muchacho

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Spanish mozo

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂ks

Proto-Italic *-āks

Latin -āx

Proto-Indo-European *-éyos

Proto-Italic *-ejos

Proto-Italic *-eos

Latin -eus

Latin -āceus

Spanish -acho

Spanish mochacho

Spanish muchachobor.

English muchacho

Borrowed from Spanish muchacho.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /muːˈtʃɑː.tʃəʊ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /muˈtʃɑː.tʃoʊ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

muchacho (plural muchachos)

1. (slang) An informal term of address, especially to a young man; similar to man, chap, dude, etc.

   Hey there, my muchacho. How's it going?

Derived terms

• brochacho

Cebuano

Noun

muchacho

1. alternative spelling of mutsatso

Coordinate terms

• muchacha

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Spanish muchacho.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /muˈt͡ʃa.t͡ʃo/
• Rhymes: -atʃo
• Hyphenation: mu‧chà‧cho

Noun

muchacho m (plural muchachos, feminine muchacha)

1. (slang, chiefly humorous) muchacho

Further reading

• “muchacho”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Spanish

Etymology

From older mochacho, from mozo +‎ -acho. Cognate to Portuguese moçaço.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /muˈt͡ʃat͡ʃo/ [muˈt͡ʃa.t͡ʃo]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -atʃo
• Syllabification: mu‧cha‧cho

Noun

muchacho m (plural muchachos, feminine muchacha, feminine plural muchachas)

1. boy or young adult

   Synonyms: chaval, chico, chino, garzón, mocito, machito, péndex

   1. term of address

Usage notes

• In Chile, it is a dated word, often associated with older people. In Argentina, it sounds foreign, as in being recognized as a word that is common in other places, but not in Argentina.

Derived terms

• muchachillo (diminutive)
• muchachito (diminutive)
• muchachón (augmentative)
• muchachote (augmentative)

Further reading

• “muchacho”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026