| Spanish idioms |
Literal translation |
English equivalent |
Picture representation |
| trabajar como una hormiga |
to work like an ant |
to work very hard |
|
| Dios los cría y ellos se juntan |
God brings them up and they get together |
Birds of a feather stick together |
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| contra viento y marea |
against wind and tide |
against all odds |
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| Mandar a alguien al demonio |
To send someone to the devil |
To tell someone to get lost, go to hell |
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| No hay nada tan atrevido como la ignorancia |
There is nothing so daring as ignorance |
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread |
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| ¡No me toques las narices! - |
Do not touch my noses |
Stop bugging me |
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| Poner un candado a la boca |
To put a lock on one`s mouth |
To keep secret. Button one`s lip. |
|
| Y dale la burra al trigo |
And let the donkey keep at the wheat |
Same old story
Used when someone keeps repeating the same old story. |
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| se le pusieron los ojos como platos |
her eyes became like plates |
her eyes nearly fell out of their sockets |
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| Me cae gordísimo |
She falls on me very very fat |
I can't stand her |
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| A buenas horas mangas verdes |
In good time green sleeves |
It`s too late now |
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| En dos patadas |
In two kicks |
In no time at all |
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| Haberse caído del guindo |
To have fallen out of the cherry tree |
To have been born yesterday |
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| Trabajar como un burro |
To work like a donkey |
To work really hard, to work your socks off |
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| Dale el pie y te tomará la mano |
Give him your foot and he will take your hand |
Give him an inch and he will take a mile |
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| Estar todavía en pañales |
To be still in nappies |
To be naive, wet behind the ears |
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| A toda mecha |
At full fuse |
like greased lightning |
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| Regalar el oído a alguien |
To regale somebody`s ears |
To flatter somebody |
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| Vivir a cuerpo de rey |
to live like the body of a king |
to live like a king |
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| El habito no hace al monje |
The habit doesn`t make the monk |
Don`t judge by appearances |
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| No lo voy a hacer ni loco |
I'm not going to do it even if (I was) mad |
Nothing in the world would make me do it. |
I AM LOCO |
| Conocer algo como la palma de la mano |
To know something like the palm of your hand |
To know something like the back of your hand |
|
| Rascarse la barriga |
To scratch your belly |
To sit on your backside and do nothing |
 |
| Ahogarse en un vaso de agua |
To drown in a glass of water |
To make a mountain out of a molehill. |
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| Estar hecho un Adán |
To be like Adam |
To look a mess |
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| Un hombre de pelo en pecho |
A man with hair on his chest |
A real man |
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| Beber los aires por alguien |
To drink the breezes for somebody |
To be madly in love with someone |
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| Estar hasta las narices de algo |
To be up to the nostrils with something |
Fed up to the back teeth with something |
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| Mientras que en mi casa estoy, rey soy |
While in my house I am king |
A man`s home is his castle |
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| Llevar a alguien por la calle de la amargura |
To lead somebody down misery street |
To make somebody`s life a misery |
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| Sobre gustos no hay nada escrito |
About taste there is nothing written down |
There is no accounting for taste |
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| Tener la cabeza como una bola de bilar |
To have a head like a billiard ball |
To be as bald as a coot |
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| Tener cara de pascua |
To have an Easter face |
To be grinning broadly |
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| Estar mas sano que una pera |
To be healthier than a pear |
To be as fit as a fiddle |
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| Hacer las cuentas de la lechera |
To the milkmaid`s sums |
To count your chickens before they are hatched |
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| Ser un culo de mal asiento |
To be a backside that can't sit still |
To have ants in your pants |
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| Ni de aquí a Lima |
Not from here to Lima |
Not by a long chalk. There is just no comparison |
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| Tener cara de pascua |
To have an Easter face |
To be grinning from ear to ear |
|
| Las mentiras tienen patas cortas |
Lies have short legs |
The truth will out (lies won't get you very far). |
|
| Entre col y col, lechuga |
Between cabbage and cabbage, lettuce. |
Variety is the spice of life |
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| Esto no tiene mucha ciencia |
This doesn`t have a lot of science |
There is nothing difficult about it |
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| Untar la mano de alguien |
To grease somebody`s hand |
To grease somebody`s palm. To influence someone by giving them money. |
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| Ser mas fuerte que un roble |
To be stronger than an oak tree |
To be as strong as an ox |
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| Al pie de la letra |
