chongo

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃonɡo/ [ˈt͡ʃõŋ.ɡo]
• Rhymes: -onɡo
• Syllabification: chon‧go

Etymology 1

Of disputed origin. Possibly borrowed from Classical Nahuatl.

Noun

chongo m (plural chongos)

1. (Guatemala, Mexico) bun (hairstyle)
2. (Guatemala) curl of hair

   Synonyms: rizo, bucle

3. hair tie (hairstyle)

   Synonyms: mono, rodete, moño

4. (colloquial, Peru) a scene (a public display of heightened emotion causing embarrassment)
5. (vulgar, Peru) brothel; whorehouse
6. (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic) a weak horse
7. (Puerto Rico) a haul of low-quality bananas
8. (Chile) a blunt knife

Noun

chongo m (plural chongos, feminine chonga, feminine plural chongas)

1. (Argentina) friend with benefits, lover
   • 2019, Camila Sosa Villada, Las malas; English translation from Kit Maude, transl., Bad Girls, 2022:

     Me preguntaron qué tal los machos y yo contesté que muy brutos, guardándome los secretos de mis derroteros sexuales. Entonces La Tía nos levantó en peso, dijo que era de maricas andar preguntando por los chongos, en lugar de preguntar lo importante: si quería calentarme el garguero con un trago de whisky o emparchar la somnolencia con un saque de cocaína.

     They asked me about the men and I replied that they were very rough, keeping the details of my sexual exploits to myself. Then Auntie scolded us, saying that only faggots started gossiping about chongos before more important questions like whether I wanted to warm my cockles with a sip of whiskey or perk myself up with a baggie of cocaine.

2. (Uruguay) nasty, mean, or unpleasant person

Etymology 2

An alteration of Mexican Spanish chango.

Noun

chongo m (plural chongos)

1. (Philippines, obsolete in Mexico) monkey

   Synonym: mono

Descendants

• → Tagalog: tsonggo

See also

• chongos
• deschongar

References

• Spanish/English Words w/Nahuatl Origin
• Quilis, Antonio; Casado-Fresnillo, Celia; Quilis-Sanz, María José (1997), Los filipinismos y otras palabras de Filipinas contenidas en el «Diccionario» de la Academia‎^[1], Boletín de la Real Academia Española, page 55

Further reading

• “chongo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• Abella, Venancio María de (1874), Vade-Mecum Filipino ó manual de la conversacion familiar Español-Tagalog. Seguido de un curioso Vocabulario de Modismos Manileños., 12.ᵃ edition (overall work in Philippine Spanish and Tagalog), Escolta, Manila: Ramirez y Giraudier, á cargo de C. Miralles., page 115