Spanish vocabulary · Intermediate
How to Say "Guilty" in Spanish: Culpable and Its Legal and Emotional Uses
Culpable · adjective · cool-PAH-bleh
Guilty in Spanish is culpable (cool-PAH-bleh), covering both the legal sense of a guilty verdict and the emotional sense of feeling guilty. The noun form is culpa (fault, guilt), and sentirse culpable means to feel guilty.
cool-PAH-bleh — three syllables, stress on PAH. The u sounds like the oo in "cool."
El jurado lo declaró culpable de todos los cargos.
The jury found him guilty on all charges.
Guilty in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for guilty, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| culpable | guilty | cool-PAH-bleh | Default, widely understood |
| culposo | guilty | Legal (Latin America, negligent culpability) | |
| responsable | guilty | Universal (in the sense of at fault) |
How Native Speakers Use Culpable
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Legal verdict
La acusada fue declarada culpable de fraude fiscal.
The defendant was found guilty of tax fraud.
In courtroom Spanish, declarar culpable is the standard phrasing for a guilty verdict.
Emotional guilt
Me siento culpable por no haber llamado a mi abuela.
I feel guilty for not having called my grandmother.
Sentirse culpable expresses personal remorse or a guilty conscience in everyday speech.
Guilty pleasure
Ver telenovelas es mi placer culpable.
Watching soap operas is my guilty pleasure.
Placer culpable is the direct equivalent of the English idiom guilty pleasure.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Culpable
Using culposo when you mean culpable
Incorrect: Me siento culposo por llegar tarde.
Correct: Me siento culpable por llegar tarde.
Culposo is a legal term meaning negligent (homicidio culposo = involuntary manslaughter). For everyday guilt feelings, culpable is the correct word.
Saying tengo culpable instead of me siento culpable
Incorrect: Tengo culpable por lo que dije.
Correct: Me siento culpable por lo que dije.
Guilty as an emotion uses sentirse culpable (to feel guilty). You can say tengo la culpa (I'm at fault) but not tengo culpable, which is grammatically incorrect.
Lock in Guilty Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.
See Culpable used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using culpable in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear El jurado lo declaró culpable de todos los cargos. while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.
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Common Questions About Guilty in Spanish
- How do you say guilty in Spanish?
- Guilty in Spanish is culpable. It works for both legal contexts (declarar culpable = to find guilty) and emotional ones (sentirse culpable = to feel guilty). The noun form is culpa, meaning fault or guilt.
- What is the difference between culpable and culposo?
- Culpable means guilty in a general sense — legally convicted or feeling remorse. Culposo is a specialized legal term describing negligence or unintentional harm, as in homicidio culposo (involuntary manslaughter). In everyday Spanish, always use culpable.
- How do you say not guilty in Spanish?
- Not guilty is no culpable or inocente in Spanish. In court, a not-guilty verdict is typically declarar inocente or declarar no culpable. For the plea, declararse inocente is standard.