Spanish is a bit complicated, because of the number of tenses, synonyms, antonyms and, of course, their own expressions. Maybe, if you are doing a Spanish course in Madrid, you know, the Spanish is a roch language, with many words meaning the same, differents expressions to the same meaning... Surely, you have heard many expressions when leaving your Spanish classes, and you probably haven’t understood anything.
But, understanding these expressions is vital if you are going to spend some time learning Spanish. To make it easier for you, let's explain some of the best known.
Popular expressions in Spanish and what is the meaning
“Coser y cantar”: The time causes some expressions to become contradictory, and this is a perfect example. How many people, do you find, can sew today? Possibly not as much as a few decades or centuries ago... But we don’t care and we continue to say that something is "sewing and singing" when we mean that it will be very, very easy. Let's just hope no one tries to check how easy it is sewing and singing for real. You can use this expression in class, when the teacher explains something about Spanish.
“Voy en 0,”: Is an expression used to say that it doesn’t take long time, like "quickly"
“Ponerse las botas”: Spanish people put on their boots when we eat a lot (much at wedding level or Christmas food). The reason goes back to the origins of the boots themselves, which at first were very expensive (large and leather!), and that only knights with a lot of money. Those who could also afford to give themselves big binges without suffering for their bank account.
“Me suena a chino”: This expression is used to say that you haven’t understood anything, as if you were speaking in another language. This is perfect for you to use in your Spanish classes. When the teacher tells you something and you don’t understand it, you can tell her that it sounds Chinese to you, but in Spanish, you have to say: “Me suena a chino”.
“Mola”: When we use the word "mola" what we mean is that we like it very much. If you are learning Spanish in Madrid, surely you have heard it thousands of times
“Es coña”: it means that it is a joke, although we also use the expression "¿Estás de coña?" When we are surprised by something they have told us.
“No me rayes”: Don’t bother me. Leave me alone. It is also used when someone is very worried about something and does not stop thinking about it.
“Hacerse el sueco”: Become the Swede? It's not easy to pretend to be Spanish, how do we do it? Very simple: pretending not to realize that some message is addressed to us, disregarding things as if, indeed, we were Swedish and did not understand anything. But that the Swedes don’t take offense, since the expression is the simple result of an incorrect evolution of the language. That "Swedish" comes from "soccus", a type of clog that the Roman comedians used to carry that made them walk rough and clumsy. The expression actually means "becoming the clumsy", nothing similar to Sweden!
“Estar hecho un Cristo”: Religion gives for many expressions in Spain, and this is possibly the most used. The meaning is quite direct as well. We all know that Christ didn’t end his days on earth in too good a state: whips, stones, and bearing the cross ... Someone or something is made a Christ when it is simply made a mess. It can also be used to say that the room or house is cluttered.
“Tener mucho morro” / “tener un morro que te lo pisas”: It’s very typical Spanish. This we say a lot, so it is important to understand what they are telling you if you are put on the face that you have a lot of nose. It has nothing to do with your physical characteristics, but rather that you are a scoundrel, you do not consider the rest when doing things. An example? "What a nose he has, he always pretends to be bad for the seat on the bus."
All these expressions are very used in Spain. Surprise your Spanish teacher by using these phrases.
