mezquino
Spanish, adjective
mezquino is spelled M-E-Z-Q-U-I-N-O (8 letters) and appears 1.4 times per million words in written Spanish, the 28,265th most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Mezquino is a Spanish adjective meaning “miserly, mean, stingy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first-person singular present indicative of mezquinar. With an accent, mezquinó is a different word: “third-person singular preterite indicative of mezquinar”. The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Pobre, escaso, necesitado, falto de lo necesario”.
What does mezquino mean in English?
adjective
- 1
miserly, mean, stingy
Era un padre mezquino, y a sus hijos no les compraba dulces no por salud sino por ahorrar.
- 2
petty, small-minded
Sería mezquino de mi parte no perdonarte por ello cuando no tenías toda la información sobre la situación.
verb
- 1
first-person singular present indicative of mezquinar
verb
- 1
third-person singular preterite indicative of mezquinar
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. Pobre, escaso, necesitado, falto de lo necesario. 2. Avaro, egoísta, tacaño. 3. Pequeño, diminuto. 4. Desdichado, desgraciado, infeliz.
The definition in the Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), in Spanish.
Source: Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of mezquino
- mezquina feminine
- mezquinos masculine plural
- mezquinas feminine plural
- mesquino alternative misspelling obsolete
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to mezquino
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is mezquino in Spanish?
mezquino appears 1.4 times per million words in written Spanish.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).