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la mierda

shit

La mierda is a vulgar Spanish noun meaning “shit” or “feces.” It is also commonly used as a strong swear word.

Literal meaning: feces or excrement.
- Hay mierda en el suelo. — “There is shit on the floor.”
As an exclamation: “Shit!”, “Damn!”, or “Fuck!” depending on context.
- ¡Mierda! — “Shit!”
To describe something as very bad, worthless, or annoying:
- Esta película es una mierda. — “This movie is shit / terribly bad.”
As an intensifier in some expressions:
- ¿Qué mierda haces? — “What the hell are you doing?”

It is highly informal and offensive in many contexts. A less vulgar translation may be “crap,” “damn,” or “junk,” depending on the sentence.

Gender: feminine: la mierda
Plural: las mierdas, usually referring to several pieces of feces or several worthless things.
It is generally used as a noun, but it also appears in fixed exclamations and colloquial phrases.
The word comes from Latin merda, meaning “excrement.” It is related to similar vulgar words in several Romance languages.

el excremento — “excrement”; neutral or formal, unlike the vulgar la mierda.
las heces — “feces”; medical or formal.
la caca — “poop”; childish or less offensive.
la porquería — “filth,” “dirt,” or “crap”; can refer to something disgusting or worthless, not only feces.
la basura — “garbage” or “trash”; often figurative, as in something of very poor quality.
el desastre — “disaster”; appropriate when la mierda means a very bad situation rather than feces.

There is no exact antonym for la mierda. Depending on the intended meaning, possible contrasts include:

la limpieza — “cleanliness,” as the opposite of dirt or feces.
la calidad — “quality,” as the opposite of something worthless or badly made.
lo bueno — “something good,” as the opposite of something described as terrible.

¡Mierda! — “Shit!” or “Damn!”
una mierda — “a piece of shit,” “something worthless,” or “nothing.”
ser una mierda — “to be terrible” or “to be worthless.”
estar hecho una mierda — “to be in terrible shape,” physically or emotionally.
irse a la mierda — “to go to hell” or “to fall apart.”
mandar a alguien a la mierda — “to tell someone to go to hell” or “to tell someone to fuck off.”
¿Qué mierda...? — “What the hell...?” or “What the fuck...?”

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Su idea fue una mierda total.other

His idea was complete shit.

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