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Words that could accidentally cause offence or embarassement in Spanish

or "What did he just call me?"

I'd like to say that when you're learning a language, if you think that someone's insulting you, don't immediately go defensive because in my opinion, you are far more likely to be wrong. Even body language can cause problems from country to country too since we greet each other differently or have different hand gestures.
Another thing is to make sure you use masculine adjectives with men and feminine ones with female. If you mix them up, you could accidentally hint that someone is homosexual / effeminate etc. If the person you are talking to knows that you are a foreigner, you should be forgiven though. Note that some adjectives do not change or some profesions do not change in gender e.g. a man or woman would be a masajista (masseur / masseuse).
Here's a list of words that could be a little problematic:

Bastar means "to be enough/sufficient" ¡Basta! means - That's enough!
Bizarro means "brave/generous".
Caliente means hot when referring to an object, and horny when referring to a person. You should say 'Tengo calor = I am hot"
Cargar (note the r) means "to load/download" but without the r, it means something like ... to discharge waste from the anus.
Coger is an INNOCENT word in Spain with numerous meanings and you can use it safely but in many places in Latin America, it is a swear word meaning something like... umm... "to copulate"
Constipado - Estoy constipado means "I have a cold".
Cuñado/a means brother/sister-in-law.
Decepción means "disappointment".
Decepcionar means "to disappoint".
Desgracia means "misfortune/accident".
Deshonesto can mean dishonest (not telling the truth) or it can mean "indecent".
Embarazada means "pregnant" (note this adjective is always feminine for obvious reasons.)
Enfocar / foco / foca are all innocent words. I want to include "foc" meaning "fire" in Catalan because you may be asked for a 'foc' in certain regions, when someone wants a light for their cigarette.
Excitar means (or at least, can mean) "to excite sexually". If you mean to look forward to, use entusiasmarse por/con... or use provocar.
Gordito/a is a friendly word - a term of  endearment for your friends. I'm not sure exactly how to translate it, but it DOESN'T mean 'little fat one' at least, not in that context.
Grosería means "rudeness, vulgar comment or a swearword".
Guay means something like 'cool / great' as in, 'That's cool'
Ignorar means "to be ignorant of/not to know" although it can mean "to ignore" (I'm not completely sure of this last point).
Liar means "to bind/confuse" (liarse means "to get mixed up")
Mama (I'm unsure of the plural) means "teat/breast".
Mamá means "Mum/Mummy" (familiar use).
Mareado - Estar mareado = to feel sick / dizzy (casado = married)
Molestar means "to bother". You may see it on door handles as "No moleste" meaning "Do not disturb".
Negar means "to deny"
Oculto means "hidden/secret" (figurative use).
Ordinario means "ordinary/common".
Pájaro means 'small bird' (the flying kind) and ave is a big bird. Don't say pajero. This means "one who masturbates" and is also the name of a car. It was named in error and the name had to be changed in Spanish speaking countries
Peinarse means "to comb one's hair"
Pisar means "to tread on" so piso can mean I tread on, or it means floor (of a hotel).
Preservativo means "sheath/condom" although you can use condón.
Sano means "healthy/whole/intact".
Simple means "simple/easy" or "simple minded". See Unusual Spanish adjectives/Adjectivos inusuales
¡ Toma ! (from the verb "tomar) means "Here you are!" when giving something to somebody buy it can mean something rude when accompanied by a hand gesture (in that context, it's a shortened form of a phrase).
Trampa means trap.
Tu madre/padre means, your mother/father and can be used INNOCENTLY... but... if you say ¡ Tu madre ! then this means f*** off! or ¡ Tu padre ! means Up yours! - so listen to the context very carefully. It's obvious if someone is trying to insult you. When in doubt, assume they didn't.
¡ Vete a saber ! means "who knows?" but vete on it's own means "go away"

[ENGLISH] Are there any errors or do you want to add more information to these pages?
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