burlón
/buɾˈlon/
The English phrase "mocking" can be translated into Spanish as burlón.
The adjective burlón describes someone or something that is derisive or contemptuous. If you wish to refer to the concept of mockery as a noun, use burla.
Meaning: derisive or contemptuous (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective burlón changes its ending to agree with the gender and number of the noun it describes: use burlona for a feminine singular noun, burlones for a masculine plural noun and burlonas for a feminine plural noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/buɾˈlon/
Did you know?
- While burlón describes a person's attitude, the verb burlar has evolved to mean 'to cheat' or 'to evade' in many contexts, such as 'burlar la seguridad' (to bypass security).
- While burlón describes the person, the phrase tomar el pelo (to pull the hair) is the most common idiomatic way to describe the act of mocking someone in a playful or teasing manner.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, if you say someone is burlón, you might actually be describing a person with a playful, mischievous sense of humor rather than someone being truly mean.
Examples in context
- Óscar se estaba burlando de su compañero durante la presentación.Óscar was mocking his classmate during the presentation.
- Elena estaba ridiculizando los esfuerzos de su colega por encontrar una solución.Elena was mocking her colleague's efforts to find a solution.
- Los niños estaban mofándose del disfraz de su amigo.The kids were mocking their friend's costume.
- Juan estaba tomando el pelo a María sobre su nuevo peinado.Juan was teasing María about her new hairstyle.
- Tiene un tono burlón.He has a mocking tone.
- No me gusta su gesto burlón.I don't like his mocking gesture.
- Me respondió con un comentario burlón.He replied to me with a mocking comment.
Example conversation
Daniel and Sofía are discussing a teammate's attitude.
- Daniel¿Viste cómo se rió de mi idea?Did you see how he laughed at my idea?
- SofíaSí, fue un gesto muy burlón.Yes, it was a very mocking gesture.
- DanielNo me gusta que sea así conmigo.I don't like him being like that with me.
- SofíaIgnóralo, Daniel, no vale la pena.Ignore him, Daniel, it's not worth it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mocking” translations and entries burlón, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
