Unfortunately, we all have times when we feel tired (cansado) or angry (enojado). So, how can we describe these emotions in Spanish, beyond those basic terms? In this lesson, we will go over some more evocative expressions to explain how you feel, say, after a hard day at the office or when you are sick and tired of arguing with that certain someone once more.

Feeling Tired

There are several adjectives and phrases to show that we have run out of energy, one of which is estar agotado/a (to be exhausted):

Yo también estoy agotada.

I am also exhausted.

Caption 27, NPS No puede ser - 1 - El concurso

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In addition, the girls on Muñeca Brava, who are always colorful in their vocabulary and ready to share their emotions, give us three expressions in a row!

Te juro, Mili, que estoy muerta.

I swear to you, Mili, that I'm dead tired.

No doy más. Knockout.

I'm exhausted. Knocked out.

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Sometimes we are so tired that we tend to get irritable, and, in this kind of limbo before anger itself, you might feel agobio or fastidio. Unlike the previous examples, feeling agobiado or fastidioso cannot result from physical activity since these terms are related to your emotions. 

de un tipo que está agobiado.

of a guy who is overwhelmed.

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Feeling Angry

On those other days when we are just plain mad, vocabulary like cabreado (annoyed), harto (sick and tired), and arrecho (angry) might come in handy.

Bronca/rabia (annoyance)

It is worth mentioning that both bronca and rabia collocate, or tend to go along with, the same verbs: dar (in this case "to cause"), tener ("to be" or "feel" in these examples), and pasar (when that feeling has "passed," or "ended"):

Me da bronca/rabia.    It makes me angry/annoys me.

Tengo bronca/rabia.    I'm angry/furious.

Se me pasó la bronca/rabia.    I'm not angry anymore. 

me empezó a apretar y lo que más bronca me dio que me...

he started to squeeze me and what annoyed me the most [was] that...

Caption 14, Muñeca Brava - 2 Venganza

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que una forma de manejar la rabia

that a way to manage rage

es aceptar que tengo rabia y por qué,

is to accept that I feel rage and why,

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Other useful adjectives are podrido/a (informal, colloquial), which is common in Argentina, or encabronado/a, which is common in Spain:

Mira, mi madre y vos me tienen podrido.

Look, I'm sick and tired of you and my mother.

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Sacar de quicio/sacar de las casillas  (to make someone lose their temper)

On an episode of El Aula Azul's - La Doctora Consejos, we learn the expression sacar de quicio (to annoy someone) and recommend watching this video to hear several examples of this expression:

¿qué cosas te sacan de quicio?

what things do you find annoying?

Caption 65, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: Subjuntivo y sentimientos

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This same video contains another idiom with a similar meaning that also uses the verb sacar:

¡Eso sí que me saca de mis casillas!

That really drives me crazy!

Caption 77, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: Subjuntivo y sentimientos

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And when someone has lost his or her temper, you might hear others say "Está sacado/a" (He/she lost it).

Estar hasta la coronilla

This additional idiom can be useful if you feel you've had enough and are short of patience:

Muy bien, estaba hasta la coronilla.

Just great, I was fed up.

Caption 16, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 6

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Additional Verbs Meaning "to Make Someone Mad" (or Worse!)

Some other common verbs that can be used when something or someone "makes you angry" (or perhaps the less polite "pisses you off") include joder, reventar, sacar, embolar, and cabrear. In Spain, joder is also used as an extremely common exclamation (meaning anything on the spectrum of curse words from "Damn!" to worse), and in many countries, it can also mean "to party, "joke around with," or "kid" someone. 

Me revienta que me digas "te lo dije."

I hate it when you say "I told you so."

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Keep in mind that, as all these verbs are informal and could potentially be perceived as rude outside the company of friends, it is always safer to go with more neutral verbs like enojar, irritar, molestar, or enfadar to express the idea that something has "made you mad." In doing so, you will also avoid regionalisms that could cause confusion across different Spanish dialects. 

Context Is Always Key

Some words can mean either angry or, of all things, horny! As a misunderstanding in this realm could be embarrassing, always analyze the context. In Argentina, for instance, the very informal calentarse or estar caliente can have either meaning. 

Bueno, Llamita, pero eso tiene solución;

Well, Llamita, but that has a solution;

no te calentés.

don't get mad.

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The same thing happens across countries with the word arrecho. While arrecho means "angry" in Venezuela, in Colombia it can either mean "cool" or, once again, "horny." A bit confusing, right?

Yabla's video Curso de español - Expresiones de sentimientos elaborates on this and other expressions of emotion:

Entonces, "arrecho" en Venezuela significa enojado,

So, "arrecho" in Venezuela means mad,

pero en otros países significa otra cosa diferente

but in other countries it means different things

Captions 49-50, Curso de español - Expresiones de sentimientos

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The word arrecho is also used by the Colombian band ChocQuibTown, with its alternative meaning:

Y si sos chocoano, sos arrecho por cultura, ¡ey!

And if you are from Chocó, you are horny by culture, ay!

Caption 20, ChocQuibTown - Somos Pacifico

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That's all for now. We hope that you have found these alternative manners of talking about tiredness and anger useful (and that you don't need to use them too often)! And don't forget to send us your suggestions and comments. 

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Whether speaking or singing, members of ChocQuibTown are not afraid of linguistic gymnastics. The proudly Colombian crew plays with slang, made-up words, and foreign ones (as the English "Town" in their name attests). For example, listen in on these lyrics of Somos Pacíficos.

Allá rastrillan, hablan jerguiado, te preguntan si no has janguiado

There they rub, speak slang, they ask you if you haven't hung out

Caption 16, ChocQuibTown - Somos Pacifico

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"Rastrillar" means "to rake," as in using a rake (un rastrillo) to clear the yard of fall leaves. But here the verb expresses just how close the bodies can get on the dancing floor. Rubbing, raking, bumping and grinding... you get the picture. Moving along, "jerguiado" comes from the noun "jerga," which is found in any basic dictionary as "slang" or "jargon." But ChocQuibTown playfully throws in the past participle of their made-up verb "jerguiar" ("to slang"). So, we could have translated "hablan jerguiado" as "they speak slanged." How slangy is that? Finally, "janguiado" is a classic example of fun with Spanglish. With "j" in Spanish pronounced like "h" in English, the verb "janguiar" is a "latinization" of the English expression "to hang out."

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