jopo

Spanish

Etymology

Uncertain. Probably from a pre-Roman substrate word, originally referring to an animal's tail. The interjection evolved from the idea of shooing an animal away, and is closely related to the verb jopar (“to scram, to flee”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxopo/ [ˈxo.po]
• Rhymes: -opo
• Syllabification: jo‧po

Noun

jopo m (plural jopos)

1. bushy tail (especially of a fox or similar animal)
2. quiff, pompadour (hairstyle with hair brushed upward and backward)

Interjection

¡jopo!

1. (colloquial, Spain, especially Andalusia) shoo!, scram!, get out!, beat it! (used to dismiss someone abruptly or to drive away an animal)

   ¡Jopo de aquí, que me estás molestando!

   Scram out of here, you're bothering me!

Related terms

• jopar
• joparse

Further reading

• “jopo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025