126 funny Spanish words, sayings, and facts to make you smile
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Spanish is not considered a difficult language for English speakers. (In fact, it might be one of the easiest for English speakers to pick up). And the good news is it gets a lot more exciting once you go beyond basic beginner skills and start communicating.
Learning new Spanish vocabulary can also be fun — no, we’re not nerds! Every language has weird words and slang, and Spanish is no exception.
If you feel like you need a little boost of amusement today, take a break from your Spanish lessons and have a look at these funny Spanish sayings and funny Spanish words. We’ve shortlisted these words and phrases because they have a hilarious literal meaning or because they just sound funny. Try to repeat them out loud!
Cuidado, ¡hay un montón! (a Spanish expression which means: “There are a lot.”)
Take a break from your Spanish lessons and try our LOL Spanish quiz!
Funny Spanish vocab
Next time you visit a Spanish speaking country, learn a few of the funny things to say in Spanish below. Your Spanish speaking friends ¡se partirán de la risa! (funny Spanish slang which means “will crack up.”)
Funny Spanish words
Among all the fun Spanish words, “tiquismiquis” is definitely my favorite. And, even though it has a translation in other languages, it’s not exactly the same. So I just use “tiquismiquis” when I speak English or French. ¿Porqué no?
Find your new favorite Spanish word in the table below!
| Spanish | Feminine / masculine | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| antro | Masculine | ˈantɾo | joint (small, dirty place) |
| achuchar | ˌat͡ʃut͡ʃˈaɾ | hug strongly | |
| churro | Masculine | t͡ʃˈuɾɾo | churro |
| acojonar | ˌakoxonˈaɾ | scare the s—- out of | |
| chollo | Masculine | t͡ʃˈoʎo | great deal |
| chanchullo | Masculine | t͡ʃant͡ʃˈuʎo | scam |
| agobiar | ˌaɣoβjˈaɾ | overwhelm | |
| ñoño | Masculine | ɲˈoɲo | namby-pamby |
| chanza | Feminine | t͡ʃˈanθa | prank |
| ola | Feminine | ˈola | wave |
| demente | Masculine | demˈɛnte | insane |
| genio | Masculine | xˈenjo | genius |
| novato | Masculine | noβˈato | rookie |
| peña | Feminine | pˈeɲa | group of people |
| pellizcar | pˌeʎiθkˈaɾ | pinch | |
| resaca | Feminine | ɾɾesˈaka | hangover |
| tiquismiquis | tˌikismˈikis | fussy | |
| vacilar | bˌaθilˈaɾ | joke, mess with | |
| tostón | Masculine | tostˈon | boring |
| yuyú | ʝujjˈu | bad feeling | |
| pica pica | Masculine | pˈika pˈika | small meal, tapas style |
| madrugar | mˌaðɾuɣˈaɾ | get up early | |
| computadora | Feminine | kˌomputaðˈoɾa | computer |
| arroba | Feminine | aɾɾˈoβa | at (@) |
| grogui | ɡɾˈoɣi | groggy | |
| trámite | Masculine | tɾˈamite | formality |
| chimichurri | t͡ʃˌimit͡ʃˈuɾɾi | chimichurri (sauce) | |
| macarra | Masculine/Feminine | makˈaɾɾa | thug |
| bruja | Feminine | bɾˈuxa | witch |
| bullicio | Masculine | buʎˈiθjo | bustle |
| mequetrefe | Masculine/Feminine | mˌeketɾˈefe | whippersnapper |
| mosca | Feminine | mˈoska | fly |
| leche | Feminine | lˈet͡ʃe | milk |
| forrarse | foɾɾˈaɾse | get rich, make a lot of money | |
| galleta | Feminine | ɡaʎˈeta | cookie |
| murciélago | Masculine | muɾθjˈelaɣo | bat |
| mariquita | Feminine | mˌaɾikˈita | ladybug |
| vituperio | Masculine | bˌitupˈeɾjo | insult |
| bizcocho | Masculine | biθkˈot͡ʃo | cake (sponge cake style) |
| zigzaguear | θˌiɣθaɣeˈaɾ | zigzag | |
| lima | Feminine | lima | Lime |
| zanahoria | Feminine | zanaɔɾja | Carrot |
| tocayo | Masculine | tɔkɛjo | A person who has the same first name as you |
| concha | Feminine | kõʃa | shell |
| ciempiés | Masculine | sjɑ̃pje | centipede |
| cebolla | Feminine | səbɔla | onion |
| patata | Feminine | patata | potato |
| mojado | mɔʒado | wet | |
| arco iris | Masculine | aɾko iɾi | rainbow |
| hortera | ɔɾtəɾa | tacky | |
| barbas | Masculine | baɾba | somebody with a beard |
Funny Spanish phrases and things to say in Spanish
What do a goat, a chicken and a turkey have in common? No, it’s not an article about animals in Spanish, these are just funny Spanish sayings!
