estar nas nubes
Literally to be in the clouds
Means to be distracted or daydreaming, not paying attention
Example Non me escoitaches nada, estabas nas nubes.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common Galician idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Galician idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, estar nas nubes literally means "to be in the clouds" but is used to mean to be distracted or daydreaming, not paying attention. This free tool lists 15 real Galician idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 Galician idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
estar nas nubes
Literally to be in the clouds
Means to be distracted or daydreaming, not paying attention
Example Non me escoitaches nada, estabas nas nubes.
non ter pelos na lingua
Literally to not have hairs on the tongue
Means to speak bluntly and frankly, without holding back
Example A miña avoa non ten pelos na lingua e dille todo á cara.
custar un ollo da cara
Literally to cost an eye from the face
Means to be extremely expensive
Example Ese piso en Vigo cústalle un ollo da cara ao meu curmán.
matar dous paxaros dun tiro
Literally to kill two birds with one shot
Means to achieve two things with a single action
Example Se imos á tenda de camiño ao traballo, matamos dous paxaros dun tiro.
poñer o carro diante dos bois
Literally to put the cart in front of the oxen
Means to do things in the wrong order, act before the right moment
Example Non poñas o carro diante dos bois, primeiro busca traballo e despois muda de piso.
tomar o pelo
Literally to take the hair
Means to mock or tease someone, pull their leg
Example Non me tomes o pelo, sei que non foi así.
botar unha man
Literally to throw a hand
Means to help someone out, lend a hand
Example Podes botarme unha man con estas caixas?
estar coma peixe na auga
Literally to be like a fish in the water
Means to feel completely comfortable and at ease
Example Desde que chegou a Galicia, está coma peixe na auga.
meter a pata
Literally to put in the paw
Means to make a blunder or mistake
Example Metín a pata cando lle preguntei pola súa ex.
falar polos cóbados
Literally to talk through the elbows
Means to talk a great deal, be very talkative
Example O meu curmán fala polos cóbados, non hai quen o pare.
coller o touro polos cornos
Literally to grab the bull by the horns
Means to confront a difficult situation directly and decisively
Example Xa vai sendo hora de coller o touro polos cornos e falar co xefe.
estar coa auga ao pescozo
Literally to be with the water at the neck
Means to be in a very difficult or precarious situation
Example Con tantas facturas, estamos coa auga ao pescozo este mes.
facer as beiras
Literally to make the edges
Means to court or flirt with someone romantically
Example Leva semanas facéndolle as beiras a esa rapaza da oficina.
botar leña ao lume
Literally to throw firewood on the fire
Means to make a tense situation or conflict worse
Example Non lle botes máis leña ao lume, xa está bastante enfadada.
poñerse as botas
Literally to put on the boots
Means to eat a great deal, or take full advantage of something
Example No aniversario puxémonos as botas coa empanada.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Galician books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Estar nas nubes comes out as "to be in the clouds", which makes no sense until you know it means to be distracted or daydreaming, not paying attention.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Galician sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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Some of the most common Galician idioms are estar nas nubes, non ter pelos na lingua, custar un ollo da cara, matar dous paxaros dun tiro. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Galician, "estar nas nubes" translates literally as "to be in the clouds", but it actually means to be distracted or daydreaming, not paying attention. You would use it like this: Non me escoitaches nada, estabas nas nubes.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Estar nas nubes translates literally as "to be in the clouds", yet it means to be distracted or daydreaming, not paying attention. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Galician with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.