Foul language: Common swear words and phrases

🇪🇸 Very common, but still clearly rude. In Spain people also use it just at bad luck or frustration, not only at a person.

🇪🇸 Extremely common in Spain and often used as a general outburst, not always literally aimed at someone. It's very informal and can still sound harsh in polite company.

💬 In Spain, [h] is silent, so [hostia] starts with the vowel sound: (OS-tya). The [ti] here sounds like (tya), not a hard English [tee-a].

🇪🇸 Very Spanish and very common in Spain, but it comes from a religious word, so some people still find it more offensive than other swears.

🇪🇸 This is a strong outburst of anger or frustration, not something to use casually with strangers. In Spain it's usually about venting, not a literal statement.

💬 [Vete] is the [tú] command from [irse], so it's not built like regular commands such as [come] or [habla]. You'll also see the same pattern in [vete], [váyase], [idos].

🇪🇸 A strong insult telling someone to get lost. Much ruder than a simple [lárgate] or [déjame en paz].

💬 After [que], Spanish often uses this pattern for curses and bad wishes: [que te den], [que te calles], [que os den]. Don't try to read [que] here as just [that] in English.

🇪🇸 Very aggressive if directed at someone. In Spain you may also hear it more loosely as an angry outburst, but it's still highly offensive.

🇪🇸 A classic insult, but in Spain it can also be thrown around jokingly between close friends in some groups. Don't copy that use unless you really know the people and the tone.

💬 This should normally be written [cabrón], with the stress on the last syllable. In Spain, [c] before [a] is a hard [k] sound: (ka-BRON).

🇪🇸 Can be a serious insult, but like some other Spanish swears it may also be used jokingly among friends. For learners, it's safer to hear it than to use it.

🇪🇸 Very common in Spain and often used directly at a person, so it lands as a real insult. It can also be used jokingly between friends, but that's very tone-dependent.