The vibrant tapestry of the Spanish language stretches across more than 20 nations, each contributing its unique accent and colloquialisms. With every dialect offering an array of idiosyncratic expressions, it’s no wonder the language can seem like an ever-evolving puzzle to solve. And nestled in the heart of the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic adds its own vivacious touch to this linguistic jigsaw. So, whether you’re a curious language enthusiast or an intrepid traveler ready to dive into the local lingo,
this article is your roadmap to Learn Dominican Spanish.
Dominican Spanish phrases echo the island’s lively culture and infectious warmth, often spun with humor and ingenuity. And yes, this includes the island’s own take on Spanish profanity words. Before you balk, remember that understanding a language isn’t just about getting the grammar right; it’s about navigating the intricacies of idiomatic expressions, slang, and even curses.
So brace yourself for an adventurous linguistic journey, as we venture into the realm of Dominican profanity words, where the line between offense and amusem*nt often blurs!
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1. Mamagüevo
Simply put, this means “co*ck-sucker”. Most countries have their own version of this insult. In Dominican slang “güevo” is a very colloquial way to refer to a penis, and “mama” is the conjugated form the verb “mamar”, which means “to suck”, synonym to “chupar”.
Example:
“Estoy muy triste, Karina. Descubrí que Juan me pegó los cuernos otra vez!”
“I’m so sad, Karina. I just found out that Juan cheated on me again!”
–“That Juan is nothing more than a co*cksucker, I’m sick and tired of telling you to leave him!”
–“Ese Juan no es más que un mamagüevo, estoy cansada de decirte que lo dejes!”
2. Cuero
If you take this word to Google translate it’ll say that it means “leather” and that’s absolutely true when speaking neutral Spanish. However, be careful when throwing this word to a Dominican girl trying to flirt in dominican Spanish. In their lingo, this means “slu*t”, and not just a simple slu*t, but the slu*ttiest of slu*ts ever.
Sometimes the word is used when referring to prostitutes as well, but it’s commonly thrown as a way to insult a girl who cheats on their partner of who just sleeps around a hell of a lot.
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Example:
“Esa Laura es un cuero grande, tiene dos novios, un esposo y ahí está coqueteándole al vecino” –
“That Laura girl is such slu*t, she has two boyfriends, a husband, and now look at her flirting with the neighbor.”
3. Amemao/Amemá
Have you ever met this person who is always in the air, lost? Like they just don’t have a clue of their surroundings? Or those who act like doormats, never able to stand up for themselves? Maybe that one who is just kind of, you know, slow. Maybe that someone is all of the above. That’s an amemao.
Example:
“No entiendo. Cada vez que llamo a Servicio al Cliente siempre me toca el representante más amemao”
“I don’t understand. Everytime I call Customer Service I always get the dumbest representative”
“Le pregunté a Clara por la clase de ayer, pero esa nunca sabe nada. Siempre está como amemá”
“I asked Clara about yesterday’s class, but she never knows what’s going on. She seems to be kind of slow.”
4. Rapa tu mai
“Rapa” is the conjugated form of the very colloquial verb “rapar” which means “to f*ck”, in a sexual way. “Mai” it’s just slang for “Mother”. The “tu” is used there is the possessive adjective.
So if you ever hear someone call you a “Rapa tu mai” they’re basically telling you, that you f*ck or like to f*ck your own mother. Harsh, right? This phrase can actually be used with other family members as well if you wish!
Example:
“50 pesos por una sola foto? Eres un ladrón, ¡rapa tu mai!”
“50 pesos for only one picture? You’re a thief, you motherf*cker!”
5. Azaroso
An Azaroso can be described as a hater, but not quite. Someone who “azara” you, which comes from the verb “azarar”, is a person who is there to only ruin your life and bring bad luck and damnation upon you and your family.
At least that’s what its original dramatic meaning is. Nowadays you’d normally call that a person who is incessantly annoying the sh*t out of you and whom you’d rather leave you alone forever…
Example:
“Pedro no me deja tranquilo. Se la pasa diciéndome que me voy a quemar en el examen, ese azaroso.”
“Pedro doesn’t leave me alone. He keeps on saying that I am going tofail the test, that hater.”
6. Aqueroso
Aqueroso is just a badly pronounced “Asqueroso” as in disgusting, that on itself is of course an insult, however sometimes “aqueroso” like that, without an s, can mean several things.
