Poops in Spanish | Say It Right Without Awkwardness

Spanish uses hacer caca for “to poop,” with gentler hacer popó and medical defecar.

You don’t learn a language just to order coffee. Real life shows up fast: a kid who needs the bathroom, a dog that stopped mid-walk, a stomach that picked the worst time to act up. English has “poop,” “poo,” “number two,” and a few rougher options. Spanish has the same range, and the right pick depends on who you’re talking to, where you are, and what tone you want.

This guide gives you natural Spanish choices for “poop,” plus the polite workarounds people use when they’d rather not say it directly. You’ll get quick phrases, clean sentence patterns, and a few “don’t say that here” notes, so you can speak with confidence instead of guessing.

What “Poop” Means In Spanish

English “poop” can be a noun (the poop) or a verb (to poop). Spanish does the same thing, but it splits the job across a few common words.

For the noun, the soft everyday word is caca. The dictionary marks it as a colloquial euphemism. You can see that usage in the RAE entry for “caca”, which labels it as an everyday softened term.

For the verb, one of the most common kid-friendly choices is hacer caca (“to do poop”). If you want a medical term, defecar is the straightforward clinical verb, listed that way in the RAE entry for “defecar”.

Spanish also has rougher slang, the same way English does. You’ll hear it, so it helps to recognize it. Still, you don’t need to lead with it unless you’re close with the people around you and you’re sure it fits.

Poops in Spanish And How Locals Say It

When people speak, they often dodge the direct word and talk around it. That’s normal. In Spanish, the most common “safe” move is to talk about the bathroom instead of the act.

Polite Workarounds That Sound Natural

These phrases are clean, widely understood, and easy to use in public:

• Ir al baño — to go to the bathroom
• Tengo que ir al baño — I need to go to the bathroom
• Voy al baño — I’m going to the bathroom
• Necesito el baño — I need the bathroom (common in some places)

If you’re speaking to a child, caretakers often pick softer wording. In many regions you’ll hear hacer popó (or hacer pipí for pee). Cambridge’s bilingual listing for “poop” in the Cambridge Dictionary shows both caca and hacer caca as standard informal translations, which lines up with everyday speech.

Direct Words People Actually Use

When you do want to be direct, you’ve got a range:

• caca — noun, soft and common, often linked to kids, pets, and casual talk
• hacer caca — verb phrase, soft and common
• hacer popó — verb phrase, even softer in many places
• heces — “stool/feces,” more formal or medical
• defecar — clinical “to defecate”
• cagar — vulgar “to poop,” used in slang, not for polite settings

One helpful note on caca: people sometimes argue about whether it sounds childish, silly, or just normal. Fundéu has a short piece on the word “caca” that frames it as an established word with history, not a modern “cute” invention.

Pooping In Spanish With Polite Options

If you want a simple rule that keeps you out of trouble, use bathroom talk in public, use hacer caca with kids, and switch to medical terms only when the setting calls for them.

Three Fast Checks Before You Pick A Phrase

1. Who’s listening? Kids, strangers, coworkers, a doctor, close friends.
2. Where are you? At a table, in a clinic, on a trail, at home.
3. What’s your goal? Be polite, be funny, be clear, or be clinical.

Run those checks, then pick the least risky phrase that still says what you mean. Spanish rewards that kind of “read the room” choice.

Sentence Patterns You Can Reuse

These frames work across many Spanish-speaking places:

• Tengo que ir al baño. — I need to go to the bathroom.
• Voy al baño un momento. — I’m going to the bathroom for a moment.
• El bebé hizo caca. — The baby pooped.
• Mi perro hizo caca. — My dog pooped.
• No puedo hacer caca. — I can’t poop.
• Pude hacer caca. — I was able to poop.

If you’re describing a health issue, people often switch nouns. “Stool” terms show up more than “poop” words in that context: heces, deposiciones, evacuaciones. You’ll see them on forms and hear them in clinics.

Below is a wide view of common options, with tone notes, so you can pick fast.

Table 1 (after ~40% of content)

Spanish Term Or Phrase	Best Fit	Tone Notes
Ir al baño	Public, work, travel	Polite and indirect; avoids body talk
Hacer caca	Kids, pets, casual home talk	Soft; widely understood
Hacer popó	Kids, family talk (common in many places)	Extra gentle; can sound childish with adults
La caca	Noun for poop (kids, pets, casual)	Colloquial; can be playful or blunt by tone
Heces	Medical, formal writing	Neutral and clinical; common in health contexts
Defecar	Medical speech, formal explanation	Clinical verb; not used in casual chat
Evacuar / evacuar el intestino	Clinics, formal talk	Sounds technical; can feel stiff in daily chat
Cagar	Rough slang with close friends	Vulgar; skip in polite settings
Hacer del baño	Common in parts of Latin America	Indirect; can cover pee or poop by context

Regional Notes That Save You From Weird Looks

Spanish is shared, but wording shifts by country and even by city. You don’t need to master every regional twist. You just need to spot what sounds childlike, what sounds clinical, and what lands as rude.

