# Buey/Güey



## andrea1701

What does buey mean?  My friends say it after EVERYTHING!!  Hola buey, que pasa buey, adios buey!


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## toxicosmos

It means something like *mate*, or *dude*, but just in Mexico and maybe some countries in America.
In Spain _buey_ just means *ox*.


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## ILT

Hi Andrea:

* Buey*, with a b, is an ox.

* Güey*, with a g, is a colloquial word  meaning something like "dude", but güey is not to be used in front of adults or teachers.

Warm regards

ILT


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## andrea1701

Okay, so can you use both words to greet close friends?


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## toxicosmos

No, you can't. You have to use *Güey*.

*Buey *is just for the animal.

Un saludo.


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## lapachis8

I love translating said:


> Hi Andrea:
> 
> *Buey*, with a b, is an ox.
> 
> *Güey*, with a g, is a colloquial word meaning something like "dude", but güey is not to be used in front of adults or teachers.
> 
> Warm regards
> 
> ILT


 
Weird, i´ve heard it in many contexts in all social classes, on TV by young and adults alike. I hate it, because it has substituted most words of Mexican Spanish, however, since it´s widely used it has lost it´s status of a bad curse word, so i think I Love Translating advice not to use it front of adults or teachers is a tad conservative and exagerated. Just an opinion. 
cheers


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## borgonyon

I'm with you lapachis. It doesn't have any bad connotation, it's a way to greet a friend. You don't call a teacher or your dad "buey" or "güey" [you may use either one, it doesn't make any difference], but there's no taboo about saying the words in front of them.


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## cyberpedant

When I was living in central México I had an amiga who often peppered her speech with "guey," and I distinctly remember a mutual friend angrily telling her, "No me llames 'guey.'" Although it is often used among friends, it never seemed to me to be a caring expression. I chose never to use it.


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## borgonyon

Yep. Not everybody likes it. Like I didn't like my students saying: my bad. But there's nothing wrong with it. I don't think I have used it since I was a teenager.


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## mariente

es como decir en inglés "buddy" o guy, dependiendo del contexto
Los mexicanos dicen: "hola güey como andas"?--> buddy
o dicen
el güey se fue a ...--> guy


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## chanti

I'm just a gringa, but during the years that I lived and taught in Mexico (in Veracruz, to be exact), it was not acceptable to say a word like "güey" in front of elders and/or superiors. When in doubt, it's better to err on the side of caution. Just a thought! 
Saludos,
chanti


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## DCPaco

lapachis8 said:


> Weird, i´ve heard it in many contexts in all social classes, on TV by young and adults alike. I hate it, because it has substituted most words of Mexican Spanish, however, since it´s widely used it has lost it´s status of a bad curse word, so i think I Love Translating advice not to use it front of adults or teachers is a tad conservative and exagerated. Just an opinion.
> cheers


 
I agree to some extent with lapachis and I love translating...it just depends on the region (just like in some regions joder is heavy and in other regions it's not so heavy).  In recent years, güey has become used more extensively by the young people of all social classes (as lapachis has said)--perhaps because the situation of old money has faded and there is a nouveau riche class that has emerged out of lower socioeconomic background (that, however, is possibly a topic for another thread) and therefore, it might not be used by the children of people who pride themselves well bred people (but this may not always be the case either).

More and more after the movie _Y tu mamá también_, there has been a shift from güey to ca...which is short for "cabrón"...so, anywhere where you could insert "güey" you could easily use "ca."


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## lapachis8

Hi,
Very conservative people would agree then that güey should not be said in front of elders and superiors regardless of their place of origin.
cheers


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## mariente

Of course, because it is too informal and it shows familiar treatment


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## Janis Joplin

"Güey" is a deformed "buey" and in its origin meant "stupid".

I guess some people use buey for sounding not too vulgar and yet "cool".

It may has lost its status of a bad curse word and it may be widely used but I'm still don't like anyone to call me güey just because it's trendy.


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## friedfysh

Well I currently live in Mexico and to me the best translation would be to think of it as the was Jamaicans say "mon", many mexicans put Güey at the end of every sentence in the same way (no pun intended). 
e.g. What's up, mon? = ¿Qué onda, güey?
"No seas güey" and "hacerse güey" are a little bit different. "¡No seas güey!" is something like "Don't be a twat!".


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## tame1999

I've frequently heard the term used in a derogatory sense, por ejemplo:

- "el es media guey"

which i presume to mean half-stupid or half-ox.


