20 Spanish Sayings and Expressions Explained
Explore 20 Spanish sayings and idioms, with literal translations and what they actually mean.
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1. Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente.2. El muerto y el arrimado, a los tres días apestan.03. Amar sin deseo es peor que comer sin hambre.04. Dios da pan al que no tiene dientes.05. Muerto el perro, se acabó la rabia.06. Costar un ojo de la cara.07. En el país de los ciegos, el tuerto es el rey.08. Se juntaron el hambre y las ganas de comer.09. Orinar fuera del perol.10. Estar con un pie en la tumba.11. Una vez cada muerte de obispo.12. En tiempo de vacas gordas.13. A perro flaco, todo son pulgas.14. Matar la gallina de los huevos de oro.15. La curiosidad mató al gato.16. El muerto al hoyo y el vivo al gozo.17. Por la plata baila el mono.18. No le busques tres pies al gato.19. Le dieron gato por liebre.20. Éramos muchos y parió la abuela.Spanish has many vivid sayings. Some are common across countries, while others are regional or old-fashioned.
These 20 examples show how literal translations can differ from an expression’s real meaning. Check the usage notes before trying a regional or blunt saying yourself.
Ready? Let’s begin.
1. Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente.
Literally: A shrimp that falls asleep gets carried away by the current.
You might not guess the context in which this common expression is used just by looking at it. This saying compares people to snoozing shrimp who get carried away by the water currents. In English, it’s somewhat similar to “You snooze, you lose.” Or if you don’t do anything about something, you’ll get swept away.
What’s the shrimp got to do with it, you ask? Well, they do illustrate the point of the expression pretty well, don’t you think?
2. El muerto y el arrimado, a los tres días apestan.
Literal meaning: The dead person and the hanger-on begin to stink after three days.
This blunt proverb warns that someone who stays in another person’s home too long may wear out their welcome. Arrimado refers to someone living at another person’s expense; it does not simply mean an invited guest.
03. Amar sin deseo es peor que comer sin hambre.
Literal meaning: Loving without desire is worse than eating without hunger.
This somewhat ironic expression compares two important areas of life: loving and eating. Loving someone without any desire is just like forcing yourself to eat even when you’re not hungry. Do you agree?
04. Dios da pan al que no tiene dientes.
Literal meaning: God gives bread to the toothless.
This saying comments on the irony of someone receiving an opportunity or resource they cannot use, while someone else who could use it goes without.
05. Muerto el perro, se acabó la rabia.
Literal meaning: Once the dog is dead, the rabies is gone.
Figuratively, when the cause of a problem disappears, its effects end too. The saying can sound harsh when applied to a person.
06. Costar un ojo de la cara.
Literally: To cost an eye from your face.
This expression means something is very expensive. The closest English equivalent is “to cost an arm and a leg.”
07. En el país de los ciegos, el tuerto es el rey.
Literal meaning: In the country of the blind, the one-eyed is king.
Figuratively, someone with even a little knowledge or ability can seem exceptional when everyone else has less. The proverb uses an old image involving blindness; use it with care when referring to people.
08. Se juntaron el hambre y las ganas de comer.
Literally: Hunger and the desire to eat came together.
It describes two people or circumstances that fit together closely. Depending on the context, that combination can be welcome or troublesome; it does not always mean two bad people.
09. Orinar fuera del perol.
Literally: To urinate outside the pot.
In Venezuelan Spanish, this colloquial expression can mean to make a mistake, intervene inappropriately, or do something that is not your place to do. It is informal and can sound crude.
10. Estar con un pie en la tumba.
Literally: To have one foot in the grave.
It means that someone is very old, seriously ill, or otherwise close to death. It is not a neutral way to describe a temporary danger.
11. Una vez cada muerte de obispo.
Literal meaning: Once every death of a bishop
This expression means “very rarely,” like the English “once in a blue moon.” It does not simply mean “every once in a while.”
12. En tiempo de vacas gordas.
Literal meaning: In time of fat cows.
This might seem like a funny expression to you, but it actually has a biblical origin. If you’re familiar with the Bible, you might remember the passage about good times and fat cows and bad times with skinny cows. Here the fat cows are referenced as a way to describe abundance.
13. A perro flaco, todo son pulgas.
Literally: For a skinny dog, everything is fleas.
It describes someone already facing hardship who then suffers more bad luck. “When it rains, it pours” is a close English equivalent.
14. Matar la gallina de los huevos de oro.
Literally: To kill the hen that lays golden eggs.
It means destroying a continuing source of benefit through short-sighted action, like “killing the goose that lays the golden eggs” in English.
15. La curiosidad mató al gato.
Literal meaning: Curiosity killed the cat.
Another expression about death, but this time, it’s the poor cat. You probably know this expression already in its English counterpart, but it doesn’t hurt to know how to say this in Spanish, right?
16. El muerto al hoyo y el vivo al gozo.
Literally: The dead to the grave, and the living to enjoyment.
This blunt saying urges the living to carry on after a death. It can sound callous and is not suitable as a condolence to someone who is grieving.
17. Por la plata baila el mono.
Literally: The monkey dances for money.
It suggests that money can persuade people to do things. Plata means “money” in many Latin American varieties of Spanish; this saying is regional.
18. No le busques tres pies al gato.
Literally: Don’t look for three feet on the cat.
This means not to invent difficulties or objections where there are none. “Don’t overcomplicate it” is a useful English equivalent.
19. Le dieron gato por liebre.
Literally: They gave him a cat instead of a hare.
It means someone was deceived into accepting something worse than what was promised, especially in a purchase.
20. Éramos muchos y parió la abuela.
Literal meaning: We were too many and grandma gave birth.
This is an absurd image for a situation that was already difficult before one more complication arrived.
Weird? You bet.
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