Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| mishio | /misjo/ (from spelling rules) | Argentina, Uruguay |
| misio | /ˈmisjo/ |
The primary meaning is describing someone with few or no possessions or money. While pobre is the straightforward translation for poor, other terms may be used depending on the context and region. For example, you might use the slang term jodido/a in Latin America to describe someone facing economic hardship or the term miserable occasionally in Spain to denote someone in a state of poverty. To express the concept more formally, you can use the phrase en situación de pobreza, which translates to "in a situation of poverty."
Which one should you use?
mishio is specifically used in Argentina and Uruguay.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to the poor people of a society collectively or the poor class of a society as a noun, use pobres or mishios.
How do you pronounce it?
/misjo/
Did you know?
- One theory suggests mishio may be a clipped version of 'misionero', referring to 'missionaries' who lived lives of extreme asceticism and poverty.
- The term mishio is deeply tied to the culture of Tango, as 'Lunfardo' slang was frequently used in early 20th-century song lyrics to describe the struggles of the urban poor.
- While pobre describes a lack of money, in many Spanish-speaking cultures it is frequently used as an exclamation of pity to mean 'poor thing' regardless of wealth.
Examples in context
- El país tiene una gran cantidad de personas pobres.The country has a large number of poor people.
- El gobierno está tomando medidas para ayudar a quienes se encuentran en situación de pobreza.The government is taking measures to help those who are in a situation of poverty.
- Pedro perdió su trabajo y ahora está luchando contra la pobreza.Pedro lost his job and is now struggling with poverty.
- Marta se gastó todo su salario en viajes y ahora no tiene un duro.Marta spent all her salary on trips and now she doesn't have a dime.
- Aquella familia es miserable y vive en condiciones precarias.That family is poor and lives in precarious conditions.
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are deciding where to eat lunch.
- Lucía¿Vamos a comer a ese restaurante nuevo?Shall we go eat at that new restaurant?
- MateoNo puedo, Lucía, estoy re mishio.I can't, Lucía, I'm really broke.
- LucíaNo importa, yo invito hoy.It doesn't matter, I'll pay today.
- Mateo¡Genial! Muchas gracias.Great! Thank you very much.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “poor” translations and entries misio, 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 misio, CC BY-SA 4.0.
