Let’s talk about Spanish words that you should NOT say. After reading this blog post, you will know how to say the following in Spanish:

“Patrick, gracias for the emails that tell about your experiences while living in Colombia. I would like to know more vocabulary words in order to describe someone in a not so favorable way. I know you prefer to stay on a positive note in your emails. But sometimes I find the need to to understand or even say some not so kind ways to describe someone in Spanish in my relationship with my Spanish speaking significant other.”

Well, I have lots of experience in this area. My ex-novia used to have a lot of unpleasant words to describe me. LOL.
Of course, everything negative that she ever said about me was completely “falso.” LOL.

Here are some of the words that my ex-novia used during our “peleas” (fights).  By the way, in the same way that we use the English word “fight” to refer to an argument between couples, in Spanish they also use the word “pelea” (fight) to refer to an argument between “una pareja” (a couple).

How To Say Ungrateful In Spanish

1. Ingrato – ungrateful

Juan es ingrato. No agradece los favores recibidos.
Juan is ungrateful. He is not thankful for the favors he receives.

2. Conchudo – shameless (sin vergüenza)

Catalina es una persona muy conchuda.
Catalina is a very shameless person.

How To Say Annoying in Spanish

3. Fastidioso – annoying

Mi primito es fastidioso. Cada vez que va a mi casa deja todo desordenado.
My little cousin annoying. Every time that he goes to my house he leaves everything a mess.

I noticed that in Colombia, instead of saying “fastidioso” the word that they use here is “cansón” which also means “annoying.”

How To Say Discourteous In Spanish

4. Maleducado – discourteous

“Maleducado” does not mean miseducated or poorly educated. It means “discourteous.”

Jose es un niño maleducado que dice groserías a los otros niños y no le importa que sus padres lo regañen.
Jose is a discourteous child who says profanities to the other children and it doesn’t matter to him that his parents scold him.

Besides “maleducado” you may also hear Spanish speakers say “malcriado” which means the same as “maleducado.”
You may also hear Spanish speakers use “malcriado” when referring to someone who is “spoiled” as in a “spoiled child” or a “spoiled brat.”

When referring to someone who is spoiled and if you don’t want to imply that the person is a “spoiled brat” or any other negative connotations, then you should use the word “consentido.” It’s like saying someone is affectionately spoiled. By the way, the verbs for to spoil someone affectionately (or to pamper/cuddle) are “consentir” and “mimar.” “Hacerle mimos a alguien” means to kiss, cuddle, and show affection to someone.

By the way, in Medellin, there is a chain of “heladerías” (ice cream stores) called “Mimos.”

How To Say Stingy or Cheap In Spanish

5. Tacaño – stingy, cheap

El dueño de ese edificio es un hombre tacaño que nunca arregla nada.
The owner of that building is a stingy man who never repairs anything.

Besides “tacaño,” in Medellin, in order to call someone cheap or stingy they also use the words “duro” (“duro” literally means “hard) and “codo” (“codo” literally means “elbow”). And instead of actually saying the word “codo,” in Medellin they will sometimes use body language and make a gesture with their “codo” or elbow which means that a person is cheap or stingy.

How To Say Gossipy In Spanish

6. Chismoso – gossipy

Mi vecina es una chismosa.
My neighbor is a gossipy person.

7. Descarado – A person who speaks or acts without shame.

Él es un hombre muy descarado y vulgar.
He is a very shameless and vulgar man.

How To Say Selfish In Spanish

8. Egoísta – selfish

Alejandra es una egoísta que sólo piensa en lo que a ella le interesa.
Alejandra is a selfish person who only thinks in the things that matter to her.

9.  The last one is actually a verb. I had to use this verb today when speaking to an American friend. My friend is the kind
of person that you would refer to as an “arrogante” in Spanish.

And today he was rude and belittled a “gamín” who asked us for “plata” (“plata” is the Colombian word for money instead of “dinero”).

And “gamín” is the word for homeless person or begger in Colombia. In other Spanish speaking countries they may use the word “mendigo” for begger.

The ninth and final word that I want to share with you today is “menospreciar” which means “to belittle.”

Por ignorancia, mi amigo menosprecia a las personas pobres.
Because of ignorance, my friend belittles poor people.