Today’s Spanish word of the day is “perro” in the masculine form, or “perra” in the feminine form.
It’s a noun meaning “dog”, or “bitch” (in the feminine form).
Unlike in English where the word “bitch” is considered rude except when used in certain contexts such as dog breeding, in Spanish it is normal to refer to female dogs using the word “perra”. So, if you have a female dog, you would refer to it as “mi perra” (“my [female] dog”) rather than “mi perro” (“my [male] dog”), and this wouldn’t sound vulgar. However, if you refer to a woman as a “perra”, it would be offensive!
The etymology of “perro/perra” is unknown, and curiously words for dog in related languages are very different, for example Catalan gos, French chien and Italian cane. Some think the word “perro/perra” could come from a pre-Roman language, while others think it may have been onomatopoeic, imitating the sound a dog makes.
Example sentences
Mi perro es muy juguetón; le encanta correr por el parque.
My dog is very playful; he loves running around the park.
La perra de mi vecina acaba de tener cachorros.
My neighbor’s dog just had puppies.
Mi perro se comió mi tarea.
My dog ate my homework.
El perro ladraba sin parar mientras el cartero pasaba frente a la casa.
The dog barked non-stop as the mailman walked past the house.
Mi perro siempre me recibe con alegría, sin importar lo mal que haya sido mi día.
My dog always greets me with joy, no matter how bad my day has been.
