This post is aimed at those of you who have medium to high knowledge of Spanish and are looking for additional help to speak more fluently and deepen their understanding of the language.
As you can probably tell if you have had conversation with native speakers, the use of idioms is wide in all sorts of conversations and it can help you develop Spanish language skills.
Two important factors for learning Spanish idioms is that it offers a more expressive use of phrases and it allows you to explain things in various ways. Last but not least, it is a great way to fit in a group of native speakers as you will be able to understand their natural way of speaking.
You can start building your learning path with a first approach to some of the most basic and popular Spanish idioms (modismos in Spanish). Below is a list of 20 idioms with an equivalent idiom in English and/or its meaning:
.Ahogarse en un vaso de agua – make a big deal out of nothing
.Andarse por las ramas – go off on a tangent/ not sticking to the point
.Costar un ojo de la cara – cost an arm and a leg
.Dar en el clavo– hit the nail on the head
.Dar la lata – to hassle someone
.Dormir como un tronco – to sleep like a log
.Echar una mano – to give somebody a hand
.Estar a dos velas – not have two pennies to rub together (to be broke)
.Estar entre la espada y la pared – to be (caught) between a rock and a hard place (to have to make a decision in a difficult situation)
.Estar en las nubes – be daydreaming
.Estar hecho polvo – to be exhausted
.Ir al grano – to get to de point
.Meter la pata – to put your foot in it
.No hay mal que por bien no venga – a blessing in disguise
.No pegar ojo – to not be able to sleep
.No tener pelos en la lengua (sin pelos en la lengua) – not mince your words (talking in an honest way without caring about being judged)
.Por todo lo alto – spare no expense (to spend as much money as is necessary to achieve or do something)
.Sin comerlo ni beberlo – for no apparent reason
.Tirar la toalla – throw in the towel (to give up)
.Tomar el pelo – to play somebody for a fool
Please note that the above information refers to popular idioms in Spain; since these types of sentences are very influenced by the different cultures, idioms can change depending on the country.
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