---
title: "ratero"
translation: "Thief. Pickpocket."
type: "word"
category: "slang"
url: "https://consalsa.app/words/ratero"
canonical: "https://consalsa.app/words/ratero"
published: "2026-11-08"
updated: "2026-11-08"
author: "Andrey the Nomad"
site: "ConSalsa.App"
license: "https://consalsa.app/terms#ip"
---

# ratero
URL: https://consalsa.app/words/ratero
Translation: Thief. Pickpocket.
Pronunciation: /raˈte.ɾo/
Category: slang
Region: Mexico
Register: everyday, and a real accusation - not a joke word
Variants: ratera, rata, carterista, bolseador
Literal meaning: From rata, a rat. The DLE defines a ratero as a thief who takes small things by stealth - which is exactly the crime Mexicans use it for.
Tone & safety: Fine describing a crime. Aimed at a person in front of you it is an accusation, and in a crowded place shouting it starts something you cannot control.
Published: 2026-11-08

Quick answer:
- A ratero is a thief who takes small things quietly - a pickpocket, or somebody who goes into your bag.
- Me robaron is I was robbed; me asaltaron is I was held up. The second is the one that matters when reporting.
- Do not shout it at somebody in a crowd. It can turn into a mob, and that has ended badly in Mexico.

What it means:
- A thief who works quietly and small. Pockets, bags, phones, a laptop left on a chair - the crime you are statistically likely to meet in a city where most days are entirely ordinary, and the one you usually notice afterwards rather than during.
- It is a real accusation rather than a colorful word. Between friends it can be a joke - *ratero*, aimed at whoever took your fries - but pointed at a stranger it is an act rather than a description.

Literal meaning:
- From rata, a rat, and the dictionary sense is specific: somebody who steals things of little value with cunning and stealth. That is a fairly exact description of how it gets used in Mexico.
- Rata on its own is the short form and it has taken on a political life. Son unas ratas said about a government is completely ordinary Mexican speech, and it means the theft was institutional rather than manual.

How Mexicans use it:
- About the Metro and the markets it is the default word. Hay muchos rateros en esa línea is practical advice rather than a complaint.
- In the news it alternates with carterista and bolseador. Carterista is the precise term for somebody who works pockets, and it is the one press coverage uses.
- About politicians it is constant, usually in the short form. This is where a foreigner hears it most and understands it least - it is not hyperbole in Mexican political speech, it is the standard register.
- Shouted, it is an alarm. ¡Ratero! in a crowded place is a call for everybody to look at one person, and what happens next is out of the hands of whoever shouted.

Tone and safety:
- Describing a crime it is completely neutral - me robaron unos rateros is an ordinary sentence in an ordinary conversation.
- Aimed at a person in front of you it is an accusation with consequences. Researchers counted over three hundred lynchings in Mexico between 1988 and 2014, theft the commonest accusation, and a crowd can form in seconds. People have been beaten and burned alive. This is a documented pattern, not a hypothetical.
- The advice every chilango gives is the same: if it has already happened, let it go. Call 911, block the handset by IMEI through your carrier, and file a denuncia at the Ministerio Público or online if you need it for insurance. Chasing somebody through a market is not a plan and the phone is not worth it.

Common mistake:
- Using it when you mean asaltante. If somebody threatened you, that is an asalto, and the distinction is the first thing anybody taking a report will ask about.
- Reading rata about politicians as an exaggeration. It is not - it is the ordinary Mexican word for that, and it is one of the most-used political insults in the country.

Examples:
- Me robaron el celular en el Metro, puros rateros. — They stole my phone on the Metro, nothing but thieves.
- Aguas con la mochila, aquí hay rateros. — Watch your backpack, there are pickpockets here.
- Son unas ratas, se llevaron el presupuesto. — They're crooks, they took the whole budget.
- No me asaltaron, fue un carterista. — I wasn't mugged, it was a pickpocket.

Mini dialogue:
A: Señora, póngase la bolsa por delante.
B: ¿Tan feo está?
A: En esta estación sí. Hay muchos rateros a esta hora.
B: Ay, gracias, mija.
A: Y el celular guárdelo. Ahorita se llena y ya no se ve nada.

FAQ:
Q: What does ratero mean?
A: A petty thief - somebody who takes small things quietly. In Mexico City that usually means a pickpocket on the Metro or in a market.

Q: What is the difference between ratero and asaltante?
A: A weapon and a confrontation. Me robaron is I was robbed; me asaltaron is I was mugged, and that distinction is the first thing anybody taking a report will ask.

Q: What does rata mean about a politician?
A: Crook. It is not hyperbole in Mexican public speech - it is the ordinary register for talking about official corruption.

Q: Is ratero a joke word?
A: No. It is a real accusation, and calling somebody a ratero to their face is an act rather than a description.

Q: Should I shout ¡ratero! if I'm robbed?
A: No. It calls a crowd to one person in seconds, and researchers counted over three hundred lynchings in Mexico between 1988 and 2014 with theft the commonest accusation. Call 911 and block the phone instead.

Q: What is a carterista?
A: The precise word for a pickpocket, and the one press coverage uses. Every carterista is a ratero; not every ratero works pockets.

Q: How do pickpockets work on the Metro?
A: In groups, using distraction. The classic move is one person bumping you so your hands come up while another takes the thing.

Related words: chueco, franelero, aguas, echar-aguas, me-lleva