4 ms·

Can any Chilenos chime in on how close ‘hueón’ is to ‘jawn’? In Chile I heard it used to mean a person or a thing, or whatever really.

harperlee 7y ago
Hueón is really written huevón, literally ballsy. In most of South America it is used in a vulgar registry to refer to someone. Initially it was derogatory (having big eggs can also refer to someone being overly cautious, as he walks slowly to “not tread on them”, or to be a sloth), but with extended use it has gradually lost meaning and is more generically used to call someone. Similar transition out of insult as motherfucker. Similar level of vulgarity registry.
sergioj97 7y ago
I'm not Chilean but my girlfriend is, and I thought of that word instantly when I saw this. Even though I'm not Chilean, I'm from Spain and I think I have a decent grasp on its meaning. It can be used to refer to any person or object. I only speak English and Spanish (fluently), but I've always assumed that there are similar words in any language. Terms with extremely open meanings (or terms that at least can be used that way). Of course there are various differences. For example, I assume jawn can be used as a verb (to jawn). "Hueón" (or usually, "weón") can't be used as a verb by itself, but of course you have the verb "webear/huevear", that belongs to the same word family, with the same open meaning but for any action. I don't think, however, that this means "wueon" is less versatile than "jawn". I think it's just because in English it's common to have a noun and a verb that look very similar (a cut/ to cut, a mine/to mine) and in Spanish that's unusual. As a side note, the word "huevo" means egg, and "huevón" can mean "big egg" or refer to someone who, well, has big balls (sometimes used as a mild insult like "dumb"). "Hueón", just as "wueón" or "webón", are all misspellings of "huevón". My own guess is that the term evolved from that original meaning into the wildcard it is today. If any true Chileans show up, feel free to correct my words! And please ignore my obvious lack of linguistics knowledge, that was just my uneducated impression :)

harperlee 7y ago

Hueón is really written huevón, literally ballsy. In most of South America it is used in a vulgar registry to refer to someone. Initially it was derogatory (having big eggs can also refer to someone being overly cautious, as he walks slowly to “not tread on them”, or to be a sloth), but with extended use it has gradually lost meaning and is more generically used to call someone. Similar transition out of insult as motherfucker. Similar level of vulgarity registry.

sergioj97 7y ago

I'm not Chilean but my girlfriend is, and I thought of that word instantly when I saw this. Even though I'm not Chilean, I'm from Spain and I think I have a decent grasp on its meaning. It can be used to refer to any person or object. I only speak English and Spanish (fluently), but I've always assumed that there are similar words in any language. Terms with extremely open meanings (or terms that at least can be used that way). Of course there are various differences. For example, I assume jawn can be used as a verb (to jawn). "Hueón" (or usually, "weón") can't be used as a verb by itself, but of course you have the verb "webear/huevear", that belongs to the same word family, with the same open meaning but for any action. I don't think, however, that this means "wueon" is less versatile than "jawn". I think it's just because in English it's common to have a noun and a verb that look very similar (a cut/ to cut, a mine/to mine) and in Spanish that's unusual. As a side note, the word "huevo" means egg, and "huevón" can mean "big egg" or refer to someone who, well, has big balls (sometimes used as a mild insult like "dumb"). "Hueón", just as "wueón" or "webón", are all misspellings of "huevón". My own guess is that the term evolved from that original meaning into the wildcard it is today. If any true Chileans show up, feel free to correct my words! And please ignore my obvious lack of linguistics knowledge, that was just my uneducated impression :)