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A random question,

In English I use words like 'bloody', 'damn', 'darn', 'blimmin', 'bleedin', 'freaking', to express frustration without using harsh swear words. (Ok maybe 'freaking' is just a spin on a swear word to make it sound less harsh)

For example:

"You took your bloody time!"

"I can't find the blimmin TV remote!"

"Im pretty damn hungry!"

Are there an equivalent ways to express frustration without using really harsh swear words?

I know that these words are very region dependent but is there a common word that is widely accepted in most regions?

These are really common colloquialisms in English (at least where I live). You also hear them often in movies or TV shows when people want to avoid using harsh swear words.

Cheers =)

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It's worth mentioning that many of these you mentioned are very specific to British English (which shows that they're region-dependent even in English). –  jrdioko Jan 20 '12 at 3:37
Yeah I suppose they are used more in some places than others. I'm from New Zealand and they are very common here. Also these words may not be used much in other regions but I think that they would be easily understood/recognised. –  Kage Jan 20 '12 at 3:43

3 Answers 3

up vote 6 down vote accepted

Here it goes some light words for it

maldito / maldita

condenado/ condenada

puñetero / puñetera

dichoso / dichosa (thanks to MikMik)

And this other one which is stronger. It is considered a swearword.

jodido / jodida

All of them are adjectives and are usually used before a noun (not after it), e.g.

Apaga la maldita televisión

I think all of them are quite international, but if not comments are welcome to correct it.

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An even lighter one, in my opinion, would be dichoso. –  MikMik Jan 24 '12 at 12:05
@MikMik yeah, thanks, included –  Javi Jan 24 '12 at 17:07
"puñetero" is not used in Argentina, all others are ok. "dichoso" is the less rude one. –  leonbloy Jan 25 '12 at 14:37

In Mexico, pinche is quite common:

¡Apaga la pinche televisión!

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Aha, I have heard this on Mexican Youtube shows but never knew quite how to translate it, ty –  Kage Jan 22 '12 at 20:21
@Kage: Be careful with "pinche", it is a swearword. You could use "mentado/mentada" as in "¡Apaga la mentada televisión!" –  Sergio Romero Apr 30 '12 at 21:40

This is definitely regional, but many (most?) Spanish countries don't have a problem with using swear words, except in very formal contexts. As an example, we found it silly when they bleep them out in american TV shows.

Some not-too-hard expressions used in Argentina are del orto and carajo:

Este auto del orto no quiere arrancar.

Tengo un calor del carajo.

Then there are harsher ones, like de mierda, or puto/a. The latter, when used as an adjective, is equivalent to English's fucking:

¿Dónde están las putas llaves?

As said before, you might not want to use them with a customer, but you'll definitely hear them on TV, even during the day.

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These one are quite common indeed, but also rather swear words :-) BTW "orto" is a strong-rude argentine word for "ass (buttocks)" –  leonbloy Jan 25 '12 at 14:40
I wouldn't think of "orto" as strong. The thing is, we don't use any "pseudo-swear" words like maldito here. –  Diego Mijelshon Jan 25 '12 at 14:47

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