vs
QUICK ANSWER
"Cagar" is an intransitive verb which is often translated as "to shit", and "cargar" is a transitive verb which is often translated as "to load". Learn more about the difference between "cagar" and "cargar" below.
cagar(
kah
-
gahr
)An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., The man sneezed.).
1. (vulgar) (to defecate)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
b. to take a shit (vulgar) (United States)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
Regionalism used in the United States
¿Hay un baño por aquí? Tengo que cagar.Is there a bathroom around here? I have to take a shit.
c. to have a shit (vulgar) (United Kingdom)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
Regionalism used in the United Kingdom
Si vas a cagar, cómprame una cerveza de regreso del baño.If you're going to have a shit, get me a beer on your way back from the toilet.
e. to take a crap (vulgar) (United States)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
Regionalism used in the United States
¿Vas a cagar? - No, solo voy a mear.Are you going to take a crap? - Nah, I'm just going to take a piss.
f. to have a crap (vulgar) (United Kingdom)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
Regionalism used in the United Kingdom
Voy a cagar antes de que nos vayamos.I'm going to have a crap before we leave.
g. to poop (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
¡Ay, no! La nena cagó en el inodoro que no funciona.Oh no! The little girl pooped in the broken toilet.
h. to poo (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
¡Mamá! ¡Tengo que cagar!Mommy! I need to poo!
2. (vulgar) (to have had it) (River Plate)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
a. to be screwed
Me quedé sin plata y no traje la tarjeta de crédito. ¡Cagamos!I ran out of money and didn't bring the credit card. We're screwed!
A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., I bought a book.).
a. to fuck up (vulgar)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
Cagaste mi cita con tus pendejadas.You fucked up my date with your stupid shit.
b. to spoil
Mariano y Luis se empezaron a pelear y nos cagaron la fiesta.Mariano and Luis started to fight and they spoiled our party.
c. to make a mess of
Guau, realmente cagaste todo, ¿verdad?Wow, you really made a mess of everything, didn't you?
d. to mess up (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
Cagué mi proyecto final y reprobé el curso.I messed up my final project and failed the class.
4. (vulgar) (to make angry) (Mexico)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
Regionalism used in Mexico
a. to piss off (slang)
A very informal word or phrase used by a particular group or community as a substitute for standard language (e.g., joint, john).
Me caga que pongan siempre las mismas películas por Navidad.It pisses me off that they always show the same movies at Christmas.
5. (vulgar) (to scold) (Costa Rica) (Mexico)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
Regionalism used in Costa Rica
Regionalism used in Mexico
a. to tell off
La jefa lo cagó por no terminar el trabajo a tiempo.His boss told him off for not finishing the work on time.
6. (vulgar) (to cheat) (River Plate)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
a. to rip off (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
El negocio iba muy bien, pero el socio lo cagó y perdió todo.Business was going well, but his partner ripped him off and he lost everything.
cagarse
A pronominal verb always uses a reflexive pronoun. (e.g., Te ves cansado.).
7. (vulgar) (to defecate)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
a. to shit oneself (vulgar)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
¡Sal del baño ya mismo! ¡Me estoy cagando!Get out of the bathroom now! I'm shitting myself!
8. (vulgar) (to feel scared)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
a. to shit oneself (vulgar)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
¡Ese tipo se está cagando! - Pues, sí. Digo, el otro boxeador está enorme.That guy is totally shitting himself! - Well, yeah. I mean, the other boxer is huge.
b. to be scared shitless (vulgar)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
Ayer tenía una entrevista de trabajo pero me cagué y no fui.I had a job interview yesterday, but I was scared shitless and didn't go.
9. (vulgar) (to get ruined)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
a. to get fucked up (vulgar)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
Se cagó por completo mi viaje cuando perdí mi pasaporte.My trip got totally fucked up when I lost my passport.
b. to get messed up (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
Se nos cagó la computadora cuando se cortó la electricidad.Our computer got messed up when the power went out.
A reflexive verb is a verb that indicates that the subject performs an action on itself (e.g., Miguel se lava.).
a. to fuck up (vulgar)
A word or phrase that is crude, indecent, and generally rejected by society.
¡Caray! Ese tipo se cagó totalmente la cara.Jeez! That guy totally fucked his face up.
b. to mess up (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
Pedro se cayó de la moto y se cagó la muñeca.Pedro fell off his bike and messed up his wrist.
cargar(
kahr
-
gahr
)A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., I bought a book.).
2. (weaponry)
a. to load
Ronaldo cargó su pistola y apuntó al blanco.Ronaldo loaded his gun and pointed it at the target.
a. to charge
Asegúrate de cargar tu celular antes de salir.Make sure to charge your cellphone before heading out.
a. to carry
Tuve que cargar con todos los documentos porque no sabía cuáles iba a necesitar.I had to carry all the documents because I didn't know which ones I was going to need.
5. (to use) (Latin America)
Regionalism used in Latin America: all the countries in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Does not include Spain.
a. to wear
¿Desde cuándo cargas lentes Felipe? - Desde que cumplí 40.Since when do you wear glasses Felipe? - Since I turned 40.
