Sobre el dominio

Eres un/a cabron/a

Cabrón vs. Cabrona

AUG 13TH, 2015

Two words, two meanings. The difference? One letter.

“Eres un cabrón”.

“Eres una cabrona”. 

Both can be used very differently, and that of course depends on where you’re at or where you’re from. 

When you come from a culture where the man is expected to be strong, outspoken, a risk taker, “cabrón” is used in a more positive way. “Ese güey es un cabrón”. “Hombres cabrones”. He is a man, he is a leader. A man who is considered a “cabrón” can also be a troublemaker, but that’s ok… he’s a man. 

In that same culture, a woman is expected to be nurturing, a mother, a wife, caring, quiet.

“Esa mujer es una cabrona”

If she is a “cabrona” then she is stubborn, opinionated, she doesn’t care what others think, she is a bitch. One would expect a woman with these traits to be seen in a positive light, as if she’s a leader, a woman who can take risks and succeed. That’s not necessarily the case. 

A woman with these traits will be called “rebelde”, some will even suspect she is a lesbian. Or maybe she has some sort of issue that she isn’t talking about. “Vieja cabrona”.

Why? ¿Por qué? 

I asked around a bit. 

“Because of society…because that’s how the culture works”, they responded. 

No one wants to deal with a “cabrona” but everyone wasn’t to work under a “cabrón”. He is sure to succeed, she will cause too much trouble. La “cabrona” sets rules and guidelines, then apologizes for perhaps being portrayed as “bossy” or “mean”. A man… you don’t question, he doesn’t think twice. 

“Cabrón” and “cabrona” come from the Spanish language, the concept of the terms exist in all languages (SEE IMAGE BELOW). 

My question to you now is, what would you think if someone was to label you as either?

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? Que significa cabrón o cabrona ?

¡Soy cabrona!

Cabrón, or cabrona for a woman, is a word you’re definitely going to want to have a good handle on.  And like most bad words, it can mean different things in different contexts.

To start with, as an insult it’s equivalent to calling someone a dick,  asshole, or bastard.  Let’s take a look a few examples:

Me cae mal ese pinche cabrón
I don’t like that fucking bastard

No seas cabrón
Don’t be an asshole

Que cabrón eres
You’re a real asshole

I think you get the point.  You can also use the word cabrón to talk about things in a positive light:

¿Te gusta el hotel?
Esta cabrón guey

Do you like the hotel?
It’s the shit dude

You can use cabrón to talk about difficult situations or when something is just hard to deal with:


El calor está tan cabrón
This heat is fucking unbearable

La situación en Haití está bien cabrón 
The situation is Haiti is really fucking bad

You can use it as a greeting:

¿Qué onda cabrón?

Make sure you’re really good friends with someone before you use this.

Lastly, you can use cabrón or cabrona to say someone is really good at something.

Mi vecino está cabrón con los computadores
My neighbor is really fucking good with computers

Soy cabróna
I’m the shit

Ya.  Considered yourself armed, dangerous and well equipped to use cabrón in the wild!  But as always, ten cuidado with these expressions.

¡Hasta la próxima!