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## Gringa Mexicana

When I stayed in Aguascalientes, Mexico I stayed with a pastor(but not super conservative pastor) the general thought by all those in the church was that it was a bad word. So I do know that some people do take offense. However, my friends outside of the church stated that it was not "really" A curse word. I sort of relate it to pissed off / ticked off in english. Some people think Pissed off is cursing, while some do not.


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## Bilma

mariente said:


> Es como decir en inglés "buddy" o guy, dependiendo del contexto
> Los mexicanos dicen: "hola güey como andas"?--> buddy
> o dicen
> el güey se fue a ...--> guy


 

Güey cannot be translated as buddy or guy. As stated before it is not a "caring word".


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## eolia

I definitely not use it for calling any of my friends and surey I would not feel comfortable if some of them call me like this. It has a clear meaning of disdain (even though, it is used for many to show they are "really cool")...


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## hsam

Bilma said:


> Güey cannot be translated as buddy or guy. As stated before it is not a "caring word".


 
Personally I always think "buddy" is really insincere and it's false affection that's really just a bit of a put-down and a tad patronising.

Just how one person sees it of course


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## Logophilus

All social implications aside, I would personally like to know the most ACCURATE translation for this word (in case I have to translate in court, for example).  

In English, we commonly use vulgar terms among very close friends (who aren't conservative or real scrupulous) to greet them or address them.  Among youth you will commonly hear "Wuzup, mutha*****!", "W'sup, b**ch!", or "Wassup dawg."  An example of this can be found in the movie The 40-Year Old Virgin when Andy greets his black friend in the bar towards the end with my first example.  Indeed, one would not talk this way in any formal setting.  However, I'm more interested in the accuracy of how to interpret it in case it comes up, not when or where to use it.  

So how would you precisely translate "Que pasò, guey!" into English?

Thanks,
Logo


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## tame1999

what's goin on dude/man is the most accurate from what i personally know. 

-all the best


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## scotu

tame1999 said:


> what's goin on dude/man is the most accurate from what i personally know.
> 
> -all the best



I agree the colloquial (not literal ) translation is "dude" for the youngsters.
otherwise:

grandpa would say> pal, partner,champ, chum, fella
dad would say> pal, buddy, brother, neighboor pl The gang
son would say> dude, bro, homie ,guys 

grandma would say> singular: friend, dear. plural: ladies, girls
mom would say> singular: sweetie, honey, toots. plural: gals, girls
grandaughter would say> girl, girlfriend, dudes, dudette (now passé)sister
pl: the group,"guys"


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## Jeromed

scotu said:


> I agree the colloquial (not literal ) translation is "dude" for the youngsters.
> otherwise:
> 
> grandpa would say> pal, partner,champ, chum, fella
> dad would say> pal, buddy, brother, neighboor pl The gang
> son would say> dude, bro, homie ,guys
> 
> grandma would say> singular: friend, dear. plural: ladies, girls
> mom would say> singular: sweetie, honey, toots. plural: gals, girls
> grandaughter would say> girl, girlfriend, dudes, dudette (now passé)sister
> pl: the group,"guys"





I'd like to add that _güey_ is still not (fully) accepted by the older generation in Mexico, and is not OK to use in formal conversation.  Whoever intends to use the term should take this into consideration.


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## Oklaz-City-405

In Mexican culture Wuey came from the Spanish word Buey, meaning Ox/Bullock. The way it was supposed to be used for was to call people stupid and/or that they had no balls. There is two ways to use it, one friendly and one offensive.
 
 
The _Friendly_ way to say it is in such phrases like "Que Paso Wuey" which is kind of like "What's Up Dude"
The _Offensive_ way to say it is in such phrases like "Como Estas Tan Wuey" which is "You Really Are Stupid"
 
 
Remember that these two words *HAVE DIFRENT MEANINGS* and *DO NOT* sound the same.
*Buey*: _Ox/Bullock (Informal and very disrespectful to call somebody that, _Why? because your calling them an animal, and not only that but the definition for a Bullock (Which is English for the word Buey) is: _a castrated domestic bull. Some people will even kick your ass over it)_
*Wuey*: _Dude, Homie, Guy, Brother, Buddy such things like that. (Formal, only to be used in people you know, other people might kick your ass)_
 
Also remember that Wuey and especially Buey, being used for friendly use or not, it is strongly advised not to be used on people you don't know or in front of elders because it's very disrespectful to do so, and once again, they might kick your ass over it.


