pendejo

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish pendejo.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɛnˈdeɪhəʊ/, enPR: pĕn-dā'hō
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /penˈdehəʉ/, enPR: pĕn-dĕ'hō
• (US) IPA^(key): /pɛnˈdeɪhoʊ/, /pɛnˈdɛhoʊ/, enPR: pĕn-dā'hō, pĕn-dĕ'hō

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

Noun

pendejo (plural pendejos)

1. (US, Mexico, slang, derogatory) A stupid person.

Usage notes

• Typically only used by Spanish-speaking people.

Spanish

Alternative forms

• pndejo, pndj (censored)

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *pectinī̆culum, diminutive of Latin pecten (“pubic hair; comb”). The unexpected /nd/ may be due to the influence of pender (“hang down, dangle”). Compare Portuguese pentelho.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /penˈdexo/ [pẽn̪ˈd̪e.xo]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -exo
• Syllabification: pen‧de‧jo

Noun

pendejo m (plural pendejos, feminine pendeja, feminine plural pendejas)

1. (masculine only, rare, dated) pubic hair (a single hair growing in the pubic region)

   Hypernym: vello púbico

2. (derogatory, vulgar, chiefly Latin America) arsehole, asshole, stupid, idiot, dirtbag, scumbag (a contemptible person)
3. (derogatory, chiefly Latin America) dumbass (stupid person)

   Synonyms: idiota, (Spain) gilipollas, (Argentina, Dominican Republic) boludo

   Paco reprobó el examen. Es un pinche pendejo.

   Paco failed the test. He's a fucking dumbass.

4. (Southern Cone, colloquial, vulgar) young boy
   1. (Southern Cone, Panama, colloquial) man child
5. (Southern Cone) punk (an adolescent who presumes to be an adult)
6. (Costa Rica, Caribbean) coward
7. (Peru, vulgar) perspicacious, perceptive, cunning, smart, clever, scoundrel

   Le lanzaron un huevo a María. ¡Puta, qué pendejos!

   They threw an egg at María. Fuck, they're clever!

Adjective

pendejo (feminine pendeja, masculine plural pendejos, feminine plural pendejas)

1. (derogatory, vulgar, chiefly Latin America) stupid, idiot, asshole

Usage notes

• Although in some contexts zonzo, bobo, tonto, menso, culero, tarado, idiota, imbécil, estúpido and pendejo may be synonyms, in most contexts they have a different degree of intensity, with zonzo having the mildest connotation, increasing in intensity in that rough order, to estúpido and pendejo, which have the most offensive meaning.

Derived terms

• hacerse el pendejo
• pendejada
• pendejear
• pendejera
• pendejez

Related terms

• peinar
• peine

Further reading

• “pendejo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024
• “pendejo”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010
• “pendejo”, in Diccionario del español de México, Segunda edición, Academia Mexicana de la Lengua, 2019
• Manuel Seco; Olimpia Andrés; Gabino Ramos (3 August 2023), “pendejo”, in Diccionario del español actual [Dictionary of Current Spanish] (in Spanish), third digital edition, Fundación BBVA [BBVA Foundation]