They might be referring to a person who not only disgusts them, but disgusts them because:
- They talk too much.
- They talk sh*t.
- They don’t do what they say they would.
- They like to boast about their own nonexistent grandness.
Example:
“Como te dije, mi papá tiene dos yates y me va a regalar uno pronto”
“Like I said, my dad has to yachts and he’s going to give me one soon”
“Tú si ere aqueroso, nadie te preguntó”.
“You talk a lot of sh*t, nobody asked you”.
7. Jablador
The word “Hablador” is someone who talks too much, or who likes to boasts, and then there’s “Jablador” who is a f*cking liar. If you’re ever being called a jablador, you might have just been busted.
Example:
“Ese Carlos es un jabalador. Mira sus fotos en Facebook de ayer en la playa.”
“That Carlos guy is a liar. Go look at his pictures on Facebook from yesterday at the beach.”
8. Singa tu madre
Singa tu madre could be called a synonym for “Rapa tu mai” which we went over before. “Singa” from the colloquial verb “singar” also means “to f*ck” (there’s a lot of ways to say this in Dominican Spanish).
“Tu madre” is a very correct and neutral way to say “your mother” in Spanish, so you could call this insult a more sophisticated form of the one before, right? Not really. There’s no sophisticated way to tell someone they f*ck their mothers.
They could also be combined. It could be a “Singa tu mai” or a “Rapa tu madre”, FYI. Possibly one of the more crude swear words in Spanish you can say.
Example:
“¡Más te vale que no vuelvas a aparecerte por aquí, ¡singa tu madre!”
“You better not come back here again, you motherf*cker!”
9. Lambón/Lambona
Whether you work or study you’ve probably met this character.
The person who loves to flatter those in higher positions just to gain their favor. The “ass-kissers”, that’swhat being a “lambón” from the colloquial verb “lamber” is. Dominicanos refer to a Lambón or Lambona “Freeloader”.
Example:
“Ahí está María, asegurando su promoción con el jefe. Nunca había visto a una tipa tan lambona.”
“There is Maria, ensuring her promotion with the boss. I’ve never seen someone kissing ass so hard.”
10. Bajo a [insert your least favorite smell]
When you google the word “Bajo” a lot of nice basses come up. It also means “low”, and while that’s what it also means in general for Dominicans, when you smell a “bajo” you’re referring to a bad smell. If you call someone “Bajo a mierda” for example, you’re telling them they smell like sh*t. Basically “bajo” is slang for bad odor.
Example:
“Viejo, necesitas un baño. Tienes un bajo a podrido encima”
“Dude, you need a bath. You smell like something rotten”.
11. Hijo de la gran puta
We bet every country has their own version of this one, I mean what better way to insult someone than insulting their mothers? So yes, you might have guessed this one right: It means “Son of a bitch” or more close to “Son of a whor*”.
Each Spanish speaking country has a similar way to say this one, Dominicans add the “Gran puta” part which makes the entire phrase literally mean “Son of a great whor*”. That’s right! Not just a simple whor*, but a great or grand.
Example:
“Le presté dinero hace 8 meses y no me ha pagado, sin embargo, ayer lo vi con un carro nuevo, ¡ese hijo de la gran puta!”
“I lent him money like 8 months ago and he hasn’t paid me yet, when yesterday I saw him with a new car, that son of a whor*!”.
You’ll hear many of these curse words along with many others from other Spanish-speaking countries used in our amazing Spanish-learning courses! Be sure to check it out!
Want More Dominican Slang?
Be sure to check out these fun posts…
7 Super Popular Dominican Slang words That will have you talking like a true Dominicano
10 Popular Dominican Idioms
In Conclusion
So, there you have it. It’s highly likely we might have missed something, taking into account that Dominicans do get very creative when insulting someone else, but we do hope this list helps you. You could even get creative yourself and combine some of these words when looking to insult someone!
There’s no way to get it wrong, but take into account that if you don’t know the Dominican you insult, you will probably get your arsedragged all over the beach while sippingon your Presidente (The most popular beer in the Dominican Republic)…
But hey, at least you could say you’re on your way to master the art of Dominican slang, curse words and insults, right?
Many of the words above might also be used by some other Caribbean Spanish Speaking country like Cuba and Puerto Rico.
Ps. Don’t forget to check out Gritty Spanish, which features Dominican voice characters cursing and speaking Slang straight outta the DR!
Take our Dominican curse words quiz!
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