Does Star Wars Actually Have Swear Words?

For decades, the "Star Wars" franchise has largely avoided using real-life swear words. However, the streaming series "Andor," actually breaks the mold with the word "s***"" being said. While some viewers might be surprised or even outraged to hear a bad word spoken in the franchise, there's been many times curse words from different dialects from across the galaxy are used as "Star Wars" has several in-universe versions of swear words.

In 2022, "Andor," a prequel series of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," left critics and audiences stunned with its mature and gritty storytelling. The Disney+ series, starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, Kyle Soller as Syril Karn, and Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen takes place five years for the events of the film and "Star Wars: A New Hope," following the titular character's journey from being a thief to becoming a key part of the Rebellion. "Andor's" choice of words might be the most expletive example in the franchise's 50+ year history. In Season 1, when efforts to arrest Andor fail, Sergeant Linus Most (Alex Ferns) swears, saying "S***. We're under siege. They're everywhere." Additionally, in "The Mandalorian" Season 1, Migs Mayfeld (Bill Burr) utters the phrase "wise ass". Even Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) say "Damn" in "A New Hope," while Solo says "Hell" in "The Empire Strikes Back."

However, just because "Star Wars" hasn't used many real-life bad words throughout its storytelling initiatives, doesn't mean characters don't swear — they just do so in their own slang.

While some alien-sounding words in the "Star Wars" franchise might not be instantly recognizable as swear words, the intent behind them is similar.

One of the most famous examples comes from "The Empire Strikes Back," where a silver protocol droid on Cloud City utters the phrase "e chu ta" to C3-PO, described in expanded media as a Huttese curse word. In the fan-favorite "Star Wars: Rebels," Garazeb Orrelios and Sabine Wren are among those who say "Karabast," which the show's executive producer and writer Greg Weisman explained in a blog post was an in-universe curse word. Additionally, the word "Kriff" is used like a swear word in some of the "Old Republic"-related books from author Timothy Zahn — with some pointing out the word swaps the F and K in the word "frick," a synonym for the F-word. The "High Republic" era also has its own version of expletives with the word "Crikk," with several mentions through comic books, novelizations, and audiobooks.

Considering the "Star Wars" universe is incredibly vast with thousands of planets and numerous galaxies, it shouldn't come as a surprise there's different languages with their own naughty words. Yes, a few select cases, the storytelling opts for real-life bad words to emphasize certain situations or make language more colorful — but thankfully, the franchise continues to get away with even the most vulgar-sounding swears as long as it's a made-up word that boasts some bizarre sci-fi flair.