malhablado
/malablado/from spelling rules
The English phrase "potty mouth" can be translated into Spanish as malhablado.
While 'potty mouth' in English is often a noun, malhablado is primarily used as an adjective to describe someone's character or habit.
Meaning: characteristic (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a compound of mal (bad) and hablado (spoken), literally meaning "badly spoken".
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree in gender with the person being described: use malhablado for a male and malhablada for a female. The plural form malhablados is used when referring to a group of people who use profanity.
How do you pronounce it?
/malablado/
Did you know?
- Depending on the region, calling someone malhablado can be much more offensive than in English. Because many Spanish-speaking cultures value 'respeto' or social hierarchy, using 'bad words' against an elder is a much greater social transgression than the words themselves.
- In Spanish, the concept of a 'potty mouth' is often linked to the word mala educación, which translates to 'bad education'. To be malhablado is seen less as a linguistic habit and more as a failure of one's upbringing.
- While malhablado focuses on the habit of using bad words, the term lenguaraz is often used to describe someone with a 'potty mouth' who cannot hold their tongue or speaks too bluntly.
Examples in context
- Mi compañero de trabajo tiene una boca sucia y constantemente utiliza palabras ofensivas.My coworker has a potty mouth and constantly uses offensive words.
- Ese niño es muy malhablado.That boy has a potty mouth.
- Es un hombre malhablado y grosero.He is a potty mouth and a rude man.
Example conversation
Mateo and Elena are discussing a coworker's behavior at the office.
- MateoJuan es muy malhablado en las reuniones.Juan has a real potty mouth in meetings.
- ElenaEs cierto, ella siempre se queja de él.It's true, she always complains about him.
- MateoDebería controlar su lenguaje.He should control his language.
- ElenaTienes razón, es muy poco profesional.You're right, it's very unprofessional.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
