Spanish Word of the Day: Chulo

Chulo can be either an adjective or a noun. It’s a widely used word but it’s fairly colloquial.

If it’s an adjective, chulo/a can be used to describe a person who is cocky, brazen or arrogant.

There’s even the expression – más chulo que un ocho (literally ‘cockier than a number eight’) – a bit like saying that someone is a smart arse or as cocky as the king of spades.

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However, when describing something rather than someone, chulo means ‘cool’, ‘nice’ or ‘great’. This could be anything from an item of clothing to a holiday.

Keep in mind that these usages of chulo apply to Spanish spoken in Spanish, as in Latin American countries such as Mexico chulo can mean pretty or good-looking.

When it comes to chulo as a noun, in its masculine form (un chulo), it’s actually the colloquial word for a pimp. 

There’s also the crasser version of this – chuloputas – which is a bit like saying ‘bitches-pimp’.

If you’re looking for a more official way of referring to a pimp in Spanish, say proxeneta.

In Spain’s Royal Academy of Language there’s one other meaning for chulo: “a working-class person from Madrid who stands out for their attractive attire and manner of carrying themselves”.

We’re certainly not saying that Madrid’s blue-collar population are all pimps, but funnily enough this moniker may have contributed to Madrileños’ reputation for being a bit full of themselves.

In fact, when Madrid locals celebrate their San Isidro festival, they don the chulo/a or chulapo/a attire.

READ ALSO: Why do people from Madrid have a reputation for being arrogant?

So without further ado, let’s go over some examples of chulo in Spanish.

Examples:

¡Qué chaqueta tan chula! ¿Dónde la has comprado?

What a nice jacket! Where did you buy it?

Jorge es un chulo, se cree el mandamás.

Jorge is a cocky guy, he thinks he’s a bigwig.

Han arrestado al chulo por pegarle a la prostituta.

They’ve arrested the pimp for hitting the prostitute.

¿Vas a vestirte de chulo para San Isidro?

Are you going to wear your ‘chulo’ attire for San Isidro?