The Spanish verb echar can be used in many different ways and appears in a host of different Spanish idiomatic expressions. Let's explore the many meanings and uses of the Spanish verb echar.
While the first definition of echar in dictionaries is typically "to throw," it can refer to any literal or figurative movement from one point to another and can thus be translated in many fashions depending upon the context. Let's take a look at several of its most common meanings with examples from our Yabla Spanish library.
Although the Spanish verb echar can literally mean "to throw," "toss," or "hurl" something, it is probably more common to hear verbs like tirar, lanzar, or arrojar used with this meaning. That said, let's take a look at an example where echar means to physically throw something:
y le echas harina y se lo pones en el pelo y... ¡Chwak!
and you throw flour on her and you put it in her hair and... Bam!
Caption 17, Club 10 Capítulo 1 - Part 1
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The Spanish verb echar can also be used in the way we use the verbs "to throw" something "out" or "away," whether literally or figuratively. Let's look at an example of each:
Por lo general, tenemos cuatro contenedores: el azul, donde echamos el papel, cartón, revistas,
Generally, we have four trash bins: the blue one, where we throw away paper, cardboard, magazines,
Captions 3-4, Rosa Reciclar
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Todo estaba tranquilo y lo echaste a la basura
Everything was calm and you threw it in the garbage
Caption 3, Sondulo Que te vaya mal
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The verb echar in Spanish often appears in recipes and other contexts when talking about "adding" or "putting in" some ingredient, etc. Let's take a look:
Le voy a echar un poco de nata...
I'm going to add a bit of cream to it...
Caption 47, Cómetelo Crema de brócoli - Part 9
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Bueno, también le podemos echar diferentes clases de condimentos.
Well, we can also put in different kinds of seasoning.
Caption 24, Cocinando con Miguelito Pollo sudado - Part 2
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Along these same lines, echar can also be used to mean to pour something into something else:
Solo falta echarla en el molde
We just need to pour it into the mold
Caption 38, Cleer y Lía El día de la madre
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The verb echar in Spanish may also refer to getting rid of someone in the sense of throwing or kicking them out, temporarily or permanently:
No sé qué hace este señor todavía acá, lo eché esta misma tarde.
I don't know what this gentleman is still doing here. I threw him out this very afternoon.
Caption 33, Muñeca Brava 3 Nueva Casa - Part 4
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Se mueren por saber por qué echó a la chirusa.
They're dying to know why she fired the vulgar girl.
Caption 42, Carlos y Cyndy Comentario sobre Muñeca Brava
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And speaking of "expelling" and "fire," the verb echar in Spanish can also mean to "expel," "emit," "give off," or "spew" fire or smoke, for example:
Pero eso no lo iba a entender un dragón al que solo le interesaba rugir y echar fuego por la boca.
But a dragon who was only interested in roaring and spewing fire from his mouth wasn't going to get it.
Caption 49, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 1 - Part 7
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And, to conclude with our more standard uses of the Spanish verb echar, the formula echar + infinitive means "to start" [doing something]:
y ven la batidora, echan a correr.
and they see the blender, they start to run.
Caption 31, Cómetelo Crema de brócoli - Part 8
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This meaning might also be seen with the reflexive version of the verb, echarse.
Pero ya las lágrimas se echaban a correr
But the tears were starting to fall
Caption 8, Jeremías Uno y uno igual a tres
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Let's take a look at some additional uses of the reflexive verb echarse.
The reflexive verb echarse can be used to talk about "lying down" as in Me voy a echar en la cama (I'm going to lie down in bed) or generally "throwing oneself" or "getting down":
Los hombres que cuando se les dicen de echarse al suelo es que no quieren ninguno.
When men are told to get down on the ground, the thing is that no one wants to.
Captions 52-53, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 8
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The reflexive verb echarse can additionally have the connotation of moving from one place to another, as in the first example, and is therefore heard often in songs, as in the second, with various translations to tell people how they should move.
donde el pueblo se echa a la calle junto a miles de visitantes
where the town goes out onto the street along with thousands of visitors
Caption 57, Viajando con Fermín Frigiliana, Málaga
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Échate pa' un lado
Move aside
Caption 8, Javier García EPK - Part 2
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Now, let's look at several Spanish idioms that involve the Spanish verbs echar or echarse with examples in context:
¡Y me echó la culpa de todo!
And she blamed everything on me!
Caption 13, Guillermina y Candelario La Peluqueria del Mar - Part 1
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El marido se echó a reír al ver la cara de sorpresa de su esposa.
The husband burst out laughing when he saw his wife's surprised face.
Caption 32, Cleer El espejo de Matsuyama
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Después de haberse marchado todos, estaba sola en casa y se echó a llorar.
After everyone had left, she was alone in the house and burst out crying.
Captions 29-30, Cuentos de hadas Cenicienta - Part 1
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Después de comer, solemos echar la siesta
After eating, we usually take a nap
Caption 20, El Aula Azul Actividades Diarias
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Ahora cerramos la puerta, echamos la llave
Now we close the door, we lock it,
Caption 12, Escuela BCNLIP Clase con Javi: el futuro - Part 1
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De España echo mucho de menos el clima,
From Spain, I really miss the weather,
Caption 39, Álvaro Arquitecto Español en Londres
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para que nos eche una mano y les vamos a dar
so that he can lend us a hand and we are going to give them
Caption 50, Club de las ideas Bioparc
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De acuerdo, deje que eche un vistazo.
OK, let me take a look.
Caption 63, Negocios Empezar en un nuevo trabajo - Part 2
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Así es y pues aquí mira, trabajando, echándole ganas y...
It's so, and well, [we] are here, [you] see, working, giving it my all and...
