Spanish · The Chingar Family
¡No chingues!
noh CHEEN-gess · /no ˈtʃin.ɡes/
No way! / quit messing with me! / you're kidding
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"Don't screw (around)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The chingar family's answer to "no mames" — disbelief with an edge of "stop bugging me." "No me chingues" leans toward "quit hassling me"; "¡no chingues!" at news leans toward "no WAY." Same coarse register as its cousins; clean version is "no me digas" (you don't say). A solid, very Mexican way to react to something outrageous.
Heard in the wild
¿Te cobraron el doble? ¡No chingues!
They charged you double? No way!
Where it lands
Mexico (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "¡No chingues!" mean?
- In Spanish, "¡No chingues!" means "No way! / quit messing with me! / you're kidding". Literally it's "Don't screw (around)". The chingar family's answer to "no mames" — disbelief with an edge of "stop bugging me." "No me chingues" leans toward "quit hassling me"; "¡no chingues!" at news leans toward "no WAY." Same coarse register as its cousins; clean version is "no me digas" (you don't say). A solid, very Mexican way to react to something outrageous.
- Is "¡No chingues!" 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 "¡No chingues!"?
- Say it "noh CHEEN-gess" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: no ˈtʃin.ɡes.
Related in Spanish
¡No mames! noh MAH-mess No way! / You've got to be kidding me! ¡No manches! noh MAHN-chess No way! / Come on! (the polite twin of no mames) ¿Neta? NEH-tah For real? / Seriously? — or as a statement, 'the honest truth' ¡Chin! CHEEN Darn! / Shoot! ¡Carajo! kah-RAH-hoh Damn it! / hell ¡Mierda! MYEHR-dah Shit! / crap
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "No way".
- French Oh la vache ! Holy cow! / Wow! / Whoa!
- German Quatsch! Nonsense! / Rubbish! / No way!
- Greek έλα ρε Come on! / No way! / You're kidding — disbelief, protest, or delight depending on tone.
- Italian Dai! Come on! / Come off it! / Please!
- Japanese マジ Seriously / for real / no joke
- Korean 헐 Whoa / no way / I can't even — the all-purpose stunned noise.
- Polish no co ty! No way! / Come on! / You can't be serious.
- Portuguese Porra nenhuma! Bullshit! / Like hell! / Not a damn thing
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