We continue focusing on Spanish verbs explaining idioms with the verb echar. Learning idioms will help you to become more fluent and sound like a native Spanish speaker. Take a look at the blog of El Rincón del Tándem Spanish school and start improving your speaking skills!
Some Spanish verbs are used in idioms and expressions whose meaning is not literal. Therefore, during Spanish lessons our teachers often speak about Spanish idioms explaining their meaning and specifying the circumstances they can be used.
Echar is one of the Spanish verbs that is most widely used in idioms. In fact, we can find a lot idioms with echar in Spaniards’ colloquial language.
In our previous post we have already mentioned the expression “echar de menos”. Take a look at the list below to get to know more idioms!
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- Echar la culpa. To blame somebody for something or for doing something.
Lucas me ha echado la culpa por perder tren = He blamed me for missing the train.
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- Echar flores. To flatter.
La abuela de Miriam siempre echa flores a las amigas de su nieta = Miriam’s grandmother always flatter her granddaughter’s friends.
- Echar a perder. To mess up, to ruin or to waste something. The reflexive form “echarse a perder” can be translated as “to go to waste”.
Juan echó a perder su relación con María = Juan messed up his relationship with Maria
Ana echó a perder todos sus esfuerzos = Ana wasted all the efforts she made
Las fresas que dejaste fuera de la nevera se echaron a perder = The strawberries you left outside the fridge went to waste.
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- Echar en cara. This idiom means “to throw something in somebody’s face”. That is, to reproach somebody for doing or not doing something.
Si lo dejas solo ahora te lo echará en cara toda la vida = If you leave him alone now, he will throw it in your face all his life.
Me echa en cara no haberle ayudado con sus deberes = She reproaches me for not helping her with homework.
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- Echarse (para) atrás.This idiom means “to back out”.
Andrés se echó atrás ayer y ya no va ser el protagonista de la obra = Yesterday Andrés backed out so he won’t be the principal actor of the play anymore.
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- Echar la bronca. To scold, to give somebody a scolding for (doing) something
Mi madre me echó la bronca por haber perdido el teléfono = My mother gave me a scolding for losing my phone.
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- Echar un vistazo o echar un ojo. Take a look at something, to keep an eye on something.
Estoy echando un vistazo a la nueva colección en la tienda de Pilar = I am taking a look at the new collection at Pilar’s shop.
Echa un ojo al gato para que no se escape = Keep en eye on the cat and make sure he won’t run away.
- Echar una cabezada or echar la siesta. The two idioms means the same: to have or to take a nap.
Todos los días a las tres de la tarde me echo una cabezada (echo una siesta) = Every day at 3 p.m. I take a nap.
- Echar a cara o cruz or echar a suertes. These two idioms have the same meaning , that is “to flip a coin to decide”.
Vamos a echar a cara o cruz para decidir quién saca a pasear al perro a las seis de la mañana = Let’s flip a coin to decide who brings the dog for a walk at 6 a.m.
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- Echar chispas. It means “to become furious, to go mad”.
Mi hermana echa chispa cuando me niego a limpiar la habitación = My sister goes mad when I refuse to clean my room.
- Echar una mano o echar un cable. Give a hand with something or to do something.
¿Me echarías un cable con las maletas? Son muy pesadas. = Could you give me a hand with the suitcases? They are very heavy.
- Echar raíces. That means “to settle down”. The equivalent idiom in English would be “to put down roots”.
Es hora de elegir una ciudad y echar raíces = It’s time for me to choose a city and settle down
We hope this blog will be useful for you to use idioms when speaking Spanish.
Our Spanish school El Rincón del Tándem invites you to keep improving your knowledge of Spanish verbs and practicing the language at home.
Although our Spanish school in temporarily closed, we continue to support your Spanish learning process providing Spanish lessons via Skype.
Get in contact with us to know more about this online option.
Till the next blog!
