# Mitsubishi, Spaniards, Jacking off **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2001, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitsubishi-spaniards-jacking-off/64131 "2001-05-02T20:07:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mort\_Furd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2001, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitsubishi-spaniards-jacking-off/64131/1 "2001-05-02T20:07:42Z")
A really strange question along the lines of the Chevy Nova and Mexico. You know, Chevy supposedly didn’t many Nova’s in Mexico because “No va” means “It doesn’t go” in Spanish. That was discounted in this Straight Dope article: Now I have one that is circulating here in Germany. I have been told that Mitsubishi hasn’t been selling many Pajero SUVs in Spain because Pajero is (or sounds like) a Spanish slang word for a person who likes to whack the weasel. It probably wouldn’t help to ask an America person of Hispanic descent. Supposedly “Pajero” was made up by a PR company for Mitsubishi, and they didn’t make the connection because slang doesn’t neccessarily get listed in the dictionary. Any Spaniards amongst the dopers? ---
**Author:** ![Mort\_Furd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2001, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitsubishi-spaniards-jacking-off/64131/2 "2001-05-02T20:16:30Z")
Crap. Chevy didn’t **sell** many Novas. Snopes, not Straight Dope, and forgot the link on top of that. Here is the link: [http://www.snopes2.com/business/misxlate/nova.htm](http://www.snopes2.com/business/misxlate/nova.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2001, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitsubishi-spaniards-jacking-off/64131/3 "2001-05-02T20:24:16Z")
I was noodling around in my kanji/kana dictionary the other night and, on a tangent, found the kanji for “sexual intercourse” - _sei kõ_ (that’s supposed to be a long ‘o’ there). It took me a moment to figure out where I’d seen those particular words before - plastered over any number of watch faces all across the country. Is this another meaningless coincidence or is there a story behind it? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2001, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitsubishi-spaniards-jacking-off/64131/4 "2001-05-02T22:38:47Z")
I don’t get this since identical models are routinely marketed in different markets under different names. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2001, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitsubishi-spaniards-jacking-off/64131/5 "2001-05-02T23:43:40Z")
According to [This Site](http://www.notam.uio.no/~hcholm/altlang/ht/Spanish.html): > [@](#): > > **pajero** (noun, masculine) > > - Jerk-off; jackoff; person who masturbates. _A car known in the US as the Montero is sold in some European markets as the “Pajero,” a name which some of my Spanish and Portuguese friends find hilariously stupid._ ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2001, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitsubishi-spaniards-jacking-off/64131/6 "2001-05-03T01:10:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sailor \* > \*\*I don’t get this since identical models are routinely marketed in different markets under different names. \*\* Which is why the Mitsubishi Pajero is marketed as the Montero in some countries. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2001, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitsubishi-spaniards-jacking-off/64131/7 "2001-05-03T01:20:05Z")
[Mitsubishi’s Spanish website](http://www.mitsubishi-motors-esp.com/) (requires Flash) Under “vehiculos”, you’ll see the car you know as the Pajero. But it’s called “Montero”. Which, to my untrained Spanish ear, appears to mean something like “Mountaineer” (and hell, maybe THAT’s slang for something dirty as well ;)). I’m sure someone more qualified will correct me when I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2001, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitsubishi-spaniards-jacking-off/64131/8 "2001-05-03T03:33:22Z")
> [@](#): > > to my untrained Spanish ear Well, if you guys hadn’t given the Duke of Alba such a hard time, you would probably have a _trained_ Spanish ear. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2001, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitsubishi-spaniards-jacking-off/64131/9 "2001-05-03T03:49:08Z")
I put it through a Spanish to English translator, but it didn’t come up with anything. The closest match is pájaro, which means parrot in English. I also tried my Spanish slang book (!Mierda! by Frances Talaversa Berger) and the only slang listed for masturbation was manajatar. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2001, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitsubishi-spaniards-jacking-off/64131/10 "2001-05-03T04:19:52Z")
Actually, I think “Mitsubishi Masturbator” has a nice ring to it. 😃 I think it would be great if Mitsubishi did an historical overview of their company. They could start with the Zero fighters of WWII and lead up to the current vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![Jorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@Jorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2001, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitsubishi-spaniards-jacking-off/64131/11 "2001-05-03T06:42:52Z")
Yup, that’s what it means - although it is not necessarily familiar to all speakers of Spanish. Mexicans & Central Americans certainly know the phrase… Funny, it’s marketed under that name in the Philippines, where quite a few people are familiar with Spanish.