Delincuente and delinquent are certainly look-alike terms, but are only marginally related in certain contexts. For US audiences, perhaps the first expression that comes to mind is “juvenile delinquent.” Indeed, in the US this is the legal term for a convicted underage offender as per the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Code (18 US Code Chapter 403 Part IV). In Spain, for example, a convicted minor is a menor infractor.

In Spanish criminal law, delincuente denotes an adult offender (rather than a minor) as in presunto delincuente (“alleged offender”), delincuente primario (“first offender,” “first-time offender”), delincuente habitual (“habitual offender”), delincuente sin antecedentes penales (“offender with no prior criminal record”) and delincuente arrepentido (“reformed offender”).

And, unrelated to criminal law, “delinquent” may have the additional meaning of “default” or “in arrears.” As examples, a “delinquent debtor” (or “debtor in arrears”) is a deudor moroso, while “average days delinquent” is rendered as días de mora promedio. And “delinquent taxes” (also known as “back taxes,” “overdue taxes” and “taxes in arrears”) refers to impuestos vencidos y no pagados or impuestos no satisfechos.