What does “cochinito” mean in Mexican Spanish?
La historia de Anita y su problema con la ropa
A1 Spanish listening practice · Mexican Spanish · Curated for beginners
In Mexico, cochinito is the everyday word for a piggy bank — a small clay pig where you drop coins to save money. It comes from cochino (pig), so it literally means “little pig.” The formal word is alcancía, but most Mexicans just say cochinito. When you finally smash it open to spend your savings, you rompes el cochinito (“break the piggy bank”).
In the clip Anita rompe su cochinito to go shopping. Note that cochino on its own can also mean “dirty” or “filthy,” so context tells you whether someone means a pig, a mess, or a coin box.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-ESP 2011 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.