How To Say “Fat” in Spanish

This time Andy only made 2 mistakes instead of the usual 5. Again, I made a note of his mistakes with my smart phone in order to share them with you.

Patrick Jackson

How to say fat in Spanish is what you will learn from this blog post. And I will talk about a Spanish word that can be both used as an insult or a term of affection. I will also teach you how to say fat as in body fat, animal fat and “fat” as in being over-weight.

How To Say Fat in Spanish

In a previous blog post, I told you about how I went “al cine” (to the movies) with some Colombian friends and they had a friend named Andy who joined us.

Andy is from the U.K, and he is sort of a “mochilero” (backpacker) who has traveled throughout Latin America. “Mochilero” comes from the word “mochila” which means “backpack.”

In that email, I told you about 5 mistakes that I heard Andy make when speaking Spanish.

Well, Andy is still here visiting Medellin, Colombia. And last night Andy, the same group of friends, and I went out to get something to eat.

1. At the “restaurante,” when the “mesero” (waiter) took Andy’s order, he asked for “costillas de cerdo” (pork ribs) and “papas a la francesa” (french fries). (In Colombia, french fries are called “papas a la francesa” but in most parts of Latin America they are called “papas fritas” — literally, fried potatoes).

After telling the “mesero” (waiter) that he wanted “costillas” (ribs) — but at the same time wanting to eat somewhat healthy — Andy then told the “mesero,” “sin mucha grasa.”

In Latin America, that’s not the correct way to say “without a lot of fat.” Well, “grasa” does mean fat. But in Latin America, when referring to the fat that is on meat, the word that you should use is “gordo.” So Andy should have said “sin mucho gordo” (without a lot of fat).

“Gordo/a” also means fat as in overweight:

• Mi jefe estaba gordo. My boss used to be overweight.

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Calling somone “gordo” (fatso) or “gorda” (fatso) is also a way to insult someone.

But in many parts of Latin America and also in Spain, “gordo/gordito” and “gorda/gordita” can be used as names of affection. For example, “dame un beso, gorda” (give me a kiss, sweetheart.)

Speaking personally, my “novia” (girlfriend) could probably score more points with me by calling me “flaquito” (the diminutive word for skinny) instead of calling me “gordo.”

After Andy placed his order, I then placed my order and requested:

- Pechuga a la parrilla – grilled chick breast – Ensalada – salad – Un vaso de agua de la llave – glass of tap water.

And yes, you can drink the “agua de la llave” (tap water) in Medellin. It actually tastes pretty good. But not as good as the tap water from “Nueva York” (New York) — which, in my opinion, tastes better than any bottled water. (But I would not recommend drinking “agua de la llave” in any Colombian city other than Medellin.)

Andy noticing that I had ordered a healthy “plato” (dish), he then asked me in Spanish:

2. “Patrick, ¿quieres perder gordo?

I responded, “Sí, quiero perder GRASA y ganar músculo.” (emphasis added). (Yes, I want to lose fat and gain muscle.)

As I mentioned earlier, “gordo” does refer to fat. But when you are talking about body fat (or blubber) the word to use is “grasa.”

So Andy should have asked me, “Patrick, ¿quieres perder grasa?” “Patrick do you want to lose fat?”

The Spanish word “grasa” also means grease. And the Spanish word for lard is “manteca.”

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