Which one should you use?
Use no me importa nada to express indifference politely, whereas no me importa un carajo expresses aggressive indifference or contempt.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
no me importa un carajo is highly vulgar and should only be used in very informal or aggressive contexts. For other ways to express this sentiment, you might use the informal and direct No Me Importas to say 'You don't matter to me' or the informal No Me Interesas to say 'You don't interest me' to show you have no desire to engage with a person.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexican slang, the phrase No Me Lates is used to express a lack of connection or disinterest in someone.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb importar functions like gustar, so the subject is the thing being ignored and me is the indirect object indicating who is affected.
How do you pronounce it?
/no me impoɾta un kaɾaxo/
Did you know?
- The word carajo likely traces its origins back to the Greek word khárax, meaning a 'stick' or 'rod'.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, using carajo as an exclamation of frustration is common, but using it to describe a person's value is considered much more aggressive.
- The phrase no me importa un carajo uses an indefinite article un to treat the vulgarity as a countable unit of 'nothing'.
Examples in context
- No me importas, así que deja de agobiarme.You don't matter to me, so stop bothering me.
- No me lates, chavo, deja de buscarme.IDFWU, dude, stop looking for me.
- No te paro bola, así que deja de molestar.IDFWU, so stop bothering me.
- La verdad es que no me importa un carajo tu opinión.To be honest, I don't give a damn about your opinion.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Elena are arguing about a mutual acquaintance.
- Alejandro¿No te molesta que él esté hablando mal de ti?Doesn't it bother you that he is speaking badly of you?
- ElenaNo, la verdad es que no me importa un carajo.No, to be honest, I don't give a damn.
- AlejandroPareces muy decidida hoy, Elena.You seem very determined today, Elena.
- ElenaEs que ya no me interesa su vida.It's just that I'm not interested in his life anymore.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries carajo, me, no, un, CC BY-SA 4.0.
