pendejo

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *peḱ-

Proto-Indo-European *peḱt-

Proto-Indo-European *-ḗn

Proto-Indo-European *pḱtḗn

Proto-Italic *pekten

Latin pectin-

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-e-lós

Proto-Italic *-elos

Proto-Italic *-kelos

Latin -culum

Vulgar Latin *pectinī̆culum

Spanish penderinflu.?

Spanish pendejobor.

English pendejo

Borrowed from Spanish pendejo.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɛnˈdeɪhəʊ/, enPR: pĕn-dā'hō
• (Australia) IPA^(key): /penˈdehəʉ/, enPR: pĕn-dĕ'hō
• (US) IPA^(key): /pɛnˈdeɪhoʊ/, /pɛnˈdɛhoʊ/, enPR: pĕn-dā'hō, pĕn-dĕ'hō

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

Noun

pendejo (plural pendejos)

1. (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, text messaging, Internet slang)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *peḱ-

Proto-Indo-European *peḱt-

Proto-Indo-European *-ḗn

Proto-Indo-European *pḱtḗn

Proto-Italic *pekten

Latin pectin-

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-e-lós

Proto-Italic *-elos

Proto-Italic *-kelos

Latin -culum

Vulgar Latin *pectinī̆culum

Spanish penderinflu.?

Spanish pendejo

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]

• Audio (Venezuela); [-h-]:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -exo
• Syllabification: pen‧de‧jo

Noun

pendejo m (plural pendejos, feminine pendeja, feminine plural pendejas)

1. (Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, masculine only, countable) a single pubic hair
2. (Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, via Mexican or Internet influence all of Latin America, vulgar, derogatory, offensive) stupid person, idiot

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:idiota

   Paco reprobó el examen porque es un pinche pendejo.

   Paco failed the test because he's a fucking dumbass.

3. (at least El Salvador, colloquial, vulgar) mean person, jerk
4. (Peru, Bolivia, vulgar) cunning/sly person
5. (Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, colloquial) coward
6. (Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, colloquial) boy

   Synonym: niño

   Cuando era pendejo íbamos a Mar de Plata todos los veranos.

   When I was a boy we went to Mar de Plata every summer.

7. (Andalusia, colloquial) mistletoe
8. (Andalusia, colloquial) type of pumpkin

Adjective

pendejo (feminine pendeja, masculine plural pendejos, feminine plural pendejas)

1. (Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, via Mexican or Internet influence all of Latin America) stupid
2. (at least El Salvador) mean (bad to someone else)
3. (Peru, Bolivia) cunning, sly
4. (Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) cowardly

Derived terms

• a lo pendejo
• coger de pendejo
• hacerse el pendejo
• pendejada
• pendejear
• pendejera
• pendejez
• Pendejistán

Related terms

• peinar
• peine

Descendants

• → Asturian: pendexu
• → English: pendejo
• → Tagalog: pindeho

Further reading

• “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 de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026
• “pendejo”, in Diccionario del español de México [Dictionary of the Spanish of Mexico] (in Spanish), second edition, Mexican Academy of the Language [Spanish: Academia Mexicana de la Lengua], 2019
• Seco, Manuel; Andrés, Olimpia; Ramos, Gabino (2023), “pendejo”, in Diccionario del español actual [Dictionary of Current Spanish] (in Spanish), third digital edition, Fundación BBVA