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

mierda

/ˈmjeɾda/

Listen to how locals say it.

This entry covers mierda, 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

Shit — the substance, an exclamation, and a label for something of poor quality (“una mierda”).^[1]^[2]Machine-assisted translation

Pronunciation

IPA: /ˈmjeɾda/

“MYER-da” — tapped r.^[1]^[2]

Intensity

SWEAR LEVEL

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

VulgarityStrong

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

AggressivenessRude

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-dependentUsing it in class is likely to earn a telling-off.
At workContext-dependentCommon between colleagues, avoided in front of clients.
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

About as strong as English “shit”. Note the theatre idiom ¡Mucha mierda! which means “break a leg”, not an insult.^[1]^[2]Machine-assisted translation

Cultural context

Wiktionary records the literal, exclamative, quality-judgement and theatre-idiom senses in one entry.^[1]^[2]Machine-assisted translation

Literal meaning

feces^[1]^[2]

When to avoid it

Situations in which the expression is generally best avoided.

At school — Context-dependent. Using it in class is likely to earn a telling-off.
At work — Context-dependent. Common between colleagues, avoided in front of clients.

Sources

Every claim on this page traces back to these entries.

↑Meaning ↑Pronunciation ↑How it's used ↑Cultural context ↑Literal meaning mierda — 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 mierda — 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.