maldita sea
What does “maldita sea” mean in English?
This is an exclamation similar to saying 'damn it.' It's a way to express frustration or annoyance.
Literally “may it be damned”
You'd use it like you would 'damn' in English, often as a reaction to something irritating. It's less intense than more explicit swearing, focusing more on frustration than aggression.
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Related Spanish words
maldito
2/5 · CoarseIt means 'damned' and is often used as a curse or to intensify an insult. In some contexts, it can have a literal religious connotation.
hostia
3/5 · VulgarThis refers to a communion host, but it's often used as an exclamation to express surprise or frustration. It can also denote something impressive or a strong hit.
carajo
3/5 · VulgarIt’s an exclamation of annoyance or emphasis, similar to saying 'damn' or 'fuck.'
me cago en Dios
5/5 · ExtremeThis is a strong blasphemous exclamation that expresses frustration or anger. Literally, it translates to 'I shit on God.'
About this data
Swear Atlas is a source-attested, AI-curated reference — not a native-speaker-certified dictionary. Meanings and the 1–5 Burn Rating are approximate editorial assessments that vary with context, region, tone and speaker. Inclusion of a word does not constitute endorsement of its use.
The literal gloss is a short editorial translation to show word-for-word sense, not an etymological claim.
“Sounds like” is an English-friendly approximation of how the word sounds, not an authoritative pronunciation. Where shown, the romanisation is a conventional Latin-script transliteration of the original spelling.
Term attested via FlacSy/BadWords, washyourmouthoutwithsoap (MIT AND CC-BY-4.0, MIT). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.