| Spanish | IPA | Literal meaning | Actual meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ser una gallina | sˈer ˈuna ɡaʎˈina | To be a hen | To be a chicken |
| Estar en la edad del pavo | estˈaɾ ˈen lˈa eðˈad dˈel pˈaβo | To be in the turkey’s age | To be a difficult/typical teenager |
| Estar como una cabra | estˈaɾ kˈomo ˈuna kˈaβɾa | To be like a goat | To be crazy |
| Tener memoria de pez | tenˈeɾ memˈoɾja dˈe pˈeθ | To have the memory of a fish | To have bad memory |
| No me importa un pepino/pimiento | nˈo mˈe impˈoɾta ˈun pepˈino/pimjˈɛnto | It does not matter a cucumber/pepper to me | I don’t care |
| Ser pan comido | sˈer pˈan komˈiðo | To be eaten bread | To be a piece of cake |
| Estar de mala leche | estˈaɾ dˈe mˈala lˈet͡ʃe | To be in bad milk | To be in a bad mood |
| No tener ni pies ni cabeza | nˈo tenˈeɾ nˈi pjˈes nˈi kaβˈeθa | Without feed or head | Not logic, something that doesn’t make sense |
| No hay color | nˈo ˈa͡ɪ kolˈoɾ | There is no color | You can’t compare |
| Tu media naranja | tˈu mˈeðja naɾˈaŋxa | Your half orange | Your other half |
| Temblar como un flan | temblˈaɾ kˈomo ˈun flˈan | To shake like a pudding | To be very nervous |
| Ponerse como un tomate | ponˈeɾse kˈomo ˈun tomˈate | To turn like a tomato | To get red |
| Dar la vuelta a la tortilla | dˈaɾ lˈa bwˈelta ˈa lˈa toɾtˈiʎa | To turn the omelette around | To change a situation |
| Ser un bombón | sˈer ˈun bombˈon | To be a candy | To be very attractive |
| Tirar la casa por la ventana | tiɾˈaɾ lˈa kˈasa pˈoɾ lˈa bentˈana | To throw the house by the window | To spend a lot of money, sparing no expense |
| Ponerse las pilas | ponˈeɾse lˈas pˈilas | To put in the batteries | To focus, to wake up |
| Hablando del Rey de Roma | aβlˈando dˈel ɾɾˈe͡ɪ dˈe ɾɾˈoma | Speaking of the King of Rome | Speaking of the devil |
| Tomar el pelo | tomˈaɾ ˈel pˈelo | To take someone’s hair | Pulling your leg |
| Irse por las ramas | ˈiɾse pˈoɾ lˈas ɾɾˈamas | To go through the branches | To beat around the bush |
| Creerse la última Coca-Cola del desierto | kɾeˈeɾse lˈa ˈultima kˈoka-kˈola dˈel desjˈeɾto | To think of oneself as the last Coca-Cola in the desert | To be full of oneself |
| Feliz como una lombriz | felˈiθ kˈomo ˈuna lombɾˈiθ | Happy as a worm | To be super happy, happy as a clam |
| Meter la pata | metˈeɾ lˈa pˈata | To put in the paw | To mess up |
| No tener pelos en la lengua | nˈo tenˈeɾ pˈelos ˈen lˈa lˈɛŋɡwa | To not having hair on the tongue | To be outspoken |
| Echarse al agua | et͡ʃˈaɾse ˈal ˈaɣwa | To get in the water | To tie the knot |
| Dar la lata | dˈaɾ lˈa lˈata | To give the can | To annoy, to bother |
| Comiendo moscas | komjˈɛndo mˈoskas | Eating flies | To speak aimlessly or go off on tangents |
| Buena onda | bwˈena ˈonda | Good wave | Good vibes |
| Ojo | ˈoxo | Eye | Careful, watch yourself |
| Vale | bˈale | Costs, avails | OK, agreed |
Free and fun quiz to make you laugh out loud!
Download this free quiz and try to guess the funny Spanish words and phrases. Once you've completed the quiz, scan the QR code... you'll be amazed at the answers!
Funny facts about Spanish
- Spanish has two ways of saying I love you: “Te quiero” and “Te amo”. You can discover other ways to express your amor here.
