# Translate “cool” to Spanish, please **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 22, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139 "2019-10-22T15:57:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/1 "2019-10-22T15:57:13Z")
Not the temperature but cool as in hip AF. I thought of suave but looking for more Dean Martin/Steve McQueen-y. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/2 "2019-10-22T16:22:35Z")
I just asked my Mexico-born coworker, and she said, ‘Que padre’. I said, ‘That’s weird.’ She said, ‘Yeah, it is.’ ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/3 "2019-10-22T16:29:01Z")
There’s a lot depending on which country you’re in. Qué guay Qué padre Qué genial Qué chevere Qué chido Qué bacano and many others are used by different groups of spanish speakers to mean cool. As far as I know, qué padre is well-known but strongly associated with Mexican spanish. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/4 "2019-10-22T16:42:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I just asked my Mexico-born coworker, and she said, ‘Que padre’. I said, ‘That’s weird.’ She said, ‘Yeah, it is.’ Makes me think of jazzy epithets like “daddy”, “daddy-o”, etc. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/5 "2019-10-22T16:46:33Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > There’s a lot depending on which country you’re in. > Qué guay > Qué padre > Qué genial > Qué chevere > Qué chido > Qué bacano > and many others are used by different groups of spanish speakers to mean cool. Are these two-word phrases basically treated in Spanish as an adjective in their own right? Is a “cool guy” “_un hombre qué padre_”. A “cool car” “_un auto qué genial_”? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/6 "2019-10-22T16:55:02Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > There’s a lot depending on which country you’re in. > Qué guay > Qué padre > Qué genial > Qué chevere > Qué chido > Qué bacano > and many others are used by different groups of spanish speakers to mean cool. As far as I know, qué padre is well-known but strongly associated with Mexican spanish. _Chevere_ is generally Colombian–_bacano_ and _genial_ are used more in Bogota. _ **del putas** _, (which is somewhat vulgar), is used on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, maybe elsewhere, too. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/7 "2019-10-22T16:55:22Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Makes me think of jazzy epithets like “daddy”, “daddy-o”, etc. I had the same thought. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/8 "2019-10-22T17:05:20Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Are these two-word phrases basically treated in Spanish as an adjective in their own right? Is a “cool guy” “_un hombre qué padre_”. A “cool car” “_un auto qué genial_”? **Inner Stickler** listed them as interjections. As an attributive adjective you wouldn’t use _que_. Also, it probably will vary a lot how much one is used attributively vs. as an interjection. Also, some might be used more predicatively. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/9 "2019-10-22T17:52:47Z")
In Chile, it was usually “bacán” or “buena onda” and occasionally “cachete” or “pulento”. Most of my experience there was more than a decade ago though. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/10 "2019-10-22T18:00:43Z")
It would seem difficult to translate all possible nuances. In English, a cool person may well be suave, but he or she is also calm and in control (the opposite of hot-headed), as well as being fashionable (the hipster slang the OP was asking about). Spanish and French probably understand the word “cool”, though. ---
**Author:** ![Sofrito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sofrito/32/510_2.png) [@Sofrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofrito)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/11 "2019-10-23T03:27:03Z")
Chido. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/12 "2019-10-23T03:44:28Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Are these two-word phrases basically treated in Spanish as an adjective in their own right? Is a “cool guy” “_un hombre qué padre_”. A “cool car” “_un auto qué genial_”? No, it would be “_un hombre padre_” (which does not mean he’s a father) or even “_una mujer padre_” (all these adjectives are invariant, and yes you can also use _madre_ like this with both sexes and any genders); the “_qué_” would be part of an exclamation in response to something _padre_ that’s been said. Aside from by country, the translation also varies with time because of course it’s not cool to use the same word for cool that your parents or your older brothers do, but they’re all mutually understandable. And yes, one of the words used is “cool”, in multiple languages. [French sample](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbVnbwCKigo). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/13 "2019-10-23T03:55:21Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > _Chevere_ is generally Colombian–_bacano_ and _genial_ are used more in Bogota. The first _culebrón_ from Latinoamérica (as opposed to Made in Spain) which was broadcast in Spain was [Cristal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristal_(TV_series)), back when people from Venezuela could afford to make telenovelas. Soon the ratings were through the roof, and so was the amount of people who swore they didn’t watch it but who knew all its ins and outs and exclaimed “_¡qué chévere!_”… uuuh, soooo… you don’t watch Cristal but everybody you live with does, or something? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/14 "2019-10-23T04:04:35Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Not the temperature but cool as in hip AF. I thought of suave but looking for more Dean Martin/Steve McQueen-y. The English suave and the Spanish _suave_ aren’t cognates, they’re false friends. Maybe your word comes from ours, but if so it’s a misunderstanding: Spanish _suave_ means soft, either as in fluffly or as in silky. Marshmallows are suave; Steve McQueen is _un duro_ (“_duro_” means “hard” or “tough” depending on context). It’s a physical attribute (generally of an object), not a quality of behavior. If you say a dude is _suave_ you’d get some strange looks and need to explain what the hell are you exactly talking about, do you mean his skin? And if so and unless this is an ad for Nivea, uuuhhh, TMI? Note: this refers to people whose primary language really is Spanish, not to those who if they drop a hammer on their toe cuss in English or Spanglish. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/15 "2019-10-23T04:20:48Z")
In Castilian Spanish we use “mola”. I don’t know the exact etymology, but it kinda translates as “it grinds”. Don’t look at me, language is weird. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/16 "2019-10-23T04:25:08Z")
Thanks for the help. Complex subject I guess. > [@Nava](#): > > Aside from by country, the translation also varies with time because of course it’s not cool to use the same word for cool that your parents or your older brothers do… This probably has a lot to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/17 "2019-10-23T13:04:40Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > No, it would be “_un hombre padre_” (which does not mean he’s a father) or even “_una mujer padre_” (all these adjectives are invariant, and yes **you can also use _madre_ like this** with both sexes and any genders) … [Obligatory Cannonball Run reference](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaEcPDyTaZE) 😃 _“And those ‘priests’ …” “… weren’t fathers. They were …” “Mothers!”_ ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/18 "2019-10-23T13:18:59Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > **If you say a dude is _suave_ you’d get some strange looks and need to explain what the hell are you exactly talking about** , do you mean his skin? And if so and unless this is an ad for Nivea, uuuhhh, TMI? Note: this refers to people whose primary language really is Spanish, not to those who if they drop a hammer on their toe cuss in English or Spanglish. I know in music, all boundaries are fair game … but your statement puts “[Rico Suave](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f8I4foA9Nw)” in a new light. FWIW, the singer Gerardo Mejia was born in Ecuador, lived there until he was 12, and then moved to Los Angeles when he was 12. In the song’s context, “_suave_” seems to suggest the same thing as the slang use of English “smooth”: “self-assured, non-awkward, skilled in ‘the game of love’”. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/19 "2019-10-23T16:37:45Z")
In American High School Spanish the term is “_muy frio_” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139/20 "2019-10-23T17:14:18Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > The first _culebrón_ from Latinoamérica (as opposed to Made in Spain) which was broadcast in Spain was [Cristal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristal_(TV_series)), back when people from Venezuela could afford to make telenovelas. Soon the ratings were through the roof, and so was the amount of people who swore they didn’t watch it but who knew all its ins and outs and exclaimed “_¡qué chévere!_”… uuuh, soooo… you don’t watch Cristal but everybody you live with does, or something? Hmm . . . well, \ ***Se dice de mi** \*. . . . but I never denied it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-cool-to-spanish-please/842139.md?page=2)