50 Mexican Idioms: So Bizarre, So Useful, So Mexican.
Mexican idioms, sayings, and everyday expressions are where Spanish stops sounding like a textbook and starts coming to life. They’re the playful twists, sharp observations, and cultural shortcuts that locals use to connect, joke, and speak their minds. Learning them doesn’t just boost your Spanish—it shows you’re embracing the culture, and locals will love it.
Dive straight in to understand the humor and culture that shape daily life in Mexico.
💬 Want to learn Spanish?
Rocket Spanish is a full Latin American Spanish course — not just vocabulary. You can try it free for 7 days.
🙌 Take your Mexican Spanish to the next level with these 100 Mexican slang words: From Vanilla to Vulgar!
🎭 Everyday Chaos & Common Sayings
Se metió hasta la cocina!!
They went all the way into the kitchen
Someone barged in or got way too involved without being invited
Me está haciendo la vida de cuadritos
They’re making my life into little squares
Someone is making your life difficult or stressful; they’re causing constant problems.
Hacerse bolas
To make oneself into balls
To get confused
Buscarle tres pies al gato
Looking for three feet on the cat
Looking for problems where there are none / Making things unnecessarily complicated
Aquí hay gato encerrado
There’s a locked-up cat here
Something fishy is going on
Te están poniendo los cuernos
They’re putting horns on you
You’re being cheated on
Voy a sacarle la sopa
I’m going to get the soup out of him
I’m going to get the truth out of him
Ya se lo cargó el payaso
The clown already carried him away
He’s totally screwed or done for
Meterse en camisa de once varas
To get into a shirt of eleven rods
To get involved in something overly complicated; often to bite off more than you can chew
Pensando en la inmortalidad del cangrejo
Thinking about the immortality of the crab
Spacing out or lost in thought
😵 Expressions That Make No Sense (But Everyone Uses)
Hacer de chivo los tamales
To make the tamales out of goat
To pull a switcheroo / Say one thing, do another — usually to trick or deceive someone
Chupó faros
He sucked on headlights
He died
Echarse un coyotito
To throw yourself a little coyote
To take a quick nap
De chile, mole y pozole
Of chile, mole, and pozole
A mix of everything
Parió chayotes
She gave birth to chayotes
Something was extremely painful or difficult, like giving birth to spiky chayotes
Le echas mucha crema a tus tacos
You put too much cream on your tacos
You’re exaggerating / showing off
Vamos a echarnos un taco de ojo
Let’s have a taco for the eye
Let’s enjoy the view — a cheeky way to say “let’s check out hot people”
Salir con su domingo siete
To come out with their Sunday seven
To say something bizarre or out of place. In some regions, it can also mean ending up unexpectedly pregnant, especially for young women.
🍽 Food, Animals, and Everyday Absurdity
A falta de pan, tortillas
In the absence of bread, tortillas
Make do with what you have
Salió más caro el caldo que las albóndigas
The broth turned out more expensive than the meatballs
The solution was more costly than the problem
No hay que buscarle ruido al chicharrón
Don’t look for noise in the pork rind
Don’t complicate things unnecessarily
El que nace para tamal, del cielo le caen las hojas
If you’re born to be a tamal, the corn husks will fall from the sky
When it’s meant to be, things just work out
Al que obra mal, se le pudre el tamal
He who acts badly, his tamal rots
If you do bad, bad things will happen
Me dejó como el perro de las dos tortas
He left me like the dog with two sandwiches
I ended up with nothing
A falta de amor, unos tacos al pastor
Lacking love? Some tacos al pastor
Food is a good comfort when life sucks
Te salió el tiro por la culata
Your shot came out the butt of the gun
Your plan totally backfired — it had the opposite effect
Este arroz ya se coció
This rice is already cooked
It’s a done deal
Hacerse pato
To play the duck
To play dumb or pretend you didn’t notice / Avoid responsibility
🙌 Want to level up your Spanish? Dive into these Top 100 Mexican slang words: From Vanilla to Vulgar!
