Spanish · Spain · Mexico · Argentina · Colombia · Chile · Peru

joder

/xoˈdeɾ/

Listen to how locals say it.

This entry covers joder, an expression in Spanish as used in Spain · Mexico · Argentina · Colombia · Chile · Peru.

Machine translation Some text on this page is machine-translated and has not been reviewed yet.

Contents

Meaning

To fuck; also “to annoy, to bother”, and by far most often the exclamation ¡Joder! (“damn it!”).^[1]^[2]Machine-assisted translation

Pronunciation

IPA: /xoˈdeɾ/

“ho-DER” — Spanish j is a throaty h.^[1]^[2]

Intensity

SWEAR LEVEL

Rated in-culture by native reviewers, on three separate axes.

VulgarityVery Strong

Assessed as how taboo the word itself is inside its own culture.

AggressivenessStrong

Assessed at the most aggressive natural use aimed at a person.

Social riskRude

Assessed as what the speaker risks when saying it to a stranger on the street.

How common

Social Risk

Assessed social risk by setting.

With friendsLow risk
At schoolContext-dependentIn class it depends on the teacher.
At workContext-dependentCommon in Spanish workplaces, taken as much coarser in Latin America.
On the streetLow risk
OnlineLow risk

Low risk
Context-dependent
Best avoided

Shape and colour encode the same value.

Verification

Content review: Not verified yet
Translation: Machine-translated, review pending
Sources last checked: 2026-08-28

Not verified yetWaiting for native review

Published after an automated pre-check. No native reviewer has confirmed it yet.

A correction desk opens once native review starts. Until then this page records what the sources say.

How it's used

Everyday filler in peninsular Spanish; in much of Latin America it keeps the harsher “to screw someone over” sense, so regional weight differs.^[1]^[2]Machine-assisted translation

Cultural context

Wiktionary lists both the sexual verb and the “annoy/bother” transitive sense with regional synonyms (fastidiar, chingar).^[1]^[2]Machine-assisted translation

Literal meaning

to fuck / to bother^[1]^[2]

When to avoid it

Situations in which the expression is generally best avoided.

At school — Context-dependent. In class it depends on the teacher.
At work — Context-dependent. Common in Spanish workplaces, taken as much coarser in Latin America.

Sources

Every claim on this page traces back to these entries.

↑Meaning ↑Pronunciation ↑How it's used ↑Cultural context ↑Literal meaning joder — English Wiktionary (Spanish)Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · summarised and translated here · accessed 2026-08-28
↑Meaning ↑Pronunciation ↑How it's used ↑Cultural context ↑Literal meaning joder — Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary)Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · summarised and translated here · accessed 2026-08-28

Passages derived from these dictionary entries are redistributed under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.