Caption 17, Edificio en Construcción Hablando con los trabajadores - Part 2
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No puedo, negrita, ya eché a perder como diez laburo'.
I can't, honey. I already messed up like ten jobs.
Caption 3, Muñeca Brava 3 Nueva Casa - Part 5
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¡Callate, Rufino! No eches más leña al fuego, ¿querés?
Shut up, Rufino! Don't put more wood into the fire [don't add fuel to the fire], will you?
Caption 23, Yago 8 Descubrimiento - Part 2
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Todavía no ha jugado el partido de fútbol y ya está "echando las campanas al vuelo",
He hasn't played the soccer match yet, and he's already "throwing the bells in the air,"
Captions 45-46, Aprendiendo con Silvia Campanas - Part 2
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Although the literal meaning is totally different, this Spanish expression is comparable to the English idiom about "counting one's chickens before they are hatched." For more such examples, check out this lesson on Spanish idioms and their (very different) English equivalents.
As there are so many standard and idiomatic ways to use the Spanish verb echar that it would be impossible to name them all, we've provided just a smattering! Don't hesitate to write to us with any more you come across, or with any ideas for future lessons. ¡Hasta la próxima!
How do you say "math" in Spanish? This is a question even native speakers ask themselves. The reason is that there are two terms that people use to say "mathematics" in Spanish. Let's find out which term you should use and explore some of the most basic math terms in Spanish.
Matemática and its plural form matemáticas are the two valid terms you can use when talking about the noun that refers to "the science of numbers, forms, amounts, and their relationships." Let's see a couple of examples:
matemática
Vos te puedes equivocar en la matemática también.
You can make mistakes in math too.
Caption 19, Yago - 11 Prisión
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matemáticas
Esta mañana he resuelto el problema de matemáticas.
This morning I solved the math problem.
Caption 55, Lecciones con Carolina - Participios irregulares
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Yo tenía que responder exámenes de matemáticas.
I had to answer math tests.
Caption 34, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 7
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There are a couple of things worth mentioning. First of all, keep in mind that the plural form matemáticas tends to be used more frequently than the singular form. Second of all, you don't need to use capital letters for any of these two terms. Now, let's review some useful vocabulary related to math in Spanish.
Let's see how to say the most basic math operations in Spanish:
Addition (Adición or suma)
Substraction (Sustracción or resta)
Multiplication (Multiplicación)
Division (División)
And how about the verbs that you use to indicate those basic operations? Let's listen to our friend Ester from El Aula Azul:
Tienes números, tienes que sumar,
You have numbers, you have to add,
tienes que restar, multiplicar, dividir.
you have to subtract, to multiply, to divide.
Captions 4-5, El Aula Azul - Piensa rápido
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Now, let's see how to express these operations with some examples:
1 +1 = one plus one (uno más uno)
2 - 1 = two minus one (dos menos uno)
2 x 2 = two times two (dos por dos)
4 ÷ 2 = four divided by two (cuatro dividido dos)
There are many math terms we use every day even when we are not talking about mathematics. Let's look at some of these terms:
Mi escultura es la solución a una ecuación.
My sculpture is the solution to an equation.
Caption 25, San Sebastián - Peine del viento
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Y ¿cuál es la temperatura promedio en tu pueblo?
And what's the average temperature in your town?
Caption 39, Cleer - Entrevista a Lila
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Producimos un doce coma seis por ciento más de residuos que la media Europea.
We produce twelve-point-six percent more waste than the average of Europe.
Caption 29, 3R - Campaña de reciclaje
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Ya ven uno y uno es igual a tres
Now you see one and one equals three
Caption 10, Jeremías - Uno y uno igual a tres
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Otra cosa im'... importante que tienes que calcular
Another im'... important thing that you have to calculate
además de todo ese movimiento.
in addition to all that movement.
Captions 64-65, El teatro. - Conversación con un doble de acción.
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Los números cardinales pueden ser simples o compuestos.
Cardinal numbers can be simple or compound.
Caption 11, Carlos explica - Los Números: Números Cardinales
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And that's it for today. If you want to learn more math in Spanish, we invite you to check out this useful English-Spanish glossary of terms and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions.
In the song's refrain, there's another example of a common verb used in a secondary sense.
Si dos ya no se llevan bien
If two don't get along [well]
Caption 11, Jeremías - Uno y uno igual a tres
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The first definition you'll probably learn for the common verb llevar is "to carry." Learn the nuances of this versatile verb and you'll find this construction:
Llevarse bien/mal con alguien
"To get on well/badly with somebody"
For more examples -- and more nuances of llevar -- you could check out:
ThoughtCo. > Spanish language > Using llevar
Cheating! Bitter tears! Broken hearts!... There's a lot of action in this week's featured song by Jeremías -Uno y uno igual a tres ("One and One, the Same As Three") -- which is why the singer uses a lot of verbs (except in the song title).
By and large, the verbs sprinkled throughout these lyrics are standards found in classic reference texts, like 501 Spanish Verbs and The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs. But they may not follow the first definitions found on the top of the page. Let's take a closer look at some lyrics.
Pero ya las lágrimas se echaban a correr
But the tears were starting to fall
Caption 8, Jeremías - Uno y uno igual a tres
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The first definition students usually learn for echar is usually "to throw" -as in, ¡Echa la pelota! ("Throw the ball!"). But in this construction -echarse a + infinitive- the more faithful translation is "to begin to [do something]." For example:
De repente, se echó a reír
Suddenly, he began to laugh
Or...
Suddenly, he burst out laughing
So, in the song lyric cited above, a student of Spanish who only knew the first definition of echar might try to translate the sentence as "But the tears had already thrown themselves to running." Well, almost... familiarity with the construction echarse a + infinitive will help you quickly realize that the tears had started to run (or, in English, it's more common to say tears "fall").
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