pocilga
/poˈθilɡa/feminine
The Spanish word for sty is pocilga.
pocilga refers to an enclosure for swine. Colloquially, it is often used figuratively to describe a very dirty or messy room or house.
Meaning: enclosure for swine (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
/poˈθilɡa/
Did you know?
- The word pocilga shares a common ancestor with the English word 'court', via the Latin 'cortem' which referred to a farmyard or enclosure.
- The root of pocilga is closely tied to puerco, a word that in many Spanish-speaking cultures is used not just for the animal but as a sharp insult for a dishonorable person.
Examples in context
- María se ocupa de limpiar el establo todos los días.Maria takes care of cleaning the pigsty/stable every day.
- Los cerdos disfrutan revolcándose en el chiquero.Pigs enjoy rolling around in the pigsty.
- ¡Tu habitación está hecha una pocilga!Your room is a total mess!
- Los niños encontraron al cerdito en el corral.The children found the piglet in the pigsty/livestock pen.
- Los cochinos están en la cuadra detrás de la casa.The pigs are in the pigsty behind the house.
- La pocilga huele muy mal.The sty smells very bad.
- Limpiamos la pocilga esta mañana.We cleaned the sty this morning.
- El cerdo está en la pocilga.The pig is in the sty.
Example conversation
Elena and Javier are visiting a farm.
- ElenaMira, Javier, esa es la pocilga.Look, Javier, that is the sty.
- JavierEstá muy sucia la pocilga.The sty is very dirty.
- ElenaSí, hay que limpiarla pronto.Yes, it must be cleaned soon.
- JavierTengo razón, huele muy mal.I'm right, it smells very bad.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sty” translations and entries pocilga, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pocilga, CC BY-SA 4.0.
