pendejo

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from Spanish pendejo. === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /pɛnˈdeɪhəʊ/, enPR: pĕn-dā'hō (General Australian) IPA(key): /penˈdehəʉ/, enPR: pĕn-dĕ'hō (US) IPA(key): /pɛnˈdeɪhoʊ/, /pɛnˈdɛhoʊ/, enPR: pĕn-dā'hō, pĕn-dĕ'hō === Noun === pendejo (plural pendejos) (US, Mexico, slang, derogatory) A stupid person. ==== Usage notes ==== Typically only used by Spanish-speaking people. == Spanish == === Alternative forms === pndejo, pndjo, pndj, pdj, pnj (censored) === Etymology === Inherited from Vulgar Latin *pectinī̆culum, diminutive of Latin pecten (“pubic hair; comb”). The unexpected /nd/ may be due to the influence of pender (“hang down, dangle”). Compare Portuguese pentelho. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /penˈdexo/ [pẽn̪ˈd̪e.xo] Rhymes: -exo Syllabification: pen‧de‧jo === Noun === pendejo m (plural pendejos, feminine pendeja, feminine plural pendejas) (masculine only, rare, dated) pubic hair (a single hair growing in the pubic region) Hypernym: vello púbico (derogatory, vulgar, chiefly Latin America) arsehole, asshole, stupid, idiot, dirtbag, scumbag (a contemptible person) (derogatory, vulgar, chiefly Latin America) dumbass (stupid person) Synonyms: idiota, (Spain) gilipollas, (Argentina, Dominican Republic) boludo (Southern Cone, colloquial) young boy (Southern Cone, Panama, colloquial) man child (Southern Cone) punk (an adolescent who presumes to be an adult) (Costa Rica, Caribbean) coward (Peru, vulgar) perspicacious, perceptive, cunning, smart, clever, scoundrel (colloquial) of irregular and disorderly life (Andalusia, colloquial) mistletoe (Andalusia, colloquial) type of pumpkin === Adjective === pendejo (feminine pendeja, masculine plural pendejos, feminine plural pendejas) (derogatory, offensive, vulgar, chiefly Latin America) stupid, idiot, asshole ==== Usage notes ==== Although in some contexts zonzo, bobo, tonto, menso, culero, tarado, idiota, imbécil, estúpido and pendejo may be synonyms, in most contexts they have a different degree of intensity, with zonzo having the mildest connotation, increasing in intensity in that rough order, to estúpido and pendejo, which have the most offensive meaning. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== === Further reading === “pendejo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025 “pendejo”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010 “pendejo”, in Diccionario del español de México, Segunda edición, Academia Mexicana de la Lengua, 2019 Seco, Manuel; Andrés, Olimpia; Ramos, Gabino (2023), “pendejo”, in Diccionario del español actual (in Spanish), third digital edition, Fundación BBVA