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Slang file #020Here to stayFriends

What does carnal mean?

Say itkahr-NAHL/kaɾˈnal/noun (form of address); also adjective

Where you’ll hear it
  • Mexico
  • Mexican Americans in the US
  • Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua (as an adjective)
  • Argentina and Venezuela (as an adjective)

Mexican slang for a brother or sister, or for a very close friend treated like one, much like "bro" in English.

Written by the Second Language TeamWritten

Carnal is Spanish slang, mainly from Mexico, for a brother or sister. It also means a friend so close they feel like family [1]. It works a lot like "bro" in English. The same word works for men and women. Many people also say carnala for a sister or a close female friend. You hear it from Mexican friends and in Mexican American families in the US, often in the middle of an English sentence.

Say it kahr-NAHL, with the stress at the end. The r is one quick tap of the tongue, like the tt in "butter" when Americans say it fast. Carnal is casual and friendly, not rude. One warning: in standard Spanish, the adjective carnal means "of the flesh" or "lustful," just like the English word [2]. The slang you want is the noun, as in mi carnal ("my bro").

Word stats

How casual
Popular, friendly slang for people you’re close to. Calling a stranger carnal is like hugging someone you just met.
OK at work
Fine with a coworker who is also your friend. Leave it out of emails and meetings.
Abuela-safe
Nothing bad about it, though abuela (grandma) may still want you to call your brother by his name.
Rudeness
Not rude as slang. The risk is the standard adjective, which means "lustful," so don’t call a friendship una relación carnal.
Freshness
Not new and not fading: about as many people look it up now as a year ago.

Spotted in the wild

Group chat · weekend plans
  1. Memocarnal you coming to the carne asada saturday?
  2. Youfor sure, what do I bring
  3. Memohielo y tortillas, carnal 🙏

What it means here: Memo calls you carnal, "bro," because you’re close friends. A carne asada is a cookout with grilled meat, and "hielo y tortillas" means "ice and tortillas."

Text from your brother · Tuesday
  1. Diegooye carnal, can you pick up mom from the airport?
  2. Youwhat time
  3. Diego6. gracias carnal, te debo una

What it means here: Here carnal is a real brother. "Oye" means "hey," and "gracias, te debo una" means "thanks, I owe you one."

Comments on a photo post
  1. Sofi20 años con mi carnala 💛
  2. Lilite quiero carnala, ya somos viejitas 😂
  3. Youthis is so cute

What it means here: Carnala is the form for a woman. Sofi means her best friend, not her sister: "20 years with my sis," and Lili answers "love you, sis, we’re little old ladies now."

How to use it

  • mi carnal (my brother, my best friend)Te presento a Beto, es mi carnal. ("Meet Beto, he’s my bro.")
  • greeting + carnal¿Qué onda, carnal? ("What’s up, bro?")
  • carnal inside EnglishThanks for the ride, carnal.
  • somos carnales (we’re like brothers)Somos carnales desde la primaria. ("We’ve been like brothers since elementary school.")
  • carnalito / carnalita (little brother or sister, or extra affection)Mi carnalito cumple diez años. ("My little brother turns ten.")

Don’t say it like this

  • Sounds offTengo una relación carnal con mi roommate. (meaning "we’re really close")

    Say thisMi roommate es mi carnal. ("My roommate is my bro.")

    In standard Spanish, the adjective carnal means "of the flesh" or "lustful" [2], so "una relación carnal" sounds like a sexual relationship. Use the noun, after mi.

  • Sounds off"CAR-nul"

    Say this"kahr-NAHL"

    The stress goes on the last syllable, both a’s sound like "ah," and the r is a quick tap. "CAR-nul" is the English word.

  • Sounds off"He said es mi carnal, so they must have the same parents."

    Say this"He said he’s his brother, or his best friend."

    In Mexico, carnal can mean a brother or sister, or a very close friend [1]. Only the context, or asking, tells you which.

  • Sounds offSaying ¿Qué pasa, carnal? to a new friend in Madrid

    Say thisSaving carnal for Mexican friends and Mexican American friends

    We found no sign that people in Spain use the slang, and the RAE’s main dictionary lists only the standard meanings [2].

carnal or not?

Is each of these carnal? Pick an answer to find out.

  1. A guy in Monterrey, Mexico, says "este es mi carnal" ("this is my carnal") and introduces his best friend.

  2. A family tree labels someone as "primo carnal."

  3. Your coworker Marisol says "mi carnal me ayudó a mudarme" ("my carnal helped me move").

  4. A sermon talks about "lo carnal y lo espiritual" ("the carnal and the spiritual").

The carnal family

  • carnalitoThe small form: a little brother, or an extra-warm carnal (carnalita for a girl or woman).Usually the one who borrows your hoodie and never gives it back.
  • cuateMexican slang for a buddy; it can also mean a twin.A cuate is a friend. A carnal is the friend who helps you move.
  • manoShort for hermano ("brother"), used to mean "buddy."Two syllables, because hermano was taking too long.

Where it came from

  1. 1950George C. Barker’s study of Pachuco slang, the slang of young Mexican Americans in Tucson, Arizona, lists carnal as "related by blood" in standard Spanish and "brother, pal" in slang [3].
  2. TodayThe Diccionario de americanismos lists carnal as a close friend or a sibling in Mexico [1], while the RAE’s main dictionary still has only the standard meanings [2]. Mexican friends keep using it anyway.

Brother, best friend, or something else?

Carnal has slang meanings and standard meanings. The slang meanings are listed in the Diccionario de americanismos, a dictionary of Latin American Spanish [1]. The main dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (the RAE, which sets standard Spanish) does not list any of them. It has only the standard meanings [2]. Still, the slang most likely started as a short form of hermano carnal, a full brother or sister with the same mother and father, a phrase the RAE still lists [2].

How it’s usedExampleWhat it means
Noun, MexicoEs mi carnal."He’s my brother" or "he’s my best friend" [1]
Adjective, young people’s slangSomos bien carnales."We’re super close" [1]
Standard adjectiverelaciones carnales"sexual relations" [2]
Family phraseprimo carnal"first cousin" [2]

The slang adjective ("very close") is listed for young people in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Argentina, and Venezuela. The noun, for a close friend or a brother or sister, is listed for Mexico only [1].

Mexican Americans have used the word for a long time too. A 1950 study of Pachuco slang in Tucson, Arizona, lists carnal as "brother, pal," and carnala as "sister" [3]. Pachuco slang was the slang of young Mexican Americans in the US Southwest.

How to tell which carnal you heard:

  • Someone calls you carnal, or says mi carnal: it’s the slang. It can mean a real brother or sister, or a best friend. Ask if you need to know which.
  • It describes desires, sins, or relationships in serious writing: it’s the standard meaning, "of the flesh."
  • In Spain or the Caribbean: we found no sign of the slang there, so people may only know the standard meaning.

Sources

  1. carnalAsociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, Diccionario de americanismos
  2. carnalReal Academia Española, Diccionario de la lengua española
  3. Introduction, in Pachuco: An American-Spanish Argot and Its Social Functions in Tucson, ArizonaUniversity of Arizona Press

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