How to Say "hired gun" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “hired gun” is “mercenario” — B1 level.
Examples
El ejército contrató a un mercenario para la misión.
The army hired a mercenary for the mission.
Muchos mercenarios lucharon en guerras antiguas por dinero y no por ideales.
Many mercenaries fought in ancient wars for money and not for ideals.
En las noticias hablaron sobre la presencia de mercenarios extranjeros en la frontera.
The news talked about the presence of foreign mercenaries on the border.
Person-specific forms
Even though we are looking at the word ending in -o, remember to change it to 'mercenaria' if you are talking about a female soldier hired for pay.
Noun usage
When used as a person, it always needs an article (like 'un' or 'el') before it, just like the word 'soldier' does in English.
Don't confuse with 'soldado'
Mistake: “Calling a regular army member a 'mercenario'.”
Correction: Use 'soldado' for someone serving their own country. 'Mercenario' implies they are only doing it for the paycheck and often for another country.
Related Translations
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