7 Common Spanish Expressions you’ll hear everyday- Latinos and hipanics in general are known for being very expressive and passionate, and sometimes the language, though very rich with words and verbs, has not been enough to represent our feelings.
As a consequence, we have had to create expressions from different contexts -or none at all- because the regular words and expressions that already existed could not fulfill that need… and they are a lot.
Although the literal translation is “to be fly” (the insect), estar mosca is to be aware and careful, which if you think about it, it’s not so far from what the actual behavior of a fly is. This is specially applied in situations where a person can be vulnerable or in an unknown place where he or she can be scammed.
Example: Cuando estés en el aeropuerto debes estar mosca y cuidar tu equipaje. / When at the airport, be careful and take care of your luggage.
Taking the literal meaning of “without hair in your tongue”, we can fathom that if somebody would have, they would not be able to speak, so that’s what this expression wants to portray: speaking freely, with no limits.
Example: En la reunión lo dije todo, sin pelos en la lengua. / At the meeting, I said it all without holding anything back.
Another one with hair. “Take the hair” wouldn’t make sense in English, but in Spanish means to mess around or tease somebody.
Example: No te molestes, solo estaba tomándote el pelo. / Don’t be mad, I was just teasing you.
Sure it’s impossible to “throw your house out of the window”, in Spanish you totally will – figuratively- if you throw one hell of a party.
Example: Para su boda, tiraron la casa por la ventana. / For their wedding, they threw an incredible party.
Probably you have heard this expression in reggaeton songs and it can mean “go ahead” or “go for it”.
Example: ¡Dale! Tú puedes hacerlo. / Go for it! You can do it.
Though we are not robots so that we can “put batteries in”, this literal reading of the expression can help, since it means to “wake up” or “perk up”.
Example: Tienes que ponerte las pilas y estudiar si quieres obtener la beca. / You have to perk up and study if you want to win the scholarship.
This is one of the most common expressions in Latinamerica, particularly in the Caribbean is Chévere, which means “cool” or “very nice”.
Ejemplo: ¿Cómo estás? – Chévere. / How are you? – Very nice.
Can you find an equivalent in English for any of these expressions? Leave it in the comment section, we would love to know.
Maybe you want to see this post and learn about the 10 most used false cognates in spanish