Here's an easy-to-remember expression: sudar la gota (literally, “to sweat the drop”), which means "to worry." Sometimes you may also hear sudar la gota gorda (to sweat the fat drop)! We used a somewhat similar English expression to translate the following example:
Suda la gota cuando ya no la encuentra
He sweats heavily when he doesn't find her anymore
Caption 12, La Vela Puerca - Se le va
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Another funny Spanish expression that also exists in English and is associated with distress is llorar lágrimas de cocodrilo (to cry crocodile tears). It's a funny, kind of ironic expression that is used to indicate that someone is crying without really feeling sad, maybe just a little theatrically. The phrase derives from an ancient belief that crocodiles shed tears while consuming their prey!
No le creo nada, Ivo.
I don't believe anything from him, Ivo.
Son lágrimas de cocodrilo.
They are crocodile tears.
Captions 43-44, Muñeca Brava - 8 Trampas
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Talking about not believing, have you heard the expression ojos que no ven corazón que no siente (eyes that do not see, a heart that does not feel)? It's very close to the English expression "what the eye doesn't see the heart doesn't grieve over." It's very common to hear Spanish speakers abbreviating this expression:
Igual, ojos que no ven...
Anyway, eyes that don't see...
Caption 30, Kikirikí - Agua
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Let's see a few more expressions that involve animals. It's no surprise that there are a large number of expressions involving monos (monkeys) and other types of apes. But Spanish uses a few that are really puzzling. For example, the expression dormir la mona (literally, "to put the female monkey to sleep"), which means "to sleep off a hangover”:
Tiene que hablar con la patrona y decirle
You have to talk with the boss and tell her
que sus empleadas duermen la mona.
that her employees are sleeping their hangovers off.
Caption 7, Muñeca Brava - 41 La Fiesta
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Una monada (a monkey-like thing), on the other hand, is used to describe something as very cute or beautiful:
Mira qué monada.
Look what a beauty.
Caption 5, Los Reporteros - Caza con Galgo
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What about expressions that refer to parts of animals? Spanish uses many with the word pata (paw). For example, meter la pata (to stick one's paw into something) means “to make a mistake.” The closest English equivalent is "to put your foot in your mouth," which means to say or do something tactless or embarrassing:
¡No! Pero si eso ocurre en cualquier momento
No! But if that happens, at any moment you'll
metes la pata.
put your foot in your mouth.
Caption 52, Yago - 6 Mentiras
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In Argentina and Chile, hacer la pata (to do the paw) means “to intercede for someone,” usually with sweet-talking:
¿Me hacés la pata con papá? -¿Para qué?
Will you give me a hand with dad? -What for?
Caption 78, Muñeca Brava - 2 Venganza
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Instead of hacer la pata, Mexicans use either hacer la pala (literally, “to do the shovel”), which means to sweet-talk someone in order to intercede for someone else, or hacer la barba (literally, “to do the beard”), which is used to describe someone who acts pleasantly with a superior in order to obtain his or her favor. English translations vary:
Julia le hace la barba al maestro para sacar buenas calificaciones.
Julia butters the teacher up so she gets good grades.
Hazme la pala con tu amiga para que acepte salir conmigo.
Convince your friend for me so she agrees to go out on a date with me.
Very different is echar flores or tirar flores (to throw flowers at someone), which means “to compliment,” “to say nice things about somebody”:
Gracias, te agradezco mucho las flores que me estás tirando.
Thanks, I thank you very much for your compliments [literally "the flowers that you are throwing me"].
Caption 18, Muñeca Brava - 45 El secreto
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La primavera — spring — is one of the most poetic seasons, and the Spanish language has plenty to say about it. Whether you're looking to expand your spring vocabulary in Spanish, learn how to talk about the weather, or discover some beautiful seasonal expressions, you've come to the right place. Let's dive in!
Flores means "flowers" and florecer means "to flower" or "to bloom." But there are also other words such as the verb aflorar (to bloom), which is also used figuratively meaning "to pop up," "to emerge" or "to appear." You can even use it to say something as un-spring-like as: Su instinto asesino afloró de pronto (His killing instinct suddenly emerged).
Spanish also has the poetic adjective florido (full of flowers, flowery):
Luz y sonido, grande y florido
Light and sound, big and flowery
Caption 1, Aterciopelados - Al parque
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And the participle adjective florecido, also "full of flowers:"
Por la senda florecida que atraviesa la llanura
Along the flowered path that crosses the plain
Caption 9, Acercándonos a la Literatura - José Asunción Silva - "Nocturno III"
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There is also the verb florear (literally, "to adorn with flowers" or "to make look like a flower") with many, many different uses. For example, florear means "to compliment" or "to say beautiful things." From that come the expressions echar flores, decir flores, tirar flores (literally, to throw or say flowers):
Gracias, te agradezco mucho las flores que me estás tirando.
Thanks, I thank you very much for your compliments [literally "the flowers that you are throwing me"].
Caption 18, Muñeca Brava - 45 El secreto
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Enough of flores. The verb aparear (to mate or reproduce, literally "to pair") is a pertinent choice:
Las ballenas vienen a Gorgona a aparearse y tener sus crías.
The whales come to Gorgona to mate and to have their offspring.
Caption 52, Instinto de conservación - Gorgona
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Anidar means "to nest," and by extension "to shelter." You can use it figuratively as in: En su corazón anida la amargura (His heart harbors bitterness). The corresponding noun is nido (nest), a word that you can learn, along with many other palabras primaverales (spring words), by watching the trippy song Jardín (Garden) by Liquits:
De pronto una cigüeña me lleva de paquete bebé al nido
Suddenly a stork takes me as a baby package to the nest
Captions 14-15, Liquits - Jardín
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Spring weather can be unpredictable — one day soleado (sunny), the next lluvioso (rainy)! In Spanish, describing the weather involves a mix of adjectives and verb structures. For example, hace sol (it's sunny), llueve (it's raining), and hay viento (it's windy) are all expressions you'll hear constantly during la primavera.
Así que llueve un poco, pero los días suelen estar soleados.
So it rains a bit, but the days tend to be sunny.
Captions 19-20, Clara explica El tiempo - Part 1
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📌 Want to go deeper into weather vocabulary and expressions in Spanish? Check out our complete guide: [Talking About the Weather in Spanish: Essential Vocabulary and Expressions]
To finish this lesson, let's explore a beautiful figurative use of the word primavera (spring). Just like "springtime" in English, primavera in Spanish can denote the earliest and usually most attractive period of something's existence. By extension, it's commonly used as a synonym for "youth," or even "years," in expressions such as hoy ella cumple sus veinte primaveras (she is celebrating her twentieth anniversary). Here's a lovely example from Reyli's song Qué nos pasó:
¿Quién te llenó de primaveras esos ojos
Who filled with springtimes those eyes of yours
que no me saben mentir?
which don't know how to lie to me?
Captions 12-13, Reyli - Qué nos pasó
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From flowers and nesting to weather expressions and poetic uses of la primavera, Spanish offers a wonderfully rich set of tools for talking about this season. Keep practicing these words and expressions, and don't be afraid to sprinkle some palabras primaverales into your next Spanish conversation!
Got questions about spring vocabulary in Spanish or any other Spanish topic? We'd love to hear from you — send us your thoughts and questions, and we'll do our best to help. ¡Hasta la próxima!
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