vaqueros
/baˈkeɾos/
In Spanish, vaqueros is the word for jeans.
vaqueros refers to trousers made of denim fabric. The anglicism jeans is also widely used and understood across many Spanish-speaking countries.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is the plural form of vaquero, which literally means cowboys.
Which one should you use?
You may also use the phrase pantalones vaqueros to be more descriptive or formal when specifying denim trousers.
How do you pronounce it?
/baˈkeɾos/
Did you know?
- The word vaquero comes from vaca, meaning 'cow', but it shares a distant linguistic root with the English word 'vaccine' via the Latin 'vacca'.
- The Spanish vaquero was the original blueprint for the American 'cowboy', influencing their riding style and livestock handling techniques.
- While 'vaqueros' is standard in many places, in Argentina and Uruguay, you are much more likely to hear people use the word bombachas de campo to refer to similar rugged trousers.
Examples in context
- Estos vaqueros son muy cómodos.These jeans are very comfortable.
- Necesito comprar unos vaqueros nuevos.I need to buy some new jeans.
- Ella lleva unos vaqueros azules.She is wearing blue jeans.
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are shopping for clothes.
- Mateo¿Te gustan estos vaqueros?Do you like these jeans?
- LucíaSí, son muy bonitos.Yes, they are very pretty.
- MateoMe los voy a probar.I am going to try them on.
- LucíaTe quedarán muy bien, Mateo.They will look great on you, Mateo.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry vaqueros, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
