Inklingo

How to Say "reckless" in Spanish

The Spanish word forrecklessis animalB2 level.

English → SpanishB2
AdjectiveB2informal
when describing driving or actions
A simple illustration of a person stumbling and dropping several boxes, showing clumsiness.

Examples

¡Qué animal! Rompió el jarrón por no mirar.

How clumsy (or 'what an idiot')! He broke the vase because he wasn't looking.

Este conductor es muy animal, va a 140 km/h en la ciudad.

This driver is very reckless, he’s going 140 km/h in the city.

Informal Adjective Use

When used this way, animal is often used as a descriptive noun/adjective that usually means 'reckless person' or 'oaf' and is applied directly to the person being criticized.

Using the literal meaning

Mistake:Un policía le dijo que era un animal (expecting him to be literally a non-human creature).

Correction: This is almost always hyperbole, meaning the person is acting wildly or irresponsibly, not that they are literally a beast.

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