! / For crying out loud!
- Greek έλα ρε Come on! / No way! / You're kidding — disbelief, protest, or delight depending on tone.
- Italian Minchia! Holy shit! / Wow! / Damn!
- Japanese やばい Insane / crazy / no way — good OR bad, from context
- Korean 헐 Whoa / no way / I can't even — the all-purpose stunned noise.
- Polish masakra A disaster / unbelievable / total carnage — the all-purpose 'this is insane.'
- Portuguese Caramba! Wow! / Geez! / Holy cow!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.