To the foot of the letter |
To the letter, or exactly |
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| Pasar las vacas gordas |
To spend the fat cows |
To have a good time / To have a grand time of it. |
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| Lo saben hasta las piedras |
Even stones know that |
Everyone knows that |
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| Tener buen diente |
To have a good tooth |
To have a healthy appetite |
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| Tener a alguien entre ojos |
To have somebody between your eyes |
To have it in for someone |
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| Se armó la de San Quintín |
What happened at San Quintin broke out |
all hell broke out |
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| Meter la cuchara |
To put in your spoon |
To stick your oar in |
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| Poner toda la carne en el asador |
To put all the meat on the barbecue |
Pull out all the stops |
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| Cambiar el chip |
To change one`s chip |
To change your way of thinking |
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| Eso está hecho |
That`s done |
It`s a sure thing (promise) |
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| No saber ni papa de |
Not to know even a potato about |
To know nothing about |
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| Alzarse con el santo y la limosna |
To take off with the saint and the alms. |
To clear off with everything |
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| Hacer algo volando |
To do something on the fly |
To do something quickly |
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| Préstame la guitarra |
Lend me the guitar |
Let me get a word in |
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| Meterse en el sobre |
To put oneself in one`s envelope |
To go to bed, to hit the sack |
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| A jalones y estirones |
at pulls and stretches |
Kicking and screaming / with lots of effort |
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| Rascarse el bolsillo |
To scratch the pocket |
Spend money unwillingly |
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| Estoy que me caigo |
I am about to fall |
I'm dead tired |
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| Quemar las naves |
To burn one`s shipd |
To burn one`s bridges |
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| Tener mucha cuerda |
To have a lot of chord |
To have a lot of life left in them. |
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| Bajar a todos los santos |
To get all the saints down. |
To try everything when you are up against it. |
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| Echar leña al fuego |
To add fuel to the fire |
To make things worse |
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| Lanzar un rollo |
To throw a roll |
To start a long story |
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| Que si patatín que si patatán |
And so on and so on |
blah, blah, blah, blah |
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| Mírate en ese espejo |
Look at yourself in that mirror |
Let that be a lesson to you |
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| Navegar con bandera de inocente |
To sail with the flag of an innocent |
To play dumb. To pretend to be innocent but have a motive for it. |
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| Ni corto ni perezoso |
Neither short nor lazy
|
Doing it right away. Without losing any time |
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| Liso y llano |
Smooth and flat, as a road |
A piece of cake. Easy. |
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| La procesión va por dentro |
The procession goes on the inside |
Bottling it all up. |
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| Por un tubo |
Through a pipe |
Abundantly. |
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| Ver los toros desde la barrera |
To look at the bulls from behind the barrier |
To stay out of harm`s way |
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| Ya tener una pata allí |
To now have a paw in there |
To have a foot in the door |
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| Estar como pez en el agua |
To be like a fish in water |
To be in one`s element. To enjoy your own comforts. |
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| Tapando el sol con un dedo |
Covering the sun with a finger |
Covering things up. |
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| Hijos de muchas madres |
Children of many mothers |
All kinds of people. A diverse group of people. |
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| Pintarse solo para una cosa |
To paint oneself alone for something |
To be very skillful at something |
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| Pisarle los callos a alguien |
To step on someone`s callouses |
To bother someone without reason |
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| Sin cruzar palabra |
Without crossing word |
Without saying a word |
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| Que lo haga Rita |
Let Rita do it |
Let someone else do it |
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| La flor y nata |
The flower and whipped cream |
Upper crust. Highest social class. |
|
| Pagar por sustos |
To pay in frights |
To buy on credit |
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| Los gajes del oficio |
The matters of the trade. |
Part and parcel of the job. Occupational hazards. |
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| Tener a alguien en el alma |
To have someone in one's soul |
To feel for someone who is having problems. To want to help |
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| Llover a cántaros |
To rain tanks/pitchers |
Raining buckets |
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| Tener buen diente |
To have good tooth |
To be a big eater. To have a hollow leg |
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| Fresco |
Fresh |
