A word of warning: in this post I discuss curse words. Dirty words. Bad words. Enter at your own risk.

We Argentinians are famously passionate, and our language reflects this —our curse words are particularly colorful and melodious. And quite inventive, too!

I can’t state this categorically, but Argentinians’s use of curse words is above average. It’s not just BOLUDO, CARAJO and LA PUTA MADRE that made it into mainstream speech, no no.

In this post I’m going to walk you through a side of a foreign language that challenges the idea that there are ‘bad words’. Rather, it seems they are good words in specific contexts and situations.

With this goal in mind, I’ll try to introduce you to some of the many words in the family and at the same time give you some reference on regards to how they are often used.

I’m talking to you, and I’m angry

The words listed below can be grouped together considering that they are all normally used to address someone we believe deserves our verbal attacks for one reason or another.

It’s extremely difficult to find the exact equivalent for them, as they all revolve around the basic assumption that the other person is either a) stupid b) malicious c) someone we want to offend d) all the previous options.

• BOLUDO/A
• PELOTUDO/A
• FORRO/A
• HIJO/A DE (RE MIL) PUTA
• TARADO/A
• ESTÚPIDO/A
• IMBÉCIL
• PAJERO/A
• CONCHUDA
• MALCOGIDO/A
• CORNUDO
• PUTO
• PUTA
• LA PUTA QUE TE PARIÓ
• LA CONCHA DE TU MADRE
• LA CONCHA DE TU HERMANA
• SORETE

I’m not talking to anyone in particular, I’m just angry

The words below are used without addressing them to a specific recipient and are mostly used to show anger. We could say they serve a therapeutic purpose.

• LA PUTA MADRE
• ME CAGO EN LA PUTA MADRE
• LA RE PUTA MADRE
• LA REPUTÍSIMA MADRE
• LA (RE) CONCHA DE LA LORA

Go-to formulas

Now, let’s see the multiple applications for these nice little words:

¡Sos un/una + [CURSE WORD]!

Sos un/una	boludo/a
	pelotudo/a
	forro/a
	hijo/a de puta
	tarado/a
	estúpido/a
	pajero/a
	conchuda
	malcogido/a
	puto
	puta
	sorete (mal cagado)

¡Qué + [CURSE WORD ] + DE MIERDA!

¡Qué	forro/a	de mierda!
	boludo/a
	pelotudo/a
	tarado/a

¡Qué + [WORD THAT EXPRESSES AMOUNT] + [CURSE WORD]!

¡Qué	pedazo de	boludo/a!
	flor de	pelotudo/a!
	reverendo	forro/a!
		malcogido/a!
		conchuda!
		puto/a!
		sorete mal cagado!

Imperatives

From a strictly linguistic point of view, it is interesting that many bad-sounding expressions also convey an order.

¡ANDATE A + FEMININE DEFINITE ARTICLE + [NOT A VERY NICE PLACE TO BE]!

Andate a	la	mierda
		puta que te parió
		concha de tu madre
		concha de tu hermana

Of course, the ones below couldn’t be left out. I offer a literal translation next to them:

ANDÁ A CAGAR [go take a shit]

CHUPAME UN HUEVO [suck me an egg]

CHUPAME LA CONCHA [suck my pussy]

CERRÁ EL ORTO [close your ass]

Negative Imperatives

No me rompas	las pelotas
	los huevos

No seas

boludo/a, pelotudo/a, forro/a, hijo/a de puta, tarado/a, estúpido/a, pajero/a

Keep your ears perked, you’ll certainly hear some of these sooner or later.

If you’re serious about learning the small things that make Argentinian Spanish different, visit the Argentinian Spanish Crash Course. After all, the devil is in the details.

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Happy Spanish learning!

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