🤯 Drama, Irony & Sarcasm
No tiene pelos en la lengua
He doesn’t have hair on his tongue
He speaks bluntly, no filter
El muerto y el arrimado, a los tres días apestan
The dead and houseguests stink after three days
Guests shouldn’t overstay their welcome
Estar como agua para chocolate
To be like water for chocolate
To be boiling mad or emotionally intense
Ya nos cayó el chahuistle
The chahuistle fell on us
We’re in trouble now / we’ve been caught.
Dar el avión
To give the airplane
To nod along without listening / Give a fake “yeah yeah” to shut someone up
Dime de qué presumes y te diré de qué careces
Tell me what you boast about, and I’ll tell you what you lack
People show off what they don’t have
Cuando el río suena, es que agua lleva
When the river makes noise, it’s carrying water
Rumors often have truth
Donde hubo fuego, cenizas quedan
Where there was fire, ashes remain
Old flames die hard
Candil de la calle, oscuridad en su casa
Streetlamp outside, darkness at home
Nice to others, but neglects their own. Parents always say this when you do good in public, but at home you don’t even want to wash your plate.
Entre broma y broma, la verdad se asoma
Between jokes, the truth peeks out
Jokes often reveal what people really think
A chillidos de marrano, oídos de carnicero
To pig squeals, the butcher’s ears
Tough people ignore whining
Para todo mal, mezcal. Para todo bien, también
For all bad, mezcal. For all good, too
Mezcal is good for everything — to celebrate or to cope.
🤠 Mexican Wisdom, Culture & Wit
A otro perro con ese hueso
To another dog with that bone
I’m not buying that story
Por si las moscas
In case of the flies
Just in case
Ese no da paso sin huarache
He doesn’t take a step without his sandal
He never does anything without making sure he benefits
La suerte de la fea, la bonita la desea
The ugly girl’s luck is what the pretty one wants
Sometimes the unexpected ones get the best luck
El camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente
The shrimp that falls asleep gets carried away by the current
Stay alert or you’ll miss out / get left behind.
El que no tranza no avanza
He who doesn’t deal doesn’t advance
You have to hustle (and maybe cheat) to get ahead
A ojo de buen cubero
By the eye of a good barrel-maker
An expert guess / eyeballing it with skill
El que se fue a la Villa perdió su silla
He who went to the Villa lost his chair
If you leave your spot, someone else takes it
Al mal tiempo, buena cara
To bad weather, a good face
Put on a brave face in hard times
A fuerza, ni los zapatos entran
Not even shoes go in by force
Don’t force what doesn’t fit
Dios aprieta pero no ahorca
God squeezes but doesn’t strangle
Things get tough but never impossible
No se puede chiflar y comer pinole al mismo tiempo
You can’t whistle and eat pinole at the same time
You can’t do two things at once
Pareces pepita en comal
You look like a pumpkin seed on a griddle
You’re hyperactive / can’t sit still
La carne de burro no es transparente
Donkey meat isn’t transparent
You’re blocking my view!
El que es perico, donde quiera es verde.
A parrot is green wherever it goes
If you’re good at something, you’ll stand out anywhere
A cada capillita le llega su fiestecita
Every little chapel gets its little party
Everyone gets their moment, reward or karma eventually
Llevar agua para su molino
Bringing water to their mill
Acting in self-interest — always looking out for their own gain
✍️ Ready to level up your Spanish?
These Mexican idioms are just the beginning. Try Latin America Rocket Spanish free for 7 days — or grab this pocket phrasebook to keep the expressions handy on the go.
Conclusion:
Spanish in Mexico isn’t just about grammar and vocabulary—it’s alive with irony, humor, and wisdom passed down through generations. If you’re visiting Oaxaca or Mexico, or planning to move here, getting familiar with these everyday idioms will help you understand locals way beyond the classroom Spanish.
50 Best things to See, Do and Eat in Oaxaca City
How much Spanish you really need in Oaxaca (with useful phrases)