Cool as a cucumber. Not worried |
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| Estar muy potable |
To be very drinkable |
To look attractive |
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| Partirse de la risa |
To split with laughter |
To crack up with laughter |
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| Dar en el clavo |
To strike home |
To be spot on. To hit the nail on the head. |
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| Mucho ojo, que la vista engaña |
Much eye, the sight deceives |
Appearances are deceptive |
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| Darle lata a alguien |
To give someone tin can |
To give someone a hard time. To upset someone. |
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| Quedarse para vestir santos |
To stay dressing saints |
To remain an old maid |
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| Llevar la batuta |
To carry the baton |
To have great influence. To call the shots. Big shot. |
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A mí, me importa un pito lo que pienses
|
To me, I give a damn what you think |
I don't give a toss what you think |
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Tirarse los trastos a la cabeza
|
To throw junk at the head |
to have a blazing row. |
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| Para dar y tomar |
To give and take |
In abundance. To burn. ex. money |
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| Bailar en la cuerda floja |
To dance on the tightrope |
To try to do many things at once |
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| Tener los nervios de punta |
To have one's nerves standing |
To have one's nerves on edge |
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| Hacer San Lunes |
Make Saint Monday |
To skive off work on Mondays |
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| Sufrir un ataque de cuernos |
To suffer an attack of horns |
To go into a jealous rage |
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| Estar colgado |
To be hung, suspended |
To be in love. To have a crush |
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| Hay ropa tendida |
There is clothing hung out to dry |
The coast is not clear. Be careful |
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| De buenas a primeras |
From good ones to first ones |
On the spur of the moment |
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| Poderoso caballero es Don Dinero |
Mighty gentleman is Don Money |
Money makes the world go round / Money is power, power is money |
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| Ser uña y carne |
To be fingernail and flesh. |
To be bosom buddies. |
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| Buscarle las pulgas a alguien |
To look for someone`s fleas |
To irritate someone. To provoke |
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| Seguir en sus trece |
To keep in one`s thirteen |
To persist. To stick to one`s guns. |
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Siempre me toca bailar con la más fea |
I always have to dance with the ugliest girl. |
I always get the short end of the stick / I always draw the short straw. |
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| Salir por la ventana |
To leave through the window |
To sneak out the back door. |
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| Tengamos la fiesta en paz |
We have the peace party. |
Let`s have some peace and quiet. |
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| Revolver el gallinero |
To stir the chicken |
To put the cat among the pigeons. |
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| A falta de pan, buenas son tortas |
Where there is no bread, cakes are fine. |
It will do just fine. One thing is as good as another. |
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| Para parar un tren |
To stop a train |
In large quantities. Tons of |
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| Salir el tiro por la culata |
To have the shot go out the butt of the rifle |
To backfire. To have the opposite result from what was anticipated. |
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| Empezar la casa por el tejado |
To begin the house with the roof |
To put the cart before the horse |
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| Atar cabos |
To tie ends |
To put two and two together |
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| Tonto de capirote |
Idiot chief |
Dope of dopes. Really stupid |
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| Tener un humor de perros |
To be in a dog mood |
To be in a foul mood |
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| Para colmo de desgracias |
For the culmination of misfortunes |
To top it all off |
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| Un clavo saca otro clavo |
One nail takes out another nail. |
One problem overshadows another. |
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| Estar como agua para chocolate |
To be like water for chocolate. |
To be at boiling point (anger or passion) |
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| Echar flores |
To throw flowers |
To pat on the back. To compliment |
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| Dar en la madre |
To give in the mother |
To hit hard. To hurt someone where they are vulnerable |
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| Un hotel de mala muerte |
a hotel of bad death |
A grotty hotel |
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| Correr como un galgo |
To run like a greyhound |
To run like a gazelle |
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| Valer su peso en oro |
To be worth its weight in gold |
To be worth a fortune |
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| Acostarse con las gallinas |
To go to bed with the chickens |
To go to bed early |
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| Aflojar la cuerda |
To loosen the cord |
To take a breather |
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| Poner en las nubes |
To put in the clouds |
To praise to the skies. To highly praise. |
