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Lists of Idiomatic Expressions
One of the most difficult aspects of a language to master is the usage of idiomatic expressions.Idiomatic expressions are phrases that carry a specific meaning within the language. Normally,there is no logical way of translating them word by word. The only way to learn them is tomemorize them, and to practice their use. Below, you will find a series of Spanish idiomaticexpressions grouped by types, according to the verb or the preposition they contain, and theirEnglish counterparts.
Expresiones con DAR (Idioms with DAR)
dar a
to face; to look out upon
dar la espalda
to turn one’s back
dar a conocer
to make known
dar gritos
to shout
dar a luz
to give birth
dar gusto
to please
dar un abrazo
to embrace
dar la hora
to strike the hour
dar asco
to disgust
dar gato por liebre
to gyp; to swindle
dar la bienvenida
to welcome
dar las gracias
to thank
dar brincos
to jump
dar guerra
to cause a lot of trouble
dar los buenos
to say good
dar largas
to prolong an affair
(días, tardes)
(morning, afternoon)
dar calabazas
to jilt; to flunk
dar lata
to make a nuisance ofoneself
dar la cara
to take responsibility
dar lugar a
to give cause for
dar carta blanca
to give someone a free hand
dar una mano
to lend a hand
dar con
to come upon; to find
dar lo mismo
to make no difference
dar con la puerta
to slam the door
dar la nota
to stand out
en las narices
in one’s face
dar cuenta de
to give a report on
dar pena a
to aggrieve
dar cuerda a
to wind
dar que hablar
to give groundsfor criticism
dar de alta
to discharge (a patient)
dar que hacer
to cause trouble
dar de baja
to drop (from a list)
dar que pensar
to give groundsfor suspicion
dar de beber (comer)
to give a drink (to feed)
dar palos de ciego
to swing out wildly
dar de palos
to beat; to thrash
dar parte
to inform
dar en
to strike against; to hit
dar un paseo
to take a walk
(continued)
dar por + past participle
to consider
dar una vuelta
to take a stroll
darse por aludido
to take it personally
darse a
to devote oneself to
dar a hecho
to take for granted
darse cuenta de
to realize
dar por muerto
to consider dead
darse de baja
to withdraw; to drop out
dar por sentado
to take for granted
darse
í
nfulas
to put on airs
dar raz
ó
n
to give account
darse la mano
to shake hands
dar la raz
ó
n
to agree with
darse por + past participle
to consider oneself
dar recuerdos ato give regards todarse por vencido
to give up
dar rienda suelta ato give free rein todarse prisa
to hurry
dar al traste conto destroy; to spoild
á
rsela a uno
to make a fool out ofsomeone
dar vocesto shoutd
á
rselas de
to pose as; to claim to be
dar vueltas a
to think something over
Expresiones con ECHAR (Idioms with ECHAR)
echar a + infinitive
to start to
echar en cara
to throw in one
’
s face
echar a perder
to ruin; to spoil
echar en el olvido
to forget completely
echar abajo
to demolish
echar flores
to flatter
echar al correo
to mail
echar mano a
to lay hands on
echar la bronca a uno
to give someone
echar ra
í
ces
to take roota dressing down
echar chispas
to be furious; to be angry
echar todo a rodar
to make a fizzle
echar la culpa
to blame
echarse atr
á
s
to lean backwards; to retract
echar de comer
to feed (animals)
echarse a dormir
to lie down to sleep
echar de menos
to miss
ech
á
rselas de
to boast of being
Expresiones con ESTAR (Idioms with ESTAR)
est
á
despejado
it
’
s clear
estar al corriente de
to be up to date
est
á
nublado
it
’
s cloudy
estar apurado
to be in a hurry
estar a
to be priced at
estar calado
to be soaked to the skin
estar a dos velas
to be broke
estar como pez en el agua
to be right at home
estar a punto de
to be about to
estar con el alma en vilo
to be in suspense
estar a sus anchas
to be comfortable
estar conforme con
to be in agreement with
estar al caer
to be about to happen
estar de acuerdo
to be in agreement
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estar de buen humor
to be in a good mood
estar en el limbo
to be lost
estar de mal humor
to be in a bad mood
estar en todo
to have a finger in everything
estar de m
á
s
to be in excess
estar en un tris
to be about to happen
estar de paso
to be passing through
estar fuera de s
í
to be beside oneselfemotionally
estar de sobra
to be in excess
estar hecho polvo
to be worn out
estar de vuelta
to be back
estar hecho una fiera
to be furious
estar en Babia
to daydream
estar hecho una sopa
to be soaked
estar en brazos de Morfeo
to be sleeping
estar loco de remate
to be completely crazy
estar en condiciones
to be in good shape
estar para + infinitive
to be about to
estar en forma
to be in good shape
estar pez
to ignore (something)
estar en la luna
to have one
’
s head
estar sin blanca
to be flat brokein the clouds
estar en las nubes
to daydream
Expresiones con HABER (Idioms with HABER)
haber de + infinitive
to be supposed to;
haber lodo
to be muddyto have to
haber gato encerrado
there is something fishy
haber neblina
to be foggy
haber sol
to be sunny
hay luna
there is moonlight
haber polvo
to be dusty
hay que + infinitive
it is necessary; one must
Expresiones con HACER (Idioms with HACER)
hace + time expression +
ago
hacer calor
to be warm
que + preterite hace mucho tiempo
long time ago
hacer caso de
to pay attention to; to notice
hace poco
a little while ago
hacer cola
to line up
hacer su agosto
to make a killing
hacer da
ñ
o
to harm; to damage
hacer alarde
to boast
hacer de
to work as; to act as
hacer alusi
ó
n
to allude
hacer de cuenta
to pretend; to act as though
hacer a
ñ
icos
to break to pieces
hacer de nuevo
to do over
hacer buen tiempo
to be good weather
hacer de las suyas
to be up to one
’
s old tricks
hacer buenas migas
to hit it off with someone
hacer de tripas coraz
ó
n
to pluck up courage
hacer burla de
to make fun of
hacer falta
to be in need of
(continued)
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List of Idiomatic Expressions
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