What does “ratero” or “ratera” mean in Spanish?
Confrontación y acusaciones en medio de una desaparición
B1 Spanish listening practice · Mexican Spanish · Picked for people who know some
A ratero / ratera is a petty thief — a pickpocket or sneak-thief, not an armed robber — built straight off rata (rat), with the rodent’s scurrying, light-fingered connotation baked in. Hurled as an accusation (“eres una ratera”) it’s a sharp insult meaning you steal on the sly. The diminished scale is the point: a ratero nicks small things, quietly.
Distinguish the family: robar is to steal, a ladrón is a thief in general, an atracador robs with force, while a ratero specialises in petty, sneaky theft — bag-snatching, shoplifting, pickpocketing. The related ratería is petty thievery as a habit. Heard most in Mexico and across Latin America as everyday street vocabulary for small-time crooks.
How common are the words?
How common are the words in this B1 Spanish listening practice video?
How common in written Spanish
How common in spoken Spanish
Harder words in this video
These words are harder than B1. Here is what they mean.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-ESP 2011 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.