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| Estar metida en un rollo |
To be put in a roll |
To get into a bind. To get into hot water. |
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| En boca cerrada no entran moscas |
In a closed mouth flies don`t enter. |
Loose talk can get you into trouble. |
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| El hijo de papá |
Daddy`s child |
Rich kid. Kid who has everything provided for them. |
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| Estar más loco que una cabra |
To be crazier than a she-goat |
To be as mad as a hatter |
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| Reparar en migajas |
To notice crumbs |
To split hairs. To pay attention to unimportant things instead of the bigger issues. |
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| No dar pie con bola |
To not hit the ball with one`s foot |
To not be correct. To make a mess of things. To not do things right |
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| Donde el diablo perdió el poncho |
Where the devil lost his poncho |
In a god-forsaken spot |
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| Meterse en el sobre |
To put oneself in the envelope |
To hit the sack. To go to bed |
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| Meter la cuchara |
To put in the spoon |
To put in one`s two penny worth |
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| Chiste rojo |
Red joke |
Dirty joke |
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| No calentar el asiento |
To not warm the seat |
To not last long |
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| Tener un corazón de acero |
To have a heart of steel |
To have a heart of stone |
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| Confundir la gimnasia con la magnesia |
To confuse gymnastics with magnesia |
To mix apples and oranges |
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| Montar un número |
To put on a number. |
To make a scene. |
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| Llevar en palmas |
To carry palm trees |
To treat like a king. To pamper. |
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| Comer a dos carrillos |
To eat with two cheeks |
To serve two masters. To work for two people. |
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| Tomar el pelo a alguien |
To pull someone`s hair |
To pull someone`s leg, to make fun of |
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| El vivo retrato de alguien |
The living portrait of someone |
The spitting image of someone |
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| Flotar como el corcho en el agua |
To float like cork in water |
To come out on top, come out well despite adversity |
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| No dar el brazo a torcer |
To not give one`s arm to twist |
To be stubborn |
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| Cortado por la misma tijera |
Cut by the same scissors |
Very similar, chip off the old block |
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| No dejar piedra sobre piedra |
To not leave stone upon stone |
To leave nothing standing, to destroy completely |
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| Tener alma a acero |
To have a soul of steel |
To have a heart of stone, to be without feelings |
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Hacer alharacas
|
To make a fuss |
To make a big deal (of something) |
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| Ser plato de segunda mesa |
To be a plate of a second table |
To feel like a second class citizen |
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| A falta de pan, buenas son tortas |
Where there is no bread, cakes are fine |
It will do just fine. One thing is as good as another. |
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| Quemarse las pestañas |
To burn one`s eyelashes |
To burn the midnight oil. To cram |
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| Hijo de la gata, ratones mata |
son of the cat kills rats |
Like father, like son |
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| No van por ahí los tiros |
The shots aren`t going that way |
barking up the wrong tree |
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| Ni soñarlo |
In your dreams |
No way |
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| Fumarse una clase |
To smoke oneself a class |
To skip a class |
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| Irsele a alguien la lengua |
To make a slip of the tongue |
Speak without thinking |
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| Pon los pies sobre la tierra |
Put your feet on the ground |
Come down to earth |
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| La sopa boba |
Crazy soup |
Life on Easy Street |
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| El día de arreglo de cuentas |
The day of settling accounts |
Day of reckoning |
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| Llevar en palmas |
To carry with palm trees |
To treat like a king, pamper |
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| Con las manos en la masa |
With the hands in the dough |
Red-handed |
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| Ponerse las botas |
To put one`s boots on |
To make a killing |
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| Huir del fuego y caer en las brasas |
To flee from the fire and fall into the coals |
From the frying pan into the fire |
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| La despidada de soltero |
Sending off of the single man |
Stag party |
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| Darle a uno una buena lejía |
To give someone a good dose of bleach |
To give someone a good scolding |
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| Hacer mil maromas para |
To do a thousand acrobatic tricks in order to |
To go to a lot of trouble to, to spare no effort to |
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| Bájale de crema a tus tacos |
Decrease the cream in your tacos |
Don`t exaggerate |
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| Estar al loro |
To be at the parrot |