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## incaprincess

"Guey" is usually used among Mexican guys.  It is a vulgar term, but when it's used between friends in a positive conversation, they can get away w/ using it. If you're arguing w/ someone (guy to guy) and one guy calls the other one "guey", it's viewed as an insult.  It's like saying "bastard".   YOu know when AMerican guys talk, they can use the word "bastard" as just a vulgar-friendly term, like saying, "The little bas***rd really married a great girl" (vulgar-friendly) or they could say "You bas***rd!!!!"  (vulgar-insulting).

So, when Mexican guys are talking, just apply the "bastard" rule to "guey" and you'll understand what I'm saying.

Personally, the word "guey" is stupid because it's not even a real word, and it's used and used and used like 15 times in just one sentence...it gets old after a while.


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## lamamichelle

The way it was explained to me: 

Buey: dumbass

Güey: man, dude, bro, etc.

So be nice, use güey


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## incaprincess

I heard that it's really "GUEY" when they use it in casual conversation, perhaps calling someone that.  BUEY is actually an animal used for farmwork, and nobody really calls anybody a BUEY.   So, GUEY is the actual term (a derivative from BUEY) and yes it is very offensive and vulgar.

So, be nice and don't use it at all.


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## friedfysh

If your Spanish is good enough, I've found a good article that should end the debate on whether or not "guey" is offensive once and for all. 

http://mdemexico.blogspot.com/2009/03/ser-o-hacerse-guey.html


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## Janis Joplin

Estuve de acuerdo casi en todo hasta que llegué a este punto:

"...Lo que sí es que hoy en día, más que insulto o camaradería, *resulta bastante gracioso escucharlo*, sobre todo en las conversaciones cotidianas o en la publicidad culta que se burla de las expresiones de este tipo..."

Maldita la gracia que me hace saber que en el extranjero nos identifican a los mexicanos con esta palabra.


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## meddler

A mi nunca me ha gustado usar esa palabra, yo recomiendo a las personas que estan aprendiendo spanish que no la utilicen, sobre todo con personas que no conocen bien.

SALU2


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## StarlaJane

As far as I have been informed by my male Spanish-speaking friends, "guey" is not offensive and simply means "dude," especially among younger, Mexican men. However, it sounds very similar to the word "buey," which has all sorts of negative connotations, including "stupid" like "stupid like an ox" or "cuckold" b/c of the horns of an ox. Thus, a lot of male Spanish-speakers don't like the term b/c they can't tell if someone is calling them a "dude" or a "cuckold." This is especially true among the older generation, who tend to understand it as "buey" meaning "cuckold."


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## huastec

"wey" has become an accepted part of Mexico's lexicon, just as "bit**" and "ni**a" has become part of the American lexicon. The "b" and "ni**a" word can be heard everywhere. TV shows, movies, college educated, GED'ers  . . . everybody uses it. Both words describe animals (wey a de-testicled ox/bull and "b" a female dog). It is a demonstration on how a word that 50-60 years ago was considered vulgar (low-class) has now become accepted speak. It's almost impossible to talk to a young Mexican that does not use that term, just like its almost impossible to talk to an American teen that does not use the term "bit**" or "ni**a" or "gangsta" in everyday speak. 

From my standpoint "wey" cannot be compared to buddy, dude, guy or man. These Americanisms (from what I know) did not originate in a vulgar context. "Wey" originated as a vulgarism for a fact. I would compare "wey" to "g" or "gangsta" or even "ni**a". These words definetly originated in a street/urban context. They are now used by Americans in social settings and in many subcultures are accepted as "hip and cool" speech. 

Another great point of comparison would be the word "pimp" which undoubtedly originated from a vulgar/low-class context. Now everybody in the US is enamored with the word "pimp" (ie pimp my computer, pimp my house, pimp my shoes, pimp my cereal, pimp my dentures, pimp my little toenail etc etc). Everyone uses "pimp", just like everyone uses "wey". Independently of that, you probably wouldnt say in your next job interview: "I recently pimped out my resume, so here is a new copy", just like you wouldnt say "my last boss, that WEY was really great in communicating our objective." "Wey" is definetly a term you would want to adopt if you feel you need to "gutterize/streetwise" your informal speak with close acquaintances.

