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cursing.in curse like a local

Spanish · 5 phrases · a local category

The Chingar Family

One verb, half the country's profanity. "Chingar" — to screw, violate, mess with — is the single most productive root in Mexican Spanish, the subject of a famous Octavio Paz essay and the parent of chingón, chingada, chingadera, un chingo, no chingues and dozens more. Learn the family and you don't just memorize words, you understand the grammar of how Mexico curses. Coarse across the board; friends-only, but foundational.

Chingadera cheen-gah-DEH-rah A piece of junk / crap — or a dirty trick Un chingo oon CHEEN-goh A ton / a whole lot Chingar cheen-GAR The root verb behind half of Mexican profanity ¡Chingón! cheen-GOHN Badass / awesome / kickass ¡No chingues! noh CHEEN-gess No way! / quit messing with me! / you're kidding