How to Say "Den of Thieves" in Spanish

cueva de ladrones

/kweba de ladɾones/from spelling rules

The English phrase "den of thieves" is translated into Spanish as cueva de ladrones.

This phrase describes a place where many criminals or dishonest people gather and hide.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is composed of cueva, which literally means "cave", de, a preposition meaning "of".

In some Latin American countries, you may also use Antro de Ladrones to mean "Den of Thieves".

The phrase uses the plural form ladrones to indicate a group of thieves.

While cueva means 'cave', the alternative word antro used in Latin America originally referred to a deep cavern or grotto in Latin, but evolved to mean a place of ill repute.
The word cueva shares a common ancestor with the Portuguese word cova, though in Portuguese it more commonly refers to a 'grave'.
The English word 'cove' and the Spanish cueva look similar but are not actually related, despite both referring to hollow spaces or cavities.

El barrio se ha convertido desafortunadamente en una guarida de ladrones.
The neighborhood has unfortunately become a den of thieves.
El barrio se ha vuelto desafortunadamente un nido de rateros.
The neighborhood has unfortunately become a den of thieves.
Ten cuidado al entrar a ese edificio, es un nido de pillos.
Be careful when entering that building, it's a den of thieves.
Ese barrio parece una cueva de ladrones.
That neighborhood looks like a den of thieves.
No entres ahí, es una cueva de ladrones.
Don't go in there, it is a den of thieves.
La policía cerró esa cueva de ladrones.
The police closed that den of thieves.

Elena and Daniel are discussing a dangerous neighborhood.

Sources

IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries cueva, de, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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