qué asco
/ke asko/from spelling rules
The English exclamation "ick" can be translated into Spanish as qué asco.
The phrase qué asco is used to express strong disgust or dislike. It can be applied to physical disgust, such as when seeing a bug, as well as to social or moral disgust, such as when witnessing someone behave badly.
Which one should you use?
You may also encounter ¡Qué asqueroso!, which is an informal way to say "How gross!"
Did you know?
- The word asco may share an ancient connection with the English word 'scar', potentially tracing back to the Latin and Greek words for a 'scab' or 'brazier'.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, a common physical gesture to accompany qué asco is to pull the upper lip back and push the tongue slightly forward.
- Spanish speakers may use asco as a verb, dar asco, which literally means 'to give disgust' when describing something gross.
Examples in context
- Me encontré con un insecto en mi comida. ¡Qué asco!I found a bug in my food. How disgusting!
- ¡Vaya, pisaste un charco de lodo! ¡Qué asqueroso!Oops, you stepped in a mud puddle! How gross!
- Ver esa foto me da náuseas. No puedo mirarla.Seeing that photo makes me nauseous. I can't look at it.
- ¡Qué asco me da esa comida!That food grosses me out!
- ¡Qué asco!Ick!
- ¡Qué asco de lugar!What a disgusting place!
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are looking at a very old, moldy sandwich in the fridge.
- Sofía¿Quieres probar este sándwich?Do you want to try this sandwich?
- MateoNo, ¡qué asco!No, ick!
- SofíaTienes razón, tiene moho.You are right, it has mold.
- MateoEs realmente desagradable.It is really unpleasant.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries asco, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