Interestingly I've seen Anglos were shirts that show a black and white road sign with an arrow that says "ONE GUEY" playing off the "ONE WAY" sign. Notice the similarity between the words.

http://www.zazzle.com/one_guey_t_shirt-235149822591696644


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## Basil Ganglia

For what it's worth - in the Roberto Rodriguez film "El Mariachi", one of the characters (Azul, who is a drug dealer) walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a beer.  The bartender opens a bottle, and begins to pour the beer into a glass. Azul says to the bartender, "En botella, güey".  The English language subtitles render this as "In a bottle, asshole".

From the information in this thread it's seems to me that this this is a word that can easily be misunderstood even among people who are native speakers of Spanish.  As a non-native speaker, güey is in my list of words to never use under any circumstances and be alert for when it is used in my presence.


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## ketal

ok, I actually live in Mexico and I use the word (when needed) the comments here are all OK but I will like to add that güey should only be use with people you know, if you tell it to someone you don't know it is offensive, it's like telling then ASS ... like dum-ass , so use it wisely.


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## incaprincess

ketal said:


> ok, I actually live in Mexico and I use the word (when needed) the comments here are all OK but I will like to add that güey should only be use with people you know, if you tell it to someone you don't know it is offensive, it's like telling then ASS ... like dum-ass , so use it wisely.



I agree


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## melasa

So Güey, has nothing to do with Spanglizing the English word “gay”?


Don’t some Spanish-speakers use “gay” to refer to a homosexual ? ....If so, I don’t understand the similarity, or coincidence of this.


I never understood this word.


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## mariente

it has the same meaning  "guy"


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## melasa

mariente said:


> it has the same meaning  "guy"



Please explain what you mean by this. 

Sorry, this did not address my prior input for being confused with this word.

I hope someone educates me without having to open up a new thread.

Thanks


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## Graciela J

melasa said:


> So Güey, has nothing to do with Spanglizing the English word “gay”?
> Don’t some Spanish-speakers use “gay” to refer to a homosexual ? ....If so, I don’t understand the similarity, or coincidence of this.
> I never understood this word.



That would be "guey", without the dieresis. In this case, the "u" is not pronounced.


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## jilar

Güey parece ser una deformación de la palabra buey (toro capado o castrado).
Esa deformación es producto de la confusión sonora que también se da en, por ejemplo:
Güevo, en lugar del correcto huevo.

Este tipo de confusiones se extienden sobre todo en personas poco instruidas o educadas, con poca o nula capacidad lectora. Yo recuerdo haber escrito "guevo"-sí, incluso sin diéresis, pues es otro detalle que se aprende a base de estudio y práctica- siendo pequeño, cuando la profesora dictaba y decía correctamente huevo. Y, como yo, muchos otros alumnos en fase de aprendizaje.

Pero en este caso, en México sobre todo, se ha acabado incorporando como palabra correcta, si bien su uso es discutido, como podemos leer a lo largo del tema, y por lo tanto hay que escribirla según suena realmente. Si dicen /gwej/, (la w es la u diptongada, y la j es la i diptongada, vamos, lo más parecido si un inglés lee la palabra WAY) en castellano hay que escribirlo tal cual, güey.
GÜEY

Yo la primera vez que la vi y como una de sus traducciones era " guy" en inglés, pensé que los mexicanos tomaran esa palabra de sus vecinos norteños.

Aunque tiene cierto parecido, no tiene nada que ver con gay, del inglés _gay_.
Palabra esta que también tiene su aquel (hay hispanohablantes que la pronunciación a la inglesa, esto es, tendrían que escribirla como "guey" en español, ahí la u no suena, como en guerra. Para que suene la u hay que ponerle los dos puntos, la diéresis)
http://lema.rae.es/dpd/srv/search?key=gay


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## melasa

Graciela J said:


> That would be "guey", without the dieresis. In this case, the "u" is not pronounced.



Ok..So, “Güey” would be pronounced with the dieresis phonetically in English:
“goo—ay”

And “Guey” would be phonetically pronounced in English: “Gay”

I had no idea that “Guey” was was the Spanish version “Gay.”

I thought that gay was just universal in both languages for referring to a homosexual, “without” the pejoratives, joto and maricón.

Then we have Güey, if not pronouncing the dieresis emphatically, it could sound like “gay,” further adding to confusing, and offending someone inadvertently when trying to say “güey.”