Spain Vs. Much Of Latin America

In Spain, caca and hacer caca are common with kids and casual talk, while cagar is the rough option. In many Latin American places, popó is more common in kid talk than it is in Spain. You’ll still be understood with hacer caca either way.

If you want a universal safe choice across regions, stick with ir al baño in public and hacer caca at home.

Pets And Dog-Walk Talk

Dog owners often speak plainly, since the context is obvious. You’ll hear:

• Mi perro hizo caca.
• Que haga caca aquí no. — Not here.
• Recoge la caca. — Pick up the poop.

That last one shows up on signs in parks. If you see recoger plus caca, it’s the same message as “pick up after your dog.”

How To Say It In Past, Present, And “I Can’t”

You don’t need full grammar charts to speak well. A few high-frequency shapes cover most situations.

With Hacer Caca

Hacer is irregular, so it pays to learn a few forms:

• Present:hago caca (I poop), hace caca (he/she poops), hacen caca (they poop)
• Past:hice caca (I pooped), hizo caca (he/she pooped)
• Near future:voy a hacer caca (I’m going to poop)

If you’re talking about a problem, these are common and clear:

• No puedo hacer caca. — I can’t poop.
• Me cuesta hacer caca. — It’s hard for me to poop.
• Hace días que no hago caca. — I haven’t pooped in days.

With Medical Terms

Medical Spanish often shifts to nouns and neutral verbs:

• No he evacuado. — I haven’t had a bowel movement.
• Mis heces cambiaron. — My stool changed.
• Me duele al defecar. — It hurts when I defecate.

Those phrases sound normal in a clinic. In casual talk they can sound stiff, so save them for health settings.

Table 2 (after ~60% of content)

Situation	Phrase To Use	Phrase To Skip
Restaurant or office	Tengo que ir al baño.	Voy a hacer caca. (too direct)
Talking about a baby’s diaper	El bebé hizo caca.	El bebé defecó. (too clinical)
Dog walk, outdoors	Mi perro hizo caca.	Mi perro defecó. (oddly formal)
Doctor or clinic form	Heces, evacuar, defecar	caca (can sound childish)
Joking with close friends	Hice caca (if you want light humor)	cagar (if you’re not sure it’s welcome)
Teaching kids bathroom talk	¿Quieres hacer caca? / ¿Quieres hacer popó?	cagar (rude)

Common Mistakes English Speakers Make

Translating “Poop” As One Fixed Word

Spanish doesn’t have one perfect word that fits every “poop” moment. If you try to force a single term into every setting, you’ll sound off. Swap the word based on the room: bathroom talk in public, soft terms with kids, clinical terms with medical staff.

Using The Vulgar Option Too Early

Many learners hear a rough slang verb first because it’s memorable. That can backfire. In Spanish, that word lands as crude in a lot of settings. If you want to sound respectful, keep it out of work, travel, and family talk unless you’re sure your group speaks that way.

Over-Explaining In The Moment

If you need a bathroom, short is better. Say Voy al baño and go. Long explanations can feel awkward in Spanish the same way they do in English.

Quick Mini Scripts You Can Borrow

Here are short lines you can drop into real situations without sounding like a textbook.

When You Need To Step Away

• Perdón, voy al baño. — Sorry, I’m going to the bathroom.
• Ahora vuelvo. — I’ll be right back.

When You’re Talking About A Kid

• ¿Hiciste caca? — Did you poop?
• Hay que cambiar el pañal; hizo caca. — Need to change the diaper; he/she pooped.

When You’re Talking About A Pet

• Espérate, que haga caca. — Wait, let him poop.
• Traje bolsas para la caca. — I brought bags for the poop.

When It’s A Health Chat

• Me duele al evacuar. — It hurts when I have a bowel movement.
• Mis heces están distintas. — My stool is different.

Choosing The Right Word Without Overthinking It

If you want a simple default you can use across most places, start indirect. Say ir al baño. If you’re talking about a kid or a pet, use hacer caca. If you’re in a clinic, switch to heces or defecar. That trio covers nearly every normal situation.

Once you’re used to those, you can listen for what people around you say and mirror their level of directness. That’s how your Spanish starts to sound lived-in instead of translated.