Mexican equivalents of mild and not-so-mild exclamations

drpeg

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In my mystery novel, two of my characters are a a 30-year-old male investigator and his 18-year-old Latino (Mexico-born) "wheel man" Miguel (Miguel does the tailing of suspects and other duties). I want to occasionally have Miguel use Mexican slang, from mild to not-so-mild. For instance: the investigator, who's on the uptight side, tells Miguel to slow down, they're tailing the suspect, not drag-racing. I want Miguel to mutter something under his breath in response. This can be on the order of a complaining "Oh, man!" or "Give me a break!" or "Jeez!" Or I may decide to go stronger: "S**t!" "Damn!" "F**k!" What are the Mexican slang equivalents of all of these?

Now, Miguel really respects the investigator, but is a bit of a smart-mouth, especially at the start of their relationship. If I want to go stronger on the expletives, would the following words be too strong if he doesn't want to cross the line into disrespect: "Carajo!" "Chingao!"

Also, there are going to be instances where things heat up or turn tragic. In those cases I want Miguel's expletives to be correspondingly strong. What words would fit those situations?

Thanks for any help.
 

Tsu Dho Nimh

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You need " Picardía Mexicana", by Armando Jimenez, which you can get through Interlibrary loan. It's a marvelous example of Mexican cussing and obscenity. I have a copy, but I'm not sure where it is. I'm painting the office and books exploded out of there.


I do have "El Diccionario del Espanol Chicano" available ... which covers a whole lot of cussing.

Give me a list of your English and I can give you decent equivalents.
 
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melaniehoo

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Bendejo = A**hole, or a close equivalent
Cabron = Bastard
Callate = Shut Up (something I hear all day long in my neighborhood)

Carajo is F**k so keep that in mind if you don't want him to be too disrespectful.

People here also tell me that it's a huge insult to call a Mexican stupid, so Idiota would be a good one.
 

drpeg

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Thank you both for your replies. I will keep your list handy, Melaniehoo, but I'm thinking that Miguel calling the investigator an a**hole or a bastard or telling him to shut up-- or calling him stupid-- would be too directly insulting-- and would get him thrown out of the car. To me, an indirect and muttered F**k, s**t, or damn or hell would be better. What are the equivalents of those? They have the advantage of not calling the investigator an insulting name.

What are the equivalents of a complaining "Oh, man!" or "Give me a break!" or "Jeez!" or other minced oaths like the last? (e.g., Chrissake)
 

MissKris

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My step-mom, who is of Hispanic ancestry and speaks fluent spanish and english and spanglish, uses the phrase "Ie, chingao!" all the time. And she doesn't use it in any situation that would seem over the line or heavy or offensive. It's more an exclamation of surprise or mild irritation. I've heard her friends use it the same way.

Example:

Mary: (pops her finger in her mouth) Ie, Chingao!
Martha: What's wrong?
Mary: I just broke a nail.

Also, she uses it a lot when people cut her off in traffic.
 

Deb Kinnard

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We usually spell it "¡Ay!" or "¡Aiee!" before the blue language.

Literally, "carajo" means "garlic face". Its idiomatic use, however, has extended far beyond that.

"Hijo/a de putana" is also a goodie. It impugns the virtue of the object's mother.

"Joto" is an insult to accuse a male of adopting an alternative lifestyle.

None of my characters has ever used the C-bomb, but then, they're mostly cubanos, which may make a difference.

;)
 

Tsu Dho Nimh

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That's "Pendejo", and also used to indicate stupidity
"Pendejada" - stupid act

Cabrón is also used affectionately between male friends ... it's one of those you have to be careful with.

Tonto = stupid (more common in Guadlalajara then idiota) "No seas tonto" = Stop acting stupid

caca = poo-poo or crap Used much as English does. "That's caca!" = That's crap!"

mierde = sh*t

Because the "chingar" (f*ck) word starts with "CH", almost any word starting with ch can be used as a euphemism: "Chihuahua" (the dog and the Mexican state) is most common, as in "ay chihuahua".
 
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