I feel kind of square for not knowing what “Tu madre” is short for. Obviously it’s a very strong insult. I remember reading somewhere that they are the first two words of multi-word sentence, but I don’t know if that’s true. I found several Spanish insults on the web, of which only the last fits the description I read. (I’ve cleaned up the English translations a bit, hoping to avoid a move to the Pit.) [ol]
[li]Chinga tu madre. - Copulate with your mother.[/li][li]Me cago en tu madre - I defecate on your mother.[/li][li]la cachon tu madre - your mother’s birth canal (possibly limited to Argentina)[/li][li]Tu madre tiene un pene - Your mother has a male generative organ.[/ol][/li]Is number 4 the one? Or is it something else?
My understanding, based on the Spanish-speaking people I know, is that it is #1.
1 is correct.
(You may also whistle the words’ sounds.)
btw: my alltime favorite is the Italian (forgive spelling) Tu madre te fa cornuto - in English - Your mother makes you a cuckold. Thus, not only do you sleep with your mama - she cheats on you!
In the movie Major League there is a time when Pedro Cerrano says something that sounds like “Chinga Te, Capron!”
What’s he saying? …and What does it mean?
In the course of my research for this question, I learned that chinga te or chingate means “fuck you” and cabrón literally means goat, but figuratively means a man who knows his woman sleeps with other men and he doesn’t do anything to stop her.
I don’t speak “spanich”, is it similar to “carrot”??? 
( oh relax, ** somebody ** had to do it)
"Fuck you, No Nuts!"[sub]hey, just trying to help!!![/sub]
I couldn’t find a translation or my copy of The Peoples Guide to Mexico (which I know discusses this), but I’m pretty sure that caprón means an emasculated rooster.
Cabra means goat; think of the Chupacabra. On a related note, cabrito means good barbecue.
“You are in the wrong neighborhood.”
Well, I’ve looked around and haven’t found any sites to support the cabrón=capon idea. Moreover, cabrón does sound like a form of cabra.
Hey, I didn’t claim to be an an expert.
Cabrón = Billy Goat. A big ol’ male goat.
Cabra = Female Goat
A couple of spanish speaking guys at the restaurant I used ot work at told our boss that “Tu Madre” meant, “Yes, sir.”
WAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Some of my friends (and I) use the ‘tu madre’ insult as a response to an insult. It usually makes me laugh. I don’t think that it’s short for anything specific. Here’s our usual volley…
1: You dumbshit!
2: Tu madre! (your mother (is a dumbshit)!)
1: Ta mere! (your mother (is a dumbshit)!)
We’re talking about casting out insults, not anything really definable. I think your question is reading a bit into it. (For some reason, this remind me of when people say that ‘FUCK’ is short for “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge,” which is not the true etymology of the word.) Don’t read too much into it. And I don’t think your mother’s honor is really at stake.
Some of y’alls are missing the bigger picture.
“Tu madre” is not short for anything. It just is. Yes, it can be used as a reply when given an insult. It can also be exclaimed with any combination of other curse words.
The closest English correlation is “Yo mama”.
Those damn goats are getting into EVERYTHING lately.
¿Que es eso, cabrón?
It’s not half as hairy as it seems.
Actually, that’s pretty much a direct translation. (tu=your, madre=mother)
¡No se! ¿Que tu piensas el es, chico?
I’m in Mexico studying Spanish right now, so I find this thread very interesting. Some of what I’ve learned:
¡Chin! = Shit!
Chingar = Fuck, in unconjugated form. I’m not sure if it is refexive or not, but I think it is. So therefore:
chingame = fuck me
chingate = fuck you
Irse al diablo = Fuck off, or literally, “Go to hell.”
Vese mi culo = Kiss my ass
Ok, guys, here’s the deal, from someone who has lived and traveled in Latin America for 11 years:
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Yes, “tu madre” is basically just “yo mama,” but even more offensive. There is an infinity of extremely gross insults that can start off with or include the phrase. Just use your imagination. One of the more colorful “madre” insults is Hemingway’s “Me cago en la leche de tu puta madre.” (I shit in the milk of your whore mother.)
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Cabron (accent on the “o”) technically means a male goat, and figuratively a cuckold (one who wears “the horns” of infidelity). But more typically it just translates as “bastard,” or “asshole.” But it’s a very strong word, not to be used unless you really want to start a fight. So “Chingate, cabron,” is the “familiar imperative” form for “Fuck you, asshole.”(“Capon” is English for a castrated rooster, and has absolutely nothing to do with “cabron.”)
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“Chingar” is just one of an infinity of Spanish words for screwing. They vary from country to country, and chingar is just one of the more popular ones in Mexico. The most widespread one is “joder” (to fuck, but usually figurative, not literal); others include “jalar” (to pull), “coger” (to catch or cover), “tirar” (to shoot), and so on and on and on. Coger is fairly harmless here in Panama, but will get you into a LOT of trouble elsewhere.
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Related to the last, there are lots of words that are innocuous in one country but suspect elsewhere, such as “chucha,” which means “armpit odor” in Colombia but “twat” in Panama. (Don’t blame me, I’m just reporting here). I have personally seen a Colombian visiting Panama really embarass herself on this one. (“Creo que tengo chucha!”)
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On the “tu madre” = “yes, sir” one, I am reminded of the
Cheech and Chong movie where Cheech tells a newcomer to Los Angeles, “One word you want to learn right away, and use a lot, is ‘pendejo.’ It means ‘friend’.”
Pendejo = pubic hair (literal) = jerk, idiot, moron (figurative). -
I am also reminded about the time an American friend of mine inadvertently told a bus full of people that he had to get off because he had an erection (“Tengo parada!” instead of just “Parada!”). They let him off real quick.
“Con paciencia y saliva, un elefante chingo una hormiga.”
Don’t you know that ant and elephant DNA just don’t mix?
OP answered there pretty well by Colibri. I’d add that #1 is the usual sense in most dialects, #2 is more typically Catalan… [Although it can also be an elided form of the phrase “your mama is a whore”.]