nounnounadjective

el perro

dog

Animal doméstico de cuatro patas que muchas personas tienen como mascota y que suele ser fiel y protector.

Definition & meaning

The primary meaning of perro is dog, referring to the domesticated carnivorous mammal (Canis lupus familiaris) that is commonly kept as a pet, for protection, or for work.

Beyond its biological meaning, the word has several figurative uses in Spanish:

Laziness: It can describe a person who is very lazy or reluctant to work.
Unpleasantness: It is used as an adjective to describe something of very poor quality or a miserable situation, such as un día perro (a miserable day) or una vida perra (a dog's life/hard life).
Despicable person: In some contexts, it can be used as an insult to refer to someone who is considered a scoundrel or untrustworthy.

Grammar & Word origin

The word is a masculine noun. Its feminine form is perra , which refers to a female dog but can also carry strong pejorative meanings when applied to people. The plural form is perros .

The etymology of perro is unique to the Iberian Peninsula and its origin is uncertain. Unlike the word can , which comes from the Latin canis, perro is believed to be an onomatopoeic creation. It likely originated from the sound "prrr-prrr" that shepherds used to call or drive their dogs. This replaced the Latin term in common speech over time.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms:

can : A more formal, literary, or scientific term for a dog.
chucho : A colloquial term, often used for a mutt or a dog of no specific breed.
canino : Used primarily as an adjective (canine) or in technical contexts.
vago : A synonym when perro is used to describe a lazy person.

Antonyms:

As a biological term, there is no direct antonym. However, gato (cat) is often used as its cultural opposite.
When used to mean lazy, an antonym would be trabajador (hardworking) or diligente (diligent).