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## Graciela J

melasa said:


> Ok..So, “Güey” would be pronounced with the dieresis phonetically in English:
> “goo—ay”
> 
> And “Guey” would be phonetically pronounced in English: “Gay”
> 
> I had no idea that “Guey” was was the Spanish version “Gay.”
> 
> I thought that gay was just universal in both languages for referring to a homosexual, “without” the pejoratives, joto and maricón.
> 
> Then we have Güey, if not pronouncing the dieresis emphatically, it could sound like “gay,” further adding to confusing, and offending someone inadvertently when trying to say “güey.”



Actually, at least in Argentina, the word is written "gay". "Guey" is the way that it is pronounced here.

The dieresis is not pronounced, it is just a diacritic that shows that the* "u" is pronounced.*


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## melasa

FYI:

In the word reference dictionary, gay  is the translation for gay, from English to Spanish/English. So, Graciela J, guey according to Word reference doesn’t exist as a translation for gay, regardless if it has a dieresis or not....As jilar was saying, Words are miss-pronounced....

Guey does NOT exist in the word reference dictionary either. 

When someone says güey, it can sound similar to “gay,” which added to my confusion,  when, in effect, I could have been missled by the bad spelling of “büey,” and its misuse disseminated like wildfire...perhaps....

I think jilar is on the right track with his reasoning.


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## jilar

melasa said:


> I had no idea that “Guey” was was the Spanish version “Gay.”


No, la palabra se ha integrado al idioma español según su forma escrita en inglés. En el diccionario verás Gay, nunca Guey. Su plural es gais. Todo esto en español.
No debes confundir la escritura con la forma de pronunciar una palabra.
Gay - Eso así escrito un hispanohablante debe leerlo como /gaj/ (la j es la i diptongada, que por escrito se escribe con una Y. Rey, soy, hoy, ...)

Hay hispanohablantes que la pronuncian como si fueran angloparlantes. Y eso es un error para palabras integradas en su idioma. Estas deben leerse según las reglas del idioma propio, no del que han sido tomadas.


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## melasa

Graciela J said:


> Actually, at least in Argentina, the word is written "gay". "Guey" is the way that it is pronounced here.
> 
> The dieresis is not pronounced, it is just a diacritic that shows that the* "u" is pronounced.*



Yes, but the word gay exists “in Spanish”, and the word guey does not exist. It is just a phonetical explanation.., please look up the word gay in the word reference  dictionary, and it says gay is the same in Spanish,  just pronounced differently… Hence, that is what you are referring to with Guey, but it is NOT a word that exists in word reference.


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## melasa

jilar said:


> No, la palabra se ha integrado al idioma español según su forma escrita en inglés. En el diccionario verás Gay, nunca Guey. Su plural es gais. Todo esto en español.
> No debes confundir la escritura con la forma de pronunciar una palabra.
> Gay - Eso así escrito un hispanohablante debe leerlo como /gaj/ (la j es la i diptongada, que por escrito se escribe con una Y. Rey, soy, hoy, ...)
> 
> Hay hispanohablantes que la pronuncian como si fueran angloparlantes. Y eso es un error para palabras integradas en su idioma. Estas deben leerse según las reglas del idioma propio, no del que han sido tomadas.


 I agree


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## melasa

Guey for “guy” Does NOT exist in the WR Dictionary, too.


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## jilar

Graciela J said:


> Actually, at least in Argentina, the word is written "gay". "Guey" is the way that it is pronounced here.


Eso se permite académica o formalmente. Pero en estos casos, cuando una palabra se pronuncia imitando la forma de hacerlo en el idioma original, si tenemos que escribir eso, debemos hacerlo constar. ¿Cómo?
Con el uso de cursiva, para así denotar que es una palabra tomada, y pronunciada, de otro idioma.

Pero, claro, mucha gente se olvida de esos detalles.

En fin, dos maneras de hacerlo:
1.Adaptada e integrada plenamente al idioma español:
- Tengo un amigo gay (y decir /gaj/)
2.Uso según su origen:
- Tengo un amigo _gay_ (y decir como en inglés, o lo más parecido posible, que si tuviéramos que transcribir a español sería escribiendo "guey")

Hay palabras que fácilmente se integran al español tomando la forma escrita, partiendo de otro idioma, un ejemplo sería gay.

Hay otras que tienen mejor integración según la pronunciación, caso por ejemplo de fútbol, a partir de _football_.

_Football_ tiene difícil integración en español, por dos razones principalmente:
Doble o y final en doble l.

Lo mismo pasa con _baseball_, que se integra como béisbol.


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## mariente

significa muchacho/tipo/pibe


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## mariente

No es asi. En Argentina, un gay es un homosexual.
Güey es un término lunfardo del español mexicano para decir tipo/pibe/muchacho.


