Real Spanish with Body Parts: “Estoy hasta las narices” y otras expresiones con “nariz”
“Estoy hasta las narices” y otras expresiones con “nariz” Hi. I’m Elizabeth, from Real Spanish, and a keen learner
6 de June de 2026
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Aquí puedes encontrar consejos sobre el aprendizaje de lengua, información cultural,
transcripciones de nuestros Trocitos de Real Spanish e Información sobre nuevos
recursos.
“Estoy hasta las narices” y otras expresiones con “nariz” Hi. I’m Elizabeth, from Real Spanish, and a keen learner
First of all: The videos below are “Trocitos” from our YouTube channel. Un trocito is “a little bit” of something — usually something to eat. If you want to push yourself a bit, try reading the blog and viewing the videos in the Spanish version first. You can always come back here if you want to check a particular word or phrase. Just click on “English” or “Español” in the menu above. The first video below is part of a complete lesson in our ebook “Spanish for Perfectionists No. 2”. See below for more information about our ebooks and a free sample lesson. You’ll also find a bonus video featuring estirar la pata, por los pelos, and more. Hi. I’m Elizabeth, from Real Spanish, and a keen learner of Spanish, like you. I’ve always been fascinated by how languages use the human body to express everything from mood and attitude to honesty and betrayal. Think of the expression “to put your foot down” in English. Spanish is full of such expressions. The first time I heard someone talk about a politician who’d been pillado con el culo al aire — literally “with their backside/arse/ass in the air” — I guessed from the context that it was something like “caught with their pants/trousers down” (caught out in an embarrassing or scandalous situation). I loved the image. That’s the thing about body part idioms in Spanish: they’re vivid, memorable, and often very funny. Once you know them, you start hearing them everywhere. Con el culo al aire is often used in conversations about corrupt politicians or badly-behaved celebrities. Every country has them! In this video, our virtual teacher Celia introduces several expressions with parts of the body. Some are perfectly polite in any situation, while others are a bit vulgar. But they’re all real Spanish, used by native speakers every day, so it’s definitely worth knowing what they mean, even if you choose not to use them yourself! Why not start your own collection of Spanish expressions? I keep a running list, and I add to it whenever I hear something new: in podcasts, films, or just chatting with native speakers. The key is to note them in context, so you remember how they’re actually used. WordReference.com is brilliant for this: it gives you real examples, not just definitions. All the best for your adventures in Spanish, Elizabeth from Real Spanish The video: “Con el culo al aire”: Spanish expressions related to parts of the human body In this video you’ll hear these Spanish idioms that are common use in everyday conversations: dar la cara levantarse con el pie izquierdo dormir a pierna suelta estar hasta las narices / la coronilla / el moño / los cojones tener la lengua muy larga dejar (or pillar) a alguien con el culo en el aire lamerle el culo a alguien English transcript Hello! At Real Spanish we’re creating a series of mini-lessons on expressions that refer to parts of the human
First of all: This is the English version of the transcript of one of our "Trocitos de Real Spanish". Un trocito is a little bit of something (usually something to eat). This Trocito is a preview of our online Spanish course “Español con noticias y documentales 2: La historia de tres regiones bilingües de España”. The additional learning materials referred to in the video are available in the complete course. You’ll find a link to this and all our courses below. If you want to push yourself, try reading the Spanish version of this blogpost and video transcript first (just click on “español” in the menu above) — then come back here to check anything you're not sure about. Hello! I’m Elizabeth, from Real Spanish, and a dedicated student of Spanish. I love learning new expressions in Spanish. As you know, most of them can’t be translated literally because they are based on the culture and history of the Spanish-speaking world. Some are local to a particular country or region. Some are so interesting that they deserve a video all to themselves! If you’ve spent any time with Spanish speakers, you’ve probably heard someone suddenly lower their voice and mutter ¡Moros en la costa! — maybe when the boss walks in, or when a sibling appears at an inconvenient moment. But where does this expression come from, and what do Moors have to do with it? The story takes us back to medieval Spain, a network of coastal watchtowers (torres vigía), and a very real danger that kept entire villages on permanent alert for centuries. The video below explains the origin of ¡Moros en la costa!, one of the most colourful idioms in everyday Spanish, which can be traced back to its historical roots: the constant raids by North African Muslims along the Mediterranean coast, and the very real danger that kept coastal villages on permanent alert. It also touches on a related expression, prometer el oro y el moro, and looks honestly at why both expressions carry some cultural baggage worth knowing about. Wishing you all the best for your adventures in Spanish, Elizabeth from Real Spanish VIDEO TRANSCRIPT (English translation) Hello and welcome to this Real Spanish mini-lesson! Today we’re going to learn some interesting things about Catalonia. Throughout this lesson, pay attention to the various uses of «se», such a small but so important word in Spanish. We’ll explain them in the grammar sheet.* You probably already know that in Catalonia, Catalan is spoken alongside Spanish. Although both are official languages in this autonomous community, schools teach in Catalan and official bodies tend to use Catalan more than Spanish. In the inland areas of Catalonia, which are less touristy, you tend to hear more Catalan than Spanish, while in Barcelona and the coastal areas you’ll hear more people speaking Spanish, since there are more people from other Spanish regions and from other countries. The early history of Catalonia is very similar to the rest
