Similes in Spanish
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The English language has literally hundreds of similes like clean as a whistle, good as gold, tough as nails, to drink like a fish, to eat like a bird, to name but a few.
Here are some similes in Spanish:
"claro como el agua"
Literal translation: "Clear as the water"
Meaning: very clear, there is no doubt about it.
"estar como un flan"
Literal translation: "Being like a pudding"
Meaning: To be nervous and shaky
"estar como un tren"
Literal translation: "Being like a train"
Meaning: To be gorgeous
"estar como una cabra"
Literal translation: "Being like a goat"
Meaning: To be crazy
"hablar como un loro"
Literal translation: Talking like a parrot
Meaning: Talking a lot
"comer como una lima"
Literal translation: "Eating like a file"
Meaning: to eat like a horse / eating a lot -
My favorite is estar como un flan. But it's funny that I would have imagined the meaning to be something like "to feel lazy." You know, sitting there like a blob! But I guess flan does shake a lot, so I like the Spanish idiomatic meaning.I'm confused by estar como un tren and estar como una cabra. Great examples of why idioms can't be translated directly, and why we shouldn't look too deeply for literal meaning in them! (What does kicking the bucket have anything to do with dying? Maybe there is some historical/cultural reference buried in that idiom, but it's certainly lost on most speakers of English, I'd imagine!)
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Idioms can be difficult to learn because they tend to be informal and are best used in spoken language, rather than written, yet they are a vital and dynamic part of language and culture.
The Spanish equivalent for "Kicking the bucket" will be "Estirar la pata", but don't try to understand the meaning by the literal translation because it will be confussing.
Estirar = to stretch
La pata = the leg/paw/foot of any animal.
Actually there are a lot of idioms in spanish involving PATAS:
Estirar la pata -> to kick the bucket (Literal: strech the foot)
meter la pata -> to put one's foot in it (Literal: same)
tener mala pata -> to be unlucky (Literal: to have bad foot)
patas de gallo -> crow's feet (eye wrinkels) (Literal: Rooster's feet)