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## melasa

Basil Ganglia said:


> For what it's worth - in the Roberto Rodriguez film "El Mariachi", one of the characters (Azul, who is a drug dealer) walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a beer.  The bartender opens a bottle, and begins to pour the beer into a glass. Azul says to the bartender, "En botella, güey".  The English language subtitles render this as "In a bottle, asshole".
> 
> From the information in this thread it's seems to me that this this is a word that can easily be misunderstood even among people who are native speakers of Spanish.  As a non-native speaker, güey is in my list of words to never use under any circumstances and be alert for when it is used in my presence.



Interesting...yes I remember that scene in El Mariachi...the translation conveyed it very strong and offensive..,so maybe if you drop the B from büey and add a G, güey and add a frown and upset temperment it becomes a strong insult...


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## Nipnip

melasa said:


> Interesting...yes I remember that scene in El Mariachi...the translation conveyed it very strong and offensive..,so maybe if you drop the B from büey and add a G, güey and add a frown and upset temperment it becomes a strong insult...



It is not much of an insult, especially in a cantina where everyone is usually foul-mouthed. In Mexican Spanish, amongst people with poor exposure to academic environments, *bue*, *güe *and _*hue *_at the beginning of a word seem to be confused and assimilated in the same sound.

Juan es muy güena gente.
Comí güevo con chorizo.

Therefore, informally, you will commonly find _güero _and _güey _spelled as *wero *and *wey*.


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## Davidrc

It simply means "fool" in a friendly way. This said, I wouldn´t recommend it to use it with strangers/people you don´t know or major people, i.e. teachers, parents, etc.


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## melasa

Nipnip said:


> It is not much of an insult, especially in a cantina where everyone is usually foul-mouthed. In Mexican Spanish, amongst people with poor exposure to academic environments, *bue*, *güe *and _*hue *_at the beginning of a word seem to be confused and assimilated in the same sound.
> 
> Juan es muy güena gente.
> Comí güevo con chorizo.
> 
> Therefore, informally, you will commonly find _güero _and _güey _spelled as *wero *and *wey*.


 
That is true. But, tone, demeanor, and inflection could also have a lot to do with how a word is interpreted, in this case, güey, was subtitled a strong cussword.

For example, with the English expression of dude, depending on how you pronounce it, that is, with the inflection you give it, happy, sad, scared, angry,  that feeling is conveyed when you use it according to the feeling. Büey/güey could fall into this kind of usage…

If someone is mad, and says dude! Very loudly, to another person… It conveys possibly, what the fuck? For example, if a coworker spilled hot coffee on you… You might yell at them… Dude! In an angry way… Hence, really saying (in a way) what the fuck? “ #%#%” etc. Etc...

But, If someone greets their friend with dude, it can convey many different meanings. It all depends on how the vowels are pronounced in dude...

For example, If I know a friend of mine is in big trouble, I would start a conversation with: duuuuuuuude..As in, wow, you’re in deep shit… Or maybe less of a bad word, depending on my tone of all of the vowels in between and my emotion and inflection.

Güey in this scene was interpreted as asshole, probably due to the reasons that I mentioned above with my examples of dude, which perhaps has the same similarities.


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## Nipnip

melasa said:


> That is true. But, tone, demeanor, and inflection could also have a lot to do with how a word is interpreted, in this case, güey, was subtitled a strong cussword.
> 
> For example, with the English expression of dude, depending on how you pronounce it, that is, with the inflection you give it, happy, sad, scared, angry,  that feeling is conveyed when you use it according to the feeling. Büey/güey could fall into this kind of usage…
> 
> If someone is mad, and says dude! Very loudly, to another person… It conveys possibly, what the fuck? For example, if a coworker spilled hot coffee on you… You might yell at them… Dude! In an angry way… Hence, really saying (in a way) what the fuck? “ #%#%” etc. Etc...
> 
> But, If someone greets their friend with dude, it can convey many different meanings. It all depends on how the vowels are pronounced in dude...
> 
> For example, If I know a friend of mine is in big trouble, I would start a conversation with: duuuuuuuude..As in, wow, you’re in deep shit… Or maybe less of a bad word, depending on my tone of all of the vowels in between and my emotion and inflection.
> 
> Güey in this scene was interpreted as asshole, probably due to the reasons that I mentioned above with my examples of dude, which perhaps has the same similarities.