This video is one of our "Trocitos de Real Spanish". Un trocito is a little bit of something — usually something to eat, like "un trocito de queso" (a little bit of cheese). This Trocito is a preview of a full lesson,”¡Es una chapuza!»” from our course Español con noticias y documentales 1: Entrevistas y reportajes. It's about Spain's artistic heritage — and what happens when a restoration goes so badly wrong that it becomes a national embarrassment. You may already know of some examples. That even appeared in newsppers in other countries. What an embarrassment, indeed! You'll also pick up one of the most notorious false friends in Spanish: embarazada does not mean embarrassed. Did you know that? Note: This transcript has been lightly updated to reflect our current courses and resources. The video may vary slightly. Hello and welcome to Real Spanish! Take a look at this clip from one of our video lessons — it's about two art restoration cases that went so badly wrong they became a source of national embarrassment. Spain invests a great deal of money, technical expertise, and care in the upkeep and restoration of its artistic heritage: its monuments, buildings, paintings, sculptures, and other works of art. Spanish people are very proud of their monuments and works of art. These words are used in the video: invertir to invest la destreza skill, expertise el esmero care, diligence el mantenimiento upkeep, maintenance el patrimonio (artístico) artistic heritage By the way, do you know the difference between ser orgulloso and estar orgulloso? For example: Ellas están orgullosas de haberse graduado (they are proud to have graduated) Me parece que este hombre es orgulloso por naturaleza (I think this man is proud by nature). We explain the use of ser and estar with various adjectives in the grammar notes.* Anyway — I said Spanish people are very proud of their monuments and works of art… but not always. Every so often, a restoration job comes to light that shocks everyone. — ¡Por favor! ¡Madre mía! — ¡Es una chapuza! Chapuza is a colloquial word used to describe a job that has been done badly. Antonio: Tenemos que llamar al fontanero, se nos ha vuelto a estropear el grifo de la cocina. (We need to call the plumber — the kitchen tap has broken again.) Celia: ¿Otra vez? Bueno, pero esta vez llamamos a un profesional porque la última vez nos hicieron una chapuza. (Again? Right, but this time we're calling a professional — the last timer they did a botch job.) Antonio: Sí, es verdad, es mejor pagar más por un trabajo bien hecho. (You're right, it's worth paying more for a job done properly.) By the way — I imagine you already know that avergonzado/avergonzada means "embarrassed", while embarazada means "pregnant". Embarazada and embarrassed is one of the many false friends in Spanish and English. Chico: ¿No vas a ir a la fiesta de tu amiga esta
First of all: If you want to push yourself, try reading the Spanish version of this blog post and video first. You can always click on “English” in the menu above to come back here and check the meaning of a word or phrase. Hi everyone! I’m Elizabeth from Real Spanish, a dedicated Spanish student. I’ve been living in Spain for over a decade and I’m still learning new words and expressions. In fact I have a document where I record at least one a day, gathered from a newspaper, a Netflix show or a normal everyday conversation. Today’s Spanish idiom, "Como Pedro por su casa", is one of them. Sometimes a new phrase is so intriguing that I end up making a video, one of our "Trocitos de Real Spanish", about its origin and meaning. Un trocito is a little bit of something, like a little piece of cheese. This trocito is also a preview of our course "Español con noticias y documentales 2: La historia de tres regiones bilingües de España". So what does “Como Pedro por su casa” mean? It’s an idiomatic expression that means acting as if you own the place (making yourself very much at home somewhere, or taking liberties you probably shouldn’t). But the really fun part is where the expression comes from. The origin is medieval and surprisingly dramatic — watch the video to find out the full story! Would you like to see a related Trocito? It's longer, and explains the expression No hay moros en la costa, another popular Spanish saying that comes from the history of the country. Wishing you all the best for your adventures in Spanish, Elizabeth from Real Spanish Transcript translated from Spanish. It has been lightly updated to reflect our current courses and resources. The video may vary slightly. King Pedro I of Aragon is famous for his conquests. In the year 1096 he conquered Huesca in the famous battle of Alcoraz against the Muslims. This battle gave rise to the well-known phrase entróse como Pedro en Huesca, since he won easily and unexpectedly thanks to his qualities as a strategist. Over time, this saying entróse como Pedro en Huesca gave way to a more current one: como Pedro por su casa which means feeling very comfortable in a place that is new or unknown. It is also often used to say that a person takes a lot of liberties in a place or environment. You might also be interested in our complete course Español con noticias y documentales 2: Tres regiones bilingües de España. Sign up today to learn more and try some free sample lessons. If you enjoyed this video, you'll like a related video featuring the expression «No hay moros en la costa» It's another preview of our course Español con noticias y documentales 2: La historia de tres regiones bilingües de España — have a look if you’re curious! * The full video, vocabulary notes, grammar sheet, and interactive practice
Carmen Hello, and welcome to Real Spanish. I’m Carmen, one of your virtual teachers. Juan And I’m Juan, another of your virtual teachers. Carmen Have you been studying Spanish for a while, but lose the thread of a conversation because you are thinking about the vocabulary and grammar? Do you still find it very difficult to understand native speakers? That’s not surprising. Native speakers speak very fast— at top speed. I’m sure you already know that «pastilla» is a pill or tablet. But the expression «a toda pastilla» means something else. Another problem is that native speakers use colloquial expressions that you don’t often find in textbooks. You need to listen to many authentic conversations in order to be able to participate in conversation with native speakers. But don’t worry, with Real Spanish you can improve your listening comprehension, increase your vocabulary, learn loads of useful expressions, reinforce your understanding of grammar, and improve your fluency in Spanish. And, at the same time, you can learn a lot about the history and culture of Spanish and the Spanish-speaking world. Real Spanish is your website! Juan In Real Spanish you can enjoy some really interesting video-lessons based on clips from TV and movies. These lessons focus mainly on colloquial language spoken at native-speaker speed. These video-lessons don’t follow a fixed sequence of vocabulary and grammar. And you won’t have to do boring exercises that have nothing to do with the content of the lessons. Instead we focus on the vocabulary, the grammar, the colloquial expressions and some of the grammar points that come up in the clips. We also explain the cultural content and background of the clips. Ambos So let’s go!
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