English expressions with Spanish translations

There are so many incredible idiomatic expressions in English that are used everyday. I have chosen just a few but there are many, many more. So, have a look at these to increase your vocabulary range.

Do you know anymore?

1. Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t - Más vale malo conocido que bueno por conocer.
2. Don't pull my leg - No me tomes el pelo
3. In for a penny in for a pound - De perdidos al río (UK)
4. In for a dime in for a dollar - De perdidos al río (US)
5. Indeed - Ya lo creo
6. Inside out - Del revés
7. It gives me goosebumps/It gives me the creeps - Me pone la piel de gallina
8. It sounds Greek to me - Me suena a chino
9. It turns out that - Resulta que…
10. It’s a rip off - Es una estafa
11. It’s bullshit - Es una mierda
12. It’s finger licking good - Está para chuparse los dedos
13. It’s high time/about time - Ya es hora / Ya va siendo hora
14. It’s in the hands of the Gods - Que sea lo que Dios quiera
15. It’s my treat / It’s on me - Invito yo
16. It’s not a big deal / It’s not that much of a big deal - No es para tanto
17. It’s on the house - Invita la casa/por cuenta de la casa
18. It’s raining cats and dogs - Llueve a cántaros
19. It’s up to you - Como tú quieras / Depende de ti (en tono amable)
20. It’s worthless - No vale nada
21. I’ve got enough on my plate - No puedo más (en la vida)
22. Just in case - Por si acaso / Por si las moscas
23. Keep an eye on… - Vigila a…/Echa un ojo a…
24. Keep dreaming - Sigue soñando
25. Keep it up - Sigue así
26. Keep you hair on! - ¡Cálmate!
27. Kind of/Give or take - Más o menos
28. Kiss and make up - Borrón y cuenta nueva
29. Knock something in the head / Nip something in the bud - Cortar algo de raíz (algún problema)
30. Last but one - Penúltimo
31. Last night - Anoche
32. Lest you forget - Para que no (te) olvides
33. Like father, like son - De tal palo, tal astilla
34. Like water off a duck’s back - Palabras necias, oídos sordos – British
35. To cut a long story short…- Resumiendo…
36. Long time no see! - ¡Cuánto tiempo!
37. Look out!- ¡Cuidado!
38. Make my day - Alégrame el día
39. Make up your mind - Decídete / Decide tú
40. Make yourself at home - Estás en tu casa (expresión de cortesía)
41. Maybe - Tal vez/A lo mejor
42. Me neither - Yo tampoco (informal)
43. Meanwhile/In the meantime - Mientras tanto
44. Mind the gap - Cuidado con el hueco
45. Moreover - Además
46. Much to my dismay - Para mi desgracia
47. My bad - Culpa mía (USA)
48. My goodness! - ¡Madre mía!
49. Never again - Nunca más
50. Never mind - No importa (tono amable)
51. No bother - No te preocupes / no es molestia
52. No brainer - Sin duda
53. No way - Ni hablar / De ninguna manera
54. No wonder - No me extraña
55. No worries - Sin problema / no te preocupes
56. Nor/neither do I - Yo tampoco
57. Not a chance / No way in hell - Ninguna posibilidad / Ni de coña
58. Not at all/You’re welcome/It’s Ok - De nada (tras agradecimiento)
59. Not Bad - No está mal
60. Not for nothing - No es por nada
61. Not half! - ¡Ya lo creo! / ¡Por supuesto! (Do you fancy a beer? not half – ¿te apetece una cerveza?, ya lo creo)
62. Not my business - No es asunto mío
63. Not my cup of tea - No es lo mío – British
64. Not worth a penny/red cent - No vale un duro
65. Not worth a shit - No vale una mierda
66. Off the top of my head - Así, de cabeza…
67. Oh dear! - ¡Oh Dios! / ¡Dios mio!
68. Oh my Gosh - Forma políticamente correcta de decir “Oh my God”
69. On one hand… on the other hand - Por un lado … por otro lado
70. On the face of it - Según las apariencias
71. On your bike! - Vete por ahí  /no me cuentes milongas/no me cuentes historias
72. Once in a lifetime - Una vez en la vida
73. Once in a while/from time to time - De vez en cuando
74. Out of the blue - Como caído del cielo
75. Over and over again - Una y otra vez
76. Paint from the same brush - Distinto perro, mismo collar – British
77. Pardon my French - Perdón por lo que voy a decir/acabo de decir (palabras malsonantes)