Regardless of the tone and context, _güey _is much less of a curse word than _asshole. Pendejo_, on the other hand can have many meanings depending on context. Anything from an endearment term to call a friend, to a curse word uttered from the guts.


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## melasa

Nipnip said:


> Regardless of the tone and context, _güey _is much less of a curse word than _asshole. Pendejo_, on the other hand can have many meanings depending on context. Anything from an endearment term to call a friend, to a curse word uttered from the guts.



Yes. In itself, güey is not a curse word. Maybe in that scene they pushed the envelope on the severity of the use of the word. I maybe would have interpreted it as an emphatic Man(!!). That is debatable. Subtitles definitely are questionable since they are not certified and official translations...as we all notice with subtitles....I usually question their accuracy. I think subtitles are different than translations that are official, Because they try to convey the spirit of the scene and characters.  However, that does have some merit into the spirit of how people say words,  which seems to agree with your example of the bipolar opposite of pendejo.  If you are truly pissed off at a friend, and turn on him, and say ¡pendejo! ,  I can assure you that the spirit is no longer endearing.  But yes, I do see what you’re saying… Maybe Güey still  by virtue of the word can’t reach that harsh of a level intrinsically,  but at the same time, it can definitely reach a stronger level… But, if you want to reach the strongest level, that character probably should have used stronger word, such as pendejo.

But, tone and meaning do exist , definitely with your comparison of the word “pendejo,” polar opposites, from endearing, to hostile. But I’m not sure if you are implying that this just doesn’t apply to güey, simply by itself,  as not a curse word, ever, even with different context and tone.


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## Nipnip

melasa said:


> But I’m not sure if you are implying that this just doesn’t apply to güey, simply by itself,  as not a curse word, ever, even with different context and tone.


 No, I am not implying that. All I am saying is that both words said in contempt, _güey _and _pendejo_,  the latter wins hands down. And that _güey _does not carry the strong implications that _asshole _does.


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## melasa

Nipnip said:


> No, I am not implying that. All I am saying is that both words said in contempt, _güey _and _pendejo_,  the latter wins hands down. And that _güey _does not carry the strong implications that _asshole _does.



I can agree. Intrinsically, güey can not rise to the level of asshole, even in contempt.
That subtitle was wrong. It was more like saying man with an attitude problem.


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## Rodal

toxicosmos said:


> It means something like *mate*, or *dude*, but just in Mexico and maybe some countries in America.
> In Spain _buey_ just means *ox*.


 In Chile also, buey means ox
You call a chilean a buey, and they will be offended since an ox does not have any balls.


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## Rodal

jilar said:


> Eso se permite académica o formalmente. Pero en estos casos, cuando una palabra se pronuncia imitando la forma de hacerlo en el idioma original, si tenemos que escribir eso, debemos hacerlo constar. ¿Cómo?
> Con el uso de cursiva, para así denotar que es una palabra tomada, y pronunciada, de otro idioma.
> 
> Pero, claro, mucha gente se olvida de esos detalles.
> 
> En fin, dos maneras de hacerlo:
> 1.Adaptada e integrada plenamente al idioma español:
> - Tengo un amigo gay (y decir /gaj/)
> 2.Uso según su origen:
> - Tengo un amigo _gay_ (y decir como en inglés, o lo más parecido posible, que si tuviéramos que transcribir a español sería escribiendo "guey")
> 
> Hay palabras que fácilmente se integran al español tomando la forma escrita, partiendo de otro idioma, un ejemplo sería gay.
> 
> Hay otras que tienen mejor integración según la pronunciación, caso por ejemplo de fútbol, a partir de _football_.
> 
> _Football_ tiene difícil integración en español, por dos razones principalmente:
> Doble o y final en doble l.
> 
> Lo mismo pasa con _baseball_, que se integra como béisbol.



No jilar, no se trata de _gay_, ni tampoco _guy_. La palabra _guey_ es una palabra mexicana que tampoco significa buey. 
La usan del mismo modo que en España usan la palabra tío (dude). No es despectiva.


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## jilar

Rodal, por favor, fíjate a qué/quién respondo con eso que me citas. Y fíjate quién ha añadido gay al hilo. Melasa hace pocos días, rescatando un tema que hace varios años estaba mudo.

Y tampoco ayuda que escribas guey, cuando deberías hacerlo como güey.
En fin, parece que ya ni sabemos en qué estamos escribiendo, si un idioma u otro, o si palabras aceptadas o secuencias fonológicas.

