ponerse las pilas
Literally to put in one's batteries
Means to get one's act together
Example Tienes que ponerte las pilas si quieres aprobar.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common Spanish idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Spanish idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, ponerse las pilas literally means "to put in one's batteries" but is used to mean to get one's act together. This free tool lists 15 real Spanish idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 Spanish idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
ponerse las pilas
Literally to put in one's batteries
Means to get one's act together
Example Tienes que ponerte las pilas si quieres aprobar.
estar en las nubes
Literally to be in the clouds
Means to be daydreaming or distracted
Example No me escuchas, siempre estás en las nubes.
costar un ojo de la cara
Literally to cost an eye of the face
Means to be very expensive
Example El coche nuevo me costó un ojo de la cara.
meter la pata
Literally to put in the paw
Means to make an embarrassing mistake
Example Metí la pata al olvidar su cumpleaños.
tomar el pelo
Literally to take the hair
Means to tease someone or pull their leg
Example ¿Me estás tomando el pelo?
dar en el clavo
Literally to hit on the nail
Means to get something exactly right
Example Diste en el clavo con esa idea.
estar como una cabra
Literally to be like a goat
Means to be crazy
Example Ese chico está como una cabra.
no tener pelos en la lengua
Literally to not have hairs on the tongue
Means to speak frankly, without holding back
Example Ella no tiene pelos en la lengua y dice lo que piensa.
ser pan comido
Literally to be eaten bread
Means to be very easy
Example El examen fue pan comido.
tirar la toalla
Literally to throw the towel
Means to give up
Example No tires la toalla, ya casi lo consigues.
estar hecho polvo
Literally to be made dust
Means to be exhausted
Example Después del trabajo estoy hecho polvo.
quedarse de piedra
Literally to be left of stone
Means to be stunned or shocked
Example Me quedé de piedra al oír la noticia.
echar una mano
Literally to throw a hand
Means to lend a hand, to help
Example ¿Me echas una mano con las maletas?
buscarle tres pies al gato
Literally to look for three feet on the cat
Means to overcomplicate something
Example No le busques tres pies al gato, es muy sencillo.
hablar por los codos
Literally to talk through the elbows
Means to talk too much
Example Mi vecina habla por los codos.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Spanish 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: Ponerse las pilas comes out as "to put in one's batteries", which makes no sense until you know it means to get one's act together.
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 Spanish 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 Spanish idioms are ponerse las pilas, estar en las nubes, costar un ojo de la cara, meter la pata. 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 Spanish, "ponerse las pilas" translates literally as "to put in one's batteries", but it actually means to get one's act together. You would use it like this: Tienes que ponerte las pilas si quieres aprobar.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Ponerse las pilas translates literally as "to put in one's batteries", yet it means to get one's act together. 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 Spanish with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.