6. (finance)
a. to charge
Voy a cargar todos los regalos en mi tarjeta de crédito.I'm going to charge all my gifts on my credit card.
7. (to accuse)
a. to blame
Quieren cargarle la culpa a Claudia, pero el verdadero responsable es Ricardo.They want to blame Claudia, but the real culprit is Ricardo.
a. to fill
Cargaste su cabeza de ilusiones. Nunca podrás cumplir todo eso.You filled his head with illusions. You’ll never be able to achieve all of that.
10. (computing)
a. to load
¿Te ayudo a cargar el nuevo sistema operativo en tu computadora?Shall I help you load the new operating system on your computer?
a. to burden
El papá de Alex le cargó mucha responsabilidad desde la muerte de su madre.Alex’s dad burdened him with a lot of responsibilities after his mother’s death.
12. (colloquial) (to fail)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
a. to flunk
El profesor cargó media clase el semestre pasado.The teacher flunked half his class last semester.
13. (dice)
a. to load
No te preocupes. Voy a ganar porque cargué los dados.Don’t worry. I’m going to win because I loaded the dice.
14. (to annoy)
a. to bug
Ese político no es más que un fanfarrón que goza cargarle a la gente decente.That politician is nothing more than a show-off who enjoys bugging decent people.
b. no direct translation
This refers to an idiomatic word or phrase for which there is no word-for-word translation.
Me carga tener que aguantar la novia de mi hermano.I can't stand having to put up with my brother's girlfriend.
Me carga que siempre la escojan a ella.It gets on my nerves that they always choose her.
An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., The man sneezed.).
15. (to bring)
a. to carry
El botones cargó con nuestro equipaje y nos condujo a la habitación.The bellboy carried our luggage, and guided us to our room.
16. (to take on)
a. to bear
Dora empezó a cargar con todos los gastos cuando su esposo estaba desempleado.Dora began to bear all the expenses when her husband was unemployed.
b. to take
Tomás cargó con la culpa del accidente para que no llevaran a su esposa a la cárcel.Tomas took the blame for the accident so they wouldn't put his wife in jail.
17. (to attack)
a. to charge
El toro rompió la barrera y cargó contra la multitud.The bull broke the barrier and charged at the crowd.
18. (architecture)
a. to be supported by
El dintel se carga en dos pilares de mármol.The lintel is supported by two marble pillars.
b. to rest on
El puente se carga en una docena de pilares masivos para apoyar el peso del tráfico.The bridge rests on a dozen massive pillars to support the weight of the traffic.
cargarse
A pronominal verb always uses a reflexive pronoun. (e.g., Te ves cansado.).
19. (computing)
a. to load
Tengo una conexión lenta y se va a tardar un rato para cargarse.I have a slow connection and it will take a while to load.
20. (electronics)
a. to charge
Las pilas se cargaron por completo durante la noche.The batteries fully charged overnight.
b. to become charged
Las partículas de gas de la termósfera se cargan de energía del sol.Gas particles in the thermosphere become charged by energy from the sun.
21. (to make full)
a. to fill up
El tanque se carga en unos dos o tres minutos.The tank fills up in two or three minutes.
22. (colloquial) (to kill)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
a. to take out (slang)
A very informal word or phrase used by a particular group or community as a substitute for standard language (e.g., joint, john).
Se lo cargaron unos mafiosos a los que debía mucho dinero.Some mafiosi he owed a lot of money to took him out.
b. to bump off (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
El pozolero se cargaba a sus víctimas metiéndolas en barriles de ácido.The pozolero bumped off his victims by putting them in barrels of acid.
c. to whack (colloquial) (United States)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
Regionalism used in the United States
Se cargó a sus compinches para quedarse con todo el botín.He whacked his accomplices to keep all the loot.
23. (to bother)
a. to get on someone's nerves
Me carga que hayan escogido a un pedante para dar la oratoria de la graduación.It gets on my nerves that they chose a pedant to give the graduation speech.x
a. to fill
El salón de póker se cargó del humo de habanos.The poker salon filled with the smoke of cigars.
b. to shoulder
Rebecca se cargó con los quehaceres domésticos desde que su mamá se enfermó.Rebecca shouldered the household chores since her mother became ill.
c. to have
Se cargó de hijos, y no hacía nada más que lavar, planchar y cocinar.She had several children, and did nothing more than wash, iron, and cook.
25. (to destroy)
b. to ruin
Estuvo mal el alcalde anterior, pero por lo menos no se cargó el pueblo como el actual.The last mayor was bad, but at least he didn’t ruin the town like the current one.
c. to smash
Se cargó el jarrón que estaba en la mesa cuando empezó a temblar la Tierra.The vase that was on the table smashed when the Earth started to shake.
26. (colloquial) (to fail)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
a. to flunk (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
La clase de química orgánica es tan difícil que casi todos se cargan.The organic chemistry class is so hard that almost everyone flunks.