To pay attention, be attentive, be up to date |
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| Criado(a) a lo bruto |
raised in a brutish way |
Brought up in a barn |
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| Ser plato de segunda mesa |
To be second-table dish |
To play second fiddle |
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| Jugar con dos barajas |
To play with two decks |
To cheat, act with duplicity |
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| Cantar de plano |
To sing clearly |
To spill the beans |
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| Echar agua al mar |
To throw water into the sea |
To be pointless |
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| Con los brazos cruzados |
With arms crossed |
Twiddling one`s thumbs |
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| Marcando ocupado |
Dialling the busy signal |
Not understanding anything |
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| Encendérsele el bombillo |
To have the lightbulb turned on |
To get a brilliant idea |
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| Más feo que el pecado |
Uglier than the sin |
As ugly as sin |
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| Hacer su santa voluntad |
To do one`s holy will |
To do as one pleases |
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| Por los buenas o por las malas |
For the good or the bad |
One way or another |
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| No saber ni papa de |
Not to know even a potato about |
To know nothing about |
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| Caer chuzos de punta |
To rain sharp spears |
To rain cats and dogs |
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| Tragarle a uno la tierra |
To be swallowed by the earth |
To disappear into nowhere |
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| No cerrar la puerta |
To not close the door |
to not cut down on choices/options, or, not to burn one`s bridges |
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| Quedar a la altura de su zapatilla |
To remain at the height of one`s slipper |
To be a failure |
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| Contigo ni a China me voy |
I`m not even going to China with you |
You`re impossible |
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| Andar de Herodes a Pilato |
To walk from Herod to Pilate |
To go from bad to worse |
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| Ser un espantapájaro |
To be a scarecrow |
Ugly as sin |
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| Tener mal templada la guitarra |
To have one's guitar badly tuned. |
To be in a bad mood |
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| Ser del montón |
To be of the heap |
No great shakes, nothing to write home about |
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| Llover sobre mojado |
To rain over the wetness |
It never rains but it pours. |
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| Ser más del campo que las amapolas |
To be more from the country than the poppies |
To be a hick |
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| Estar entre la espada y la pared |
To be between the sword and the wall |
To be caught between a rock and a hard place |
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| Un viento de mil demonios |
A wind of a thousand demons |
A howling gale |
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| Estar de veinticinco alfileres |
To be of twenty-five pins |
To be dressed to kill |
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| Tener angel |
To have an angel |
to have charm, to be charming |
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| Darle perro a uno |
To give someone a dog |
To stand someone up, to break a date |
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| Largar a otro el mochuelo |
To pass the owl on to someone else |
To pass the buck |
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| Dar en un hueso |
To hit a bone |
To hit a snag |
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| Flipar en colores |
To flip colours |
To be totally amazed |
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| Parecerse como dos gotas de agua |
To look like two drops of water |
To look like two peas in a pod |
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| Tener un tornillo flojo |
To have a loose screw |
To be crazy |
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| El mundo es un pañuelo |
The world is a handkerchief |
It`s a small world |
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| Toda va viento en popa |
Everything goes wind at the stern |
All is going well |
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| Dejar a uno en la estacada |
To leave someone in the stockade |
To leave someone in the lurch |
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| No es cosa del otro mundo |
It`s not anything from another world |
It`s nothing to write home about |
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| Decirle a alguien cuatro verdades |
To tell someone four truths |
To give someone a piece of one`s mind |
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| Coger a alguien con las manos en la masa |
To catch someone with his or her hands in the dough |
To catch someone red-handed |
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| Costar un ojo de la cara |
To cost an eye of the face |
To cost an arm and a leg |
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| Aquello fue llegar y besar el santo |
That was arriving and kissing the saint |
It was like taking candy from a baby |
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| Andar pisando huevos |
To walk stepping on eggs |
To tread on thin ice |
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| Venir con músicas |
To come with music |
To tell tall tales |
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| Reír con risa de conejo |
To laugh with the laughter of a rabbit |
To force a laugh |
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| Empezar la casa por el tejado |
To start building the house at the roof |
