chapuza Meaning
- casual
A "chapuza" refers to a botched job, a sloppy repair, or a piece of work done with little care or skill. Imagine someone trying to fix a leaky pipe with nothing but duct tape and wishful thinking; that temporary, messy fix is a classic "chapuza." It is a common term used to describe shoddy craftsmanship or a clumsy solution to a problem. While it can refer to professional work that was poorly executed, it is just as often used for DIY projects around the house that look unsightly or are destined to fail soon.
chapuza in Conversation
Complaining about a repair
- Ana: ¡Mira qué chapuza me ha hecho el fontanero!Look at this shoddy job the plumber did for me!
- Luis: Madre mía, eso se va a romper en dos días.My goodness, that is going to break in two days.
Used to express frustration with poor professional service.
DIY gone wrong
- Carlos: ¿Qué tal te ha quedado la estantería?How did the bookshelf turn out?
- Sofía: Ha sido una chapuza total, ¡se tambalea muchísimo!It was a total mess, it wobbles so much!
Often used to describe one's own clumsy DIY attempts.
Examples
Hizo una chapuza rápida en la pared.
He did a quick, sloppy job on the wall.
No quiero una chapuza, quiero que lo arregles bien.
I don't want a botched job, I want you to fix it properly.
Fue una chapuza de tal calibre que tuvieron que demoler la estructura entera.
It was such a monumental botch job that they had to demolish the entire structure.