---
title: "compadre"
translation: "The bond between a parent and the godparent they chose - and by extension, a very close friend."
type: "word"
category: "slang"
url: "https://consalsa.app/words/compadre"
canonical: "https://consalsa.app/words/compadre"
published: "2026-10-08"
updated: "2026-10-08"
author: "Andrey the Nomad"
site: "ConSalsa.App"
license: "https://consalsa.app/terms#ip"
---

# compadre
URL: https://consalsa.app/words/compadre
Translation: The bond between a parent and the godparent they chose - and by extension, a very close friend.
Pronunciation: /komˈpa.ðɾe/
Category: slang
Region: Mexico
Register: warm, and heavier than compa
Variants: comadre, compadrito, compadres
Literal meaning: Co-father. You and the godparent become co-parents of the same child, and the word names the bond between the two of you.
Tone & safety: Safe and affectionate. Two misfires: using it for somebody you barely know, and using it for a woman - that one is comadre.
Published: 2026-10-08

Quick answer:
- Un compadre is your child's godfather - and the word names the bond between the two adults, not between the adult and the child.
- It is also used for a very close friend, and between men in a lot of regions it is simply how you address somebody. Compa is the diluted version.
- Being named padrino of something means paying for it - the cake, the rings, the arras. It is an honor and an invoice at once.

What it means:
- You have a child, you choose somebody to be their godparent, and from that moment the two of you are compadres. The child gets a padrino; you get a compadre, and the second relationship is the one this word is about.
- Used for a friend with no baptism involved it is a compliment rather than a shortcut. It says the friendship is at the level where you would have chosen him, and Mexicans hear that even when nobody is thinking about it consciously.

Literal meaning:
- Co-father, from the same root as padre. The two of you are co-parents of one child - not in any legal sense, but in the sense the word intends: shared responsibility, and a permanent tie between the adults.
- That is the thing English does not have. Godfather points down, at the child. Compadre points sideways, at the other adult, and Mexican Spanish also has comadre for the woman and compadrazgo for the whole arrangement.

How Mexicans use it:
- Literally, all the time, and not only for baptisms. Padrinos get named for confirmation, for a fifteenth birthday, for a graduation, and for a wedding - and at a wedding, for specific items: anillos, arras, lazo, cojines, ramo, pastel, música. A family accumulates a great many compadres over the years.
- And here is the thing nobody tells a foreigner: being named padrino of something means you pay for it. Padrino de pastel buys the cake. Padrinos de anillos buy the rings. Padrinos de lazo buy the lazo - the loop placed over the couple - and padrinos de arras buy the thirteen coins. Being asked is an honor and an invoice at the same time, and everybody in the room understands both halves. Say yes knowing that.
- As an address it needs no name after it. Qué pasó, compadre opens a phone call, and between two men who have used it for twenty years the original child is often long grown and rarely mentioned.
- The borrowed use is warm and slightly formal in its warmth. Calling a friend compadre is heavier than compa and lighter than carnal, and it suits a long friendship between adults better than a new one between young people.
- Comadre has drifted furthest. Alongside the literal sense it means a close female friend, and es bien comadre said about a man means he gossips - affectionate about half the time. Said about a woman the same sense can be dismissive rather than warm, which is worth knowing before using it.
- Between men, compadre as a plain vocative is also just dialect in a lot of places - norteño and ranchero speech, and plenty of working-class male CDMX talk. Not every non-literal use is a deliberate compliment; some of it is simply how men address each other.

Common mistake:
- Using it for somebody you just met. It is not offensive, but it claims a level of closeness, and the word for a friendly stranger is compa or joven. Compadre on a first meeting sounds like you are trying to skip several years.
- Assuming it is only about religion. Plenty of compadrazgo relationships come from weddings and quinceañeras rather than baptisms, and plenty of people who never go to church have compadres. The institution is social before it is anything else.

Examples:
- Qué pasó, compadre. ¿Cómo va todo? — Hey compadre. How's everything going?
- Él es mi compadre, bautizó a mi hija. — He's my compadre - he's my daughter's godfather.
- Vamos a ser compadres, ya le dije que sí. — We're going to be compadres, I already said yes.
- Mi comadre me habló temprano para contarme todo. — My comadre called me early to tell me everything.

Mini dialogue:
A: Oye, queríamos pedirte algo. Bueno, pedirles.
B: A ver, dime.
A: Que si quieren ser los padrinos de bautizo de la niña.
B: ¿Neta? Ay, claro que sí. Déjame decirle.
A: Pues ya eres mi comadre entonces.
B: Ya somos compadres.

FAQ:
Q: What does compadre mean?
A: Your child's godfather - and specifically, the relationship between you and him. English godfather names the tie to the child; compadre names the tie between the two adults.

Q: What is compadrazgo?
A: The institution itself: choosing somebody as a godparent, being chosen, and the permanent relationship between the adults that follows. It is a real social structure in Mexico.

Q: What is the difference between compadre and compa?
A: Weight. Compa is the clipped version and means buddy - available to somebody you met last month. Compadre carries the institution, whether or not there was an actual baptism.

Q: Can you call a friend compadre without being his child's godfather?
A: Yes, and it is common. It borrows the weight of the real relationship and says the friendship is at that level. It suits a long friendship between adults better than a new one.

Q: What is a comadre?
A: The female equivalent - the woman you chose as godmother. Colloquially it also means a close female friend, and es bien comadre said about a man means he gossips.

Q: What is the difference between compadre and padrino?
A: Who is speaking. Un padrino is the child's godfather. El compadre is what the child's parent calls that same man.

Q: Do you need a baptism to have compadres?
A: No. Padrinos get named for confirmations, quinceañeras, graduations and weddings - and at a wedding for specific items: anillos, arras, lazo, cojines, ramo, pastel, música.

Q: What does being a padrino actually cost?
A: The item you are padrino of. Padrino de pastel buys the cake, padrinos de anillos buy the rings, padrinos de arras buy the thirteen coins. Being asked is an honor and an invoice at the same time.

Q: What are arras and lazo?
A: Two things a Mexican wedding has and an English one does not. Las arras are thirteen coins passed between the couple; el lazo is a loop placed over both of them during the ceremony. Each has its own padrinos, who buy them.

Related words: compa, carnal, cuate, chismoso, jefa