Spanish · Romance & Flirting
Poner los cuernos
poh-NEHR lohs KWEHR-nohs · /po.ˈneɾ los ˈkweɾ.nos/
To cheat on / two-time
2/5 Bar-safe
coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances
Literally
"To put the horns on (someone)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
To cheat is to "put horns on" your partner, and the cheated-on person is a "cornudo/a" (horned one) — a deep, old insult across the Spanish-speaking world. "Le pusieron el cuerno" = they got cheated on. There's even a hand gesture (see the gestures section) to call someone a cuckold silently. Coarse but ordinary relationship talk.
Heard in the wild
Lo dejó porque le puso los cuernos.
She dumped him because he cheated on her.
Where it lands
Pan-Hispanic (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Poner los cuernos" mean?
- In Spanish, "Poner los cuernos" means "To cheat on / two-time". Literally it's "To put the horns on (someone)". To cheat is to "put horns on" your partner, and the cheated-on person is a "cornudo/a" (horned one) — a deep, old insult across the Spanish-speaking world. "Le pusieron el cuerno" = they got cheated on. There's even a hand gesture (see the gestures section) to call someone a cuckold silently. Coarse but ordinary relationship talk.
- Is "Poner los cuernos" 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 "Poner los cuernos"?
- Say it "poh-NEHR lohs KWEHR-nohs" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: po.ˈneɾ los ˈkweɾ.nos.
Related in Spanish
Coger koh-HEHR To have sex (Mexico); to grab/catch (Spain) Ligar lee-GAR To flirt / to hook up / to pull Echar los perros eh-CHAR lohs PEH-rrohs To hit on someone / put the moves on Estar buenote / buenota ess-TAR bweh-NOH-teh To be hot / smoking Fajar fah-HAR To make out / heavy petting Mamacita mah-mah-SEE-tah Hottie / gorgeous (as an address)
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