What Does “Me Importa un Pepino” Mean? (I Couldn’t Care Less)

Hola! I’m Mónica, a Spanish teacher from Madrid. In Spanish, when something doesn’t matter to you, it matters “a cucumber”. Or a pepper. Or a radish. Spaniards have a whole vegetable garden for not caring. Here’s how to use it, from the cute version to the ones your grandmother wouldn’t approve of.

How to use “me importa un pepino”

Spanish	English
Me importa un pepino el fútbol.	I couldn’t care less about football.
¿A ti qué te importa? A mí me importa un pepino.	What do you care? I don’t care at all.
Le importa un pepino lo que diga la gente.	He doesn’t give a hoot what people say.
Me importan un pepino las marcas.	I couldn’t care less about brands.

It works like gustar: the thing you don’t care about is the subject. Me importa (one thing), me importan (several things). And the person goes in the pronoun: me, te, le, nos, os, les.

From polite to very rude

Same meaning, different levels. Choose wisely:

• Me importa un pepino / un pimiento / un rábano / un comino: playful, safe with anyone.
• Me importa un bledo: a bit old-fashioned, still safe.
• Me importa un carajo: vulgar.
• Me importa una mierda: very vulgar.
• Me la suda: very vulgar, Spain only. You’ll hear it constantly among young people. Don’t say it at work.

For more of the colourful side of Spanish, see my guide to Spanish swear words.

Similar expressions

Expression	Meaning
Me da igual	I don’t mind / It’s all the same to me (neutral)
Me da lo mismo	It’s all the same to me
Paso	I’m not interested (Spain)
Ni fu ni fa	So-so, neither here nor there
¿Y a mí qué?	So what? What’s it to me?
Me trae sin cuidado	It doesn’t bother me in the slightest (formal-ish)

Careful: me da igual is softer. It means “I don’t mind”, not “I couldn’t care less”. —¿Pizza o pasta? —Me da igual. is perfectly polite.

FAQ

Is “me importa un pepino” rude?

Not really. It’s informal and a bit cheeky, but it’s the clean version. The rude ones are me importa un carajo and me la suda.

Why a cucumber?

Because a cucumber is cheap and ordinary, something with no value. Spanish uses lots of small things (a pepper, a radish, a cumin seed) to mean “nothing at all”.

Is it used in Latin America?

Yes, me importa un pepino and me importa un comino are understood everywhere.

More Spanish expressions from Spain

This article is part of my series on real Spanish expressions, the ones Spaniards use every day and textbooks never teach:

• Estar como una cabra
• Ponerse las pilas
• Costar un ojo de la cara
• No pasa nada
• ¡Qué fuerte!
• Estar hecho polvo
• Ser pan comido
• Estar en las nubes
• Tomar el pelo
• Meter la pata
• Dar la lata
• Echar una mano
• En el quinto pino
• Ojalá
• Venga
• Eres la leche
• Toma tomate, tómalo

👉 See all Spanish expressions from Spain

Expressions are the shortcut to sounding real

Whether your Spanish is perfect? Me importa un pepino. What matters is that you speak it. Download my free guide with 100 real Spanish phrases above, and if you want to know exactly what’s stopping you from speaking, book your Spanish Speaking Roadmap call below.

— Monica Bernabe Perez

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