78. Peanut bladder - (Vejiga del tamaño de un cacahuete)… para los que  no paran de ir al baño
79. Phony baloney - Cuento chino
80. Piece of cake! - ¡Está chupado!
81. Piss off - Mandar a la mierda a alguien o cabrear alguien
82. Pleasure/Bless you - Jesús (para cuando alguien estornuda)
83. Point taken - Te entiendo (el punto de vista)
84. Pull your socks up - Mueve el culo!
85. Really? - ¿En serio?
86. Rings a bell - Me suena
87. Safe and sound - sano y salvo
88. Say when - Cuando sirves algo dices “say when” para que te digan cuando parar
89. See you anon - Te veo luego
90. Seen - Ya/’aham’ (forma de asentir en UK)
91. Shake/show a leg! - ¡Espabila! / ¡levántate! / ¡muévete!
92. Shame on you! - Vergüenza debería darte
93. She turns me on - Me pone (cachondo, a tono…)
94. Shoot the breeze - Darle a la lengua
95. Shut the fuck up! - ¡Cállate de una puta vez!
96. Shut up! - ¡Cállate!
97. So bad/badly - Mucho / Un montón (I love you so bad)
98. So do I - Como yo / Yo también
99. So long - Hasta la vista
100. Some other time - Otra vez será
101. Speaking of which - Hablando de lo cual…
102. Start froom scratch - Empezar de cero
103. Stick someone’s nose up at someone - Mirar por encima del hombro – British
104. Stop Messing around - Deja de hacer el tonto
105. Such is life/That’s life/Life’s like that - Así es la vida
106. Suck it up - Te aguantas / Te jodes
107. Take it easy - Tómatelo con calma
108. Talking of the devil - Hablando del rey de Roma
109. Thanks in advance - Gracias por adelantado
110. That’s quite dodgy - Eso es muy cutre
111. That’s the straw that brokes the camel’s back - Esta es la gota que colma el vaso
112. That’s what I mean - A eso me refiero
113. That’s what matters/That’s all that matters - Eso es lo que cuenta
114. The more the merrier - Cuanto más, mejor
115. The seal is broken - Me estoy meando. Lo usan sobre todo las chicas
116. The sooner the better - Cuanto antes, mejor
117. Think twice - Piénsalo dos veces
118. This is my bread and butter - Con esto me gano la vida
119. This is not rocket science - No es tan difícil (si alguien está intentando hacer algo fácil y no sabe cómo)
120. To be water under the bridge - Es agua pasada (cuando se hacen las paces por ejemplo)
121. To ask for the moon - Pedir peras al olmo
122. To bang/screw [alguien] - Tirarse a alguien
123. To be a bellend - Ser un capullo
124. To be between the devil and the deep - Estar entre la espada y la pared
125. To be caught between a rock and a hard place - Entre la espada y la pared – British
126. To be a cunt - Ser un capullo/gilipollas – British
127. To be cutting edge - Es el último grito/moda
128. To be a dickhead - Ser un capullo/gilipollas (se pronuncia dicked)
129. To be down to fuck all - Querer un polvo
130. To be giving him hell - Le hace la vida imposible
131. To be high/stoned - Estar colocado/ciego/borracho
132. To be on the ball- Estar en la onda/al día
133. To be/sit on the fence - Dudar
134. To be over the moon - Estar feliz, contento
135. To be spaced/spacing out - Tener la cabeza en las nubes/ Estar en Babia
136. To be such a [adjective] - Ser un auténtico [adjetivo]
137. To be wasted/blackedout/legless - Estar bastante borracho
138. To be/feel under the weather - Sentirse mal/enfermo
139. To blackmail - Chantajear
140. To call it a day - Dar algo por terminado
141. To cheat on - Poner los cuernos
142. To chew the carpet - Tragarse el orgullo
143. To clutch at straws - Agarrarse a un clavo ardiendo
144. To cut the cheese - Tirarse un pedo
145. To do [alguien] - Liarse (con alguien, plan folleteo)
146. To do (someone) a solid - hacer un favor (a alguien)
147. To feel blue - Estar deprimido, de capa caída…
148. To get along - Llevarse bien
149. To get by - Para ir tirando/Para arreglárselas
150. To get frisky - Ponerse juguetón (en sentido sexual)
151. To get laid - Acostarse, tener sexo con alguien, echar un polvo
152. To get rid of [algo/alguien - Librarse de [algo/alguien]
153. To get the hang of it - Pillarle el truco
154. To give somebody a lift - Llevar a alguien (en coche, en moto…)
155. To go all out - