Spanish · The Chingar Family
Un chingo
oon CHEEN-goh · /un ˈtʃin.ɡo/
A ton / a whole lot
2/5 Bar-safe
coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances
Literally
"A screw('s worth)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
From the same root, "un chingo" just means "a huge amount" — "hay un chingo de gente" (there's a ton of people), "te quiero un chingo" (I love you a ton). Cheerfully coarse and used constantly. Clean swaps: "un montón," "un buen," or "cañón." It's the friendly, quantity-measuring member of the chingar family.
Heard in the wild
Había un chingo de tráfico en el Periférico.
There was a ton of traffic on the Periférico.
Where it lands
Mexico (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Un chingo" mean?
- In Spanish, "Un chingo" means "A ton / a whole lot". Literally it's "A screw('s worth)". From the same root, "un chingo" just means "a huge amount" — "hay un chingo de gente" (there's a ton of people), "te quiero un chingo" (I love you a ton). Cheerfully coarse and used constantly. Clean swaps: "un montón," "un buen," or "cañón." It's the friendly, quantity-measuring member of the chingar family.
- Is "Un chingo" 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 "Un chingo"?
- Say it "oon CHEEN-goh" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: un ˈtʃin.ɡo.
Related in Spanish
¿Qué pedo? keh PEH-doh What's up? / what's the deal? / what's your problem? ¡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 Está cabrón ess-TAH kah-BROHN It's intense / rough / seriously impressive Me vale madre meh BAH-leh MAH-dreh I couldn't care less / I don't give a damn Ni modo nee MOH-doh Oh well / nothing to be done / it is what it is
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Road rage".
- French Quelle galère ! What a hassle / What an ordeal
- Greek κόλλησα στην κίνηση I'm stuck in traffic — the eternal Athens lament.
- Italian Ma dove vai?! Where the hell do you think you're going?!
- Polish niedzielny kierowca Sunday driver — the road-rage taxonomy's gentlest species.
- Portuguese Que saco! What a drag! / So annoying! / Ugh!
- Russian Твою мать! Damn it! / Son of a bitch! / For crying out loud!
- Italian Leva 'sto culo! Move your ass! / Get out of the way!
- Portuguese Que inferno! What a nightmare! / For crying out loud!
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