#Guey#, como palabra escrita aceptada, no me consta en ninguno de los idiomas aquí discutidos.
Sí si me dices que es cómo pronuncian , simplificando, la palabra Gay tanto en inglés como algunos hispanohablantes, estos últimos lo harían así por leerla a la inglesa. Como cuando vemos escrito iPod y esa i decimos /ai/


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## Rodal

jilar said:


> Rodal, por favor, fíjate a qué/quién respondo con eso que me citas. Y fíjate quién ha añadido gay al hilo. Melasa hace pocos días, rescatando un tema que hace varios años estaba mudo.
> 
> Y tampoco ayuda que escribas guey, cuando deberías hacerlo como güey.
> En fin, parece que ya ni sabemos en qué estamos escribiendo, si un idioma u otro, o si palabras aceptadas o secuencias fonológicas.
> 
> #Guey#, como palabra escrita aceptada, no me consta en ninguno de los idiomas aquí discutidos.
> Sí si me dices que es cómo pronuncian , simplificando, la palabra Gay tanto en inglés como algunos hispanohablantes, estos últimos lo harían así por leerla a la inglesa. Como cuando vemos escrito iPod y esa i decimos /ai/



Sí jilar, he visto ahora que te referías a la fonética de la palabra inglesa "_gay"_ en español "_guey _" (sin diéresis) que por acá nadie la usa ya que para decir gay en español se usa la misma palabra _gay_ en cursiva. No se me ocurriría nunca mencionar a un gay como guey ya que la gran mayoría de hispanos por aquí carecemos de la famosa tecla para poner la diéresis y se entendería como guey con diéresis aún cuando no la tenga como me ha pasado a mi.

Volviendo al tema, me refería a guey con diéresis (que vuelvo a repetir, no logro conseguir la diéresis desde mi tablero), tiene el signficado de dude en inglés.



jilar said:


> Y tampoco ayuda que escribas guey, cuando deberías hacerlo como güey.


No tengo la tecla. ¿Sabes cuál es la fórmula numérica?


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## jilar

Vale, ya veo.
El código numérico usando la tecla Alt te lo resuelve una búsqueda en la red.
Por otro lado, tienes justo cuando vas a escribir una respuesta aquí una serie de botones encima del cuadro para responder.
El último botón, con una Omega mayúscula, Ω, te permite directamente poner la u con su diéresis, además de todas las vocales con tilde.

En mi caso tengo la tecla en el mismo teclado. Así que nunca precisé nada de lo anterior.
Si escribes con un móvil, con teclado virtual, si pulsas la u y la mantienes pulsada te aparecen todas las posibilidades con esa letra.
Ū, ù, û, ü, 7, ú
Eso al menos el mío.


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## Amapolas

Rodal said:


> No tengo la tecla. ¿Sabes cuál es la fórmula numérica?


ü = alt+129


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## Rodal

jilar said:


> Vale, ya veo.
> El código numérico usando la tecla Alt te lo resuelve una búsqueda en la red.
> Por otro lado, tienes justo cuando vas a escribir una respuesta aquí una serie de botones encima del cuadro para responder.
> El último botón, con una Omega mayúscula, Ω, te permite directamente poner la u con su diéresis, además de todas las vocales con tilde.
> 
> En mi caso tengo la tecla en el mismo teclado. Así que nunca precisé nada de lo anterior.
> Si escribes con un móvil, con teclado virtual, si pulsas la u y la mantienes pulsada te aparecen todas las posibilidades con esa letra.
> Ū, ù, û, ü, 7, ú
> Eso al menos el mío.



Gracias Jilar.


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## Rodal

Amapolas said:


> ü = alt+129


 gracias.


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## boroman

Güey puede tener un origen muy distinto a buey. Puede ser un apócope de ¡bueno! o ¡qué fue!, maneras indirectas de referirse a una persona o a una situación determinada.


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## jilar

boroman said:


> Güey puede tener un origen muy distinto a buey. Puede ser un apócope de ¡bueno! o ¡qué fue!, maneras indirectas de referirse a una persona o a una situación determinada.


Por poder, lo que se dice poder, puede venir de cualquier cosa que se nos ocurra. Yo te podría sugerir que es una variante de guay. De ahí que se mantenga la sonoridad de la u. (Tío guay = güey)

O todo lo contrario, que no viene de ningún otro vocablo anterior, sino que es una creación propia que en su día a alguien se le ocurrió. La usó, a otros hablantes les gustó y se empezó a extender su uso.


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