- Speaking of love, the Spanish accent is considered one of the sexiest in the world, and the Spanish language is known as one of the most romantic languages.
- The roots of Spanish are not 100% Latin. Arabic is the second largest contributor!
- Modern Spanish has a funny way of integrating English. The pronunciation stays the same, but the spelling is “españolizado”. Examples include fútbol (football) and suéter (sweater).
- The longest word in Spanish has 31 letters. Ready? Take a deep breath and try to say this: sternocleidooccipitomastoideos. Bless you. Oh, by the way, it’s a small muscle in your neck.
- Watch out for false friends, the most infamous being constipado. If someone tells you that he/she is constipado(a), he/she is not sharing some private, kind of inappropriate bowel information. He/she… just has a cold!
- The USA could become the country with the largest Spanish-speaking population by 2050, according to some predictions.
Funny Spanish slang
To finish our list of fun Spanish sayings and words, here is a brief selection of funny Spanish slang. Not enough? We have over 159 more Spanish slang words in this article.
| Spanish | IPA | Actual meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bocachancla | bˌokat͡ʃˈankla | Big mouth |
| bobalicón | bˌoβalikˈon | Goofy |
| calimocho | kˌalimˈot͡ʃo | Drink made of wine and coca cola |
| cantamañanas | kˌantamaɲˈanas | Somebody who says things he doesn’t do or that are not true |
| chachi | t͡ʃˈat͡ʃi | Great, fun |
| chibolo | t͡ʃiβˈolo | Kid |
| chichinabo | t͡ʃˌit͡ʃinˈaβo | Without value |
| chilindrón | t͡ʃˌilindɾˈon | Stew |
| chiquichanca | t͡ʃˌikit͡ʃˈanka | Swain |
| chirimbolo | t͡ʃˌiɾimbˈolo | Rare object without a name |
| churumbel | t͡ʃˌuɾumbˈel | Small child |
| cierrabares | θjˌeɾɾaβˈaɾes | Somebody who stays up late |
| cuchitril | kˌut͡ʃitɾˈil | Small and dirty room or house |
| cuchufleta | kˌut͡ʃuflˈeta | Burlesque |
| gayumbos | ɡajjˈumbos | Underpants |
| gilipichis | xˌilipˈit͡ʃis | Foolish |
| gordinflón | ɡˌoɾðimflˈon | Chubby |
| guaperas | ɡwapˈeɾas | Handsome |
| guiri | ɡˈiɾi | Tourist |
| mamarracho | mˌamaɾɾˈat͡ʃo | Monstrosity |
| meapilas | mˌeapˈilas | Someone who is very devoted (religiously) |
| pajarraco | pˌaxaɾɾˈako | A smart person |
| pamplina | pamplˈina | Lie, shenanigans |
| pelele | pelˈele | Wimp |
| picapleitos | pˌikaplˈe͡ɪtos | Shyster |
| pichabrava | pˌit͡ʃaβɾˈaβa | A very attractive man |
| pipiolo | pipjˈolo | A young person without experience |
| soplagaitas | sˌoplaɣˈa͡ɪtas | A stupid person |
| pinchaúvas | pˌint͡ʃaˈuβas | A despicable person |
| duro | dˈuɾo | Money |
| tío | tˈio | Dude |
| pijo | pˈixo | Snobbish |
| mola | mˈola | It’s great |
| chaval, chavala | t͡ʃaβˈal, t͡ʃaβˈala | Kid, young person |
| majo | mˈaxo | Nice |
| chulo | t͡ʃˈulo | Great |
| guay | ɡwˈa͡ɪ | Great |
| cutre | kˈutɾe | Poor quality |
| friki | fɾˈiki | Nerd, freaky |
Funny Spanish sayings literally translated
Have a look at these videos for a literal translation of Spanish sayings — Spain and Latin America included!
- If Spanish sayings were said in English
- Translating Spanish sayings
- Spanish sayings, translated literally (with hilarious footage to illustrate — believe me, you will remember these)
See, learning Spanish can be divertido! If you’re planning a trip to a Spanish speaking country, try to learn a few of these funny things to say in Spanish. The face of your hispanophone friends will be priceless!
Just keep in mind some of these sayings and words are not used everywhere. Check out our list of Spanish slang for Latin America and other expressions for different Spanish speaking countries and regions.
Hopefully, you won’t have a memoria de pez, and you will remember a few of these funny Spanish phrases and words! With our vocab articles, learning Spanish será pan comido.
