Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| crédulo | /ˈkɾedulo/ |
| cándido | /ˈkandido/ |
| ingenuo | /inˈxenwo/ |
| engañadizo | /enɡaɲadiθo/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /enɡaɲadiso/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
| candelejón | /kandelexon/ (from spelling rules) |
| panoli | /paˈnoli/ |
This adjective describes someone who is easily deceived or duped, naive.
Which one should you use?
While crédulo implies a tendency to believe anything, ingenuo focuses more on a lack of experience or worldly wisdom, similar to 'naive'. Engañadizo is often used to describe things that are deceptive or unreliable (like a person's character or a physical object) rather than a person's tendency to be fooled.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Panoli is a colloquial way to refer to a person who is easily fooled or a 'sucker'. In some Latin American countries, the informal term Buenazo/a can also be used to mean gullible.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective crédulo must agree in gender with the person being described, changing to crédula for females. The adjective crédulo changes to crédulos when describing a group of men or a mixed-gender group.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈkɾedulo/
Did you know?
- The Spanish word cándido shares its roots with the English word 'candid', but while 'candid' means truthful, cándido describes someone who is innocently gullible.
- If you describe a person as cándido, you are linguistically linking them to the concept of 'whiteness' or 'purity', as the root refers to something unstained or bright.
- In some contexts, using cándido can sound much more poetic or literary than the blunt and insulting crédulo.
Examples in context
- Tom es tan ingenuo.Tom is so gullible.This sentence shows how to describe someone as being so naive using ingenuo.Tatoeba #5939738 by arh, translation #5939660 by CK
- Qué idiota tan crédulo.What a gullible idiot.This sentence uses crédulo to call someone a gullible idiot.Tatoeba #10349072 by Seael, translation #10348800 by ajje
- Los estadounidenses son crédulos.Americans are gullible.This sentence uses the masculine plural form crédulos to describe Americans.Tatoeba #12832641 by ecorralest101, translation #12831769 by rul
- No seas tan ingenua, por favorDon't be so gullible, please
- No seas tan credulento, ese anuncio es una estafaDon't be so gullible, that advertisement is a scam
- No seas tan crédulo, todo eso es mentiraDon't be so gullible, all of that is a lie
- No seas tan inocente, te están engañandoDon't be so gullible, they are tricking you
- Es un pardillo, siempre cae en las bromasHe's a sucker, he always falls for pranks
- No seas tan crédulo, te están mintiendoDon't be so gullible, they are lying to you
- Mi amigo es muy ingenuo, siempre cae en las mismas trampasMy friend is very gullible, he always falls for the same traps
- No seas tan buenazo, no les creas todo lo que te dicenDon't be so gullible, don't believe everything they tell you
- No seas tan crédulo, no te conviene aceptar esa oferta sin revisarlaDon't be so gullible, it's not advisable to accept that offer without reviewing it
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Javier and Elena are talking about a suspicious email.
- Javier¿Crees que ese correo es real?Do you think that email is real?
- ElenaNo, no seas tan crédulo, Javier.No, don't be so gullible, Javier.
- JavierEs que parece muy convincente.It's just that it looks very convincing.
- ElenaEs una estafa evidente.It is an obvious scam.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “gullible” translations and entries crédulo, cándido, ingenuo, panoli, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries crédulo, cándido, ingenuo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