To put the cart before the horse |
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| Ir al grano |
To go to the seed |
Get to the point |
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| Faltarle a uno un tornillo |
to have a screw missing |
To be nuts |
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| Cortar el bacalao |
To cut the codfish |
To rule the roost |
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| No hay mal que por bien no venga |
There is not badly that by well come not |
Every cloud has a silver lining |
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| Tirar las frutas frescas con las pochas |
Throwing the fresh fruits with the green beans |
To throw the baby out with the bathwater |
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| Nadie está contento con su suerte |
Nobody is content with his luck |
the grass is always greener on the other side |
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| A lo hecho pecho |
To it fact chest |
It`s no use crying over spilt milk |
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| Más vale prevenir que curar |
More valuable to prevent than cure |
Better safe than sorry |
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| No hay que vender la piel del oso (antes de cazarlo) |
Don't sell the the bear skin before hunting it |
Don`t count your chickens (before they are hatched) |
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| Una puntada a tiempo ahorra ciento |
A stitch in times saves hundred |
A stitch in time saves nine |
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| Estar hasta en la sopa |
To be even in the soup |
There's no getting away from him |
|
| No hay tiempo como el presente |
|
There's no time like the present |
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| Caerse de su burro |
To fall from your donkey |
To admit your mistake |
|
| Hay cuatro gatos |
There are four cats |
There's hardly anyone |
|
| Estar como boca de lobo |
To be like a wolf's mouth |
To be pitch dark |
|
| Darle perro a alguien |
To give someone a dog |
To stand someone up (on a date) |
|
| Cuando las ranas críen pelo |
When frogs grow hair |
When pigs might fly |
|
| No oír ni el vuelo de una mosca |
To not even hear a fly flying |
You could hear a pin drop |
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Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando |
A bird in the hand is more valuable than a hundred flying |
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush |
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| A quien madruga Dios lo ayuda |
To whom rises early God helps him |
It`s the early bird that catches the worm.
Early bed early to rise (makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise) |
 |
| Más vale mana que fuerza |
More value brain than strength |
Brain is better than brawn |
 |
| No se ganó Zamora en una hora |
You don`t win Zamora in an hour
(Zamora is a Spanish town where there was a battle) |
Rome wasn`t built in a day |
 |
| Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente |
Eyes that don`t see, heart that doesn`t feel |
Out of sight, out of mind |
 |
Nunca llueve a gusto de todos
or
Lo que a uno cura a otro mata |
It never rains to the liking of all
or
what to one priest another kills |
One man`s meat is another man`s poison |
 |
| Antes de hablar pensar |
Before speaking think |
Think before you speak |
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| Lo que no cuesta dinero,siempre es bueno |
That which costs nothing, always is good |
The best things in life are free |
 |
| El que tiene boca se equivoca |
The one that has mouth is mistaken |
We all make mistakes |
 |
| Lo que siembres cosecharas quien siembra vientos recoge tempestades |
What sowings harvested who sows winds collects storms |
As you sow, so shall you reap |
 |
| Quien a hierro mata, a hierro muere |
Who to iron kills, to iron dies |
They that live by the sword die by the sword |
 |
| Aunque la mona se vista de seda mona se queda |
Although the monkey itself monkey silk view remains |
You can`t make a silk purse out of a sow`s ear |
 |
| Nadie sabe lo que vale el agua hasta que falta |
Nobody knows what is worth the water until he lacks |
You never know what you`ve got till it`s gone |
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| En el peligro se conoce el amigo |
In the danger the friend is known |
A friend in need is a friend indeed |
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| En boca cerrada no entran moscas |
Flies don`t enter a closed mouth |
If you keep your mouth shut, you won`t put your foot in it |
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| Lo barato sale caro |
That which is cheap ends up being expensive |
If you buy cheaply, you pay dearly |
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| Al perro que duerme, no lo despiertes |
To the dog that sleeps it do not awake
|
Let sleeping dogs lie |
 |
| La necesidad hace maestros |
the necessity makes teachers |
necessity is the mother of invention |
 |
| Loro viejo no aprende a hablar |
Old parrot does not learn to speak |
You can`t teach an old dog new tricks |
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| El que ríe último, ríe mejor |
He who laughs last, laughs best |
He who laughs last laughs longest |
 |
| El sapo a la sapa tiénela por guapa |
The male toad to the female toad is considered good-looking |
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder |
 |
| Hablando del rey de Roma - (él que asoma) |
Talking of the king of Rome - (and he appears) |
Talk of the devil - (and the devil appears) |
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| Más vale tarde que nunca |
More value late than never |
Better late than never |
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| Si quieres ser bien servido, sírvete a ti mismo |
If you want to be well served, serve yourself |
If you want something done well, do it yourself |
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| El tiempo es oro |
Time is gold |
Time is money |
 |
| Reír con risa de conejo |
To laugh like a rabbit |
To force a laugh |
|
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