14 Spanish Phrases to Sound Like a Native Speaker
Unsplash: Cristina Gottardi
Idiomatic expressions are colorful expressions that vary across cultures and different languages. Sometimes, such sayings are confusing. Other times, they are quite funny. But one thing is in common – all languages have them.
Spanish is a global language spoken by about 500 million native speakers worldwide. It’s also one of the most popular languages to learn. And the thing about Spanish is that it uses a lot of idioms. Some Spanish idioms may have direct equivalents in other languages, others may not.
Part of learning a language, like Spanish, is immersion. Nothing compares to understanding what native speakers are saying, especially when they are using idiomatic expressions. By learning these expressions, you will learn more about its culture and see a different perspective of it.
Learn our list of 14 useful Spanish idiomatic expressions that you can use in your daily interactions!
- 1. Ser pan comido
- Literal translation – to be eaten bread
- Actual meaning – to be very easy
- English equivalent – to be a piece of cake
- Spanish sentence – La tarea es pan comido.
- English translation – The homework is a piece of cake.
- 2. Encontrar tu media naranja
- Literal translation – to find your half orange
- Actual meaning – to find the ideal partner
- English equivalent – to find your better half
- Spanish sentence – Ella no ha encontrado su media naranja.
- English translation – She has not found her better half.
- 3. Dar gato por liebre
- Literal translation – to give cat for hare
- Actual meaning – to trick someone
- English equivalent – to take for a ride
- Spanish sentence – Ellos le dieron gato por liebre.
- English translation – They took him for a ride.
- 4. Estar como una cabra
- Literal translation – to be like a goat
- Actual meaning – to be crazy
- English equivalent – to go nuts
- Spanish sentence – Está como una cabra.
- English translation – He is going nuts.
- 5. Estar hecho un ají
- Literal translation – to be made a chili pepper
- Actual meaning – to be very angry
- English equivalent – to be hopping mad
- Spanish sentence – Está hecho un ají porque no recibió sus chocolates.
- English translation – She is hopping mad because she didn’t get her chocolates.
- 6. Ser un bombón
- Literal translation – to be a bonbon
- Actual meaning – to be very attractive
- English equivalent – to be an eye candy
- Spanish sentence – Maxi Iglesias es un bombón.
- English translation – Maxi Iglesias is an eye candy.
- 7. No pegar ojo
- Literal translation – to not strike an eye
- Actual meaning – not being able to sleep
- English equivalent – not sleeping a wink
- Spanish sentence – Estaba tan aterrorizada por la muñeca que no pegue un ojo.
- English translation – I was so terrified of the doll that I didn’t sleep a wink.
- 8. Ponerse morado
- Literal translation – to turn purple
- Actual meaning – to eat a lot
- English equivalent – to pig out
- Spanish sentence – Me puse morado de comida rápida.
- English translation – I pig out when I have fast food.
- 9. Ponerse rojo como un tomate
- Literal translation – to turn red like a tomato
- Actual meaning – to blush
- English equivalent – blushing red as a tomato
- Spanish sentence – Ella se puso roja como un tomate.
- English translation – She blushed red like a tomato.
- 10. Ser un melón
- Literal translation – to be a melon
- Actual meaning – not very intelligent
- English equivalent – to be a blockhead
- Spanish sentence – Este robot es un melón.
- English translation – This robot is a blockhead.
- 11. Buscar el príncipe azul
- Literal translation – to look for the blue prince
- Actual meaning – to look for the blue man
- English equivalent – to look for Prince Charming
- Spanish sentence – Gisele busca al príncipe azul.
- English translation – Gisele is looking for Prince Charming.
- 12. Ser una rata
- Literal translation – to be a rat
- Actual meaning – to be stingy; to cheat
- English equivalent – to be cheap
- Spanish sentence – Esas personas son ratas a la hora de comprar flores.
- English translation – Those people are cheap when it comes to buying flowers.
- 13. Se me hace agua la boca
- Literal translation – it makes my mouth water
- Actual meaning – the food is so good it makes the mouth water
- English equivalent – to be mouthwatering
- Spanish sentence – Se me hace agua la boca con tan solo pensar en el menú de la cena de esta noche.
- English translation – My mouth is watering just thinking about the dinner menu tonight.
- 14. Tener memoria de pez
- Literal translation – to have a memory of a fish
- Actual meaning – to have a bad memory
- English equivalent – to have a poor memory
- Spanish sentence – Dory tiene memoria de pez.
- English translation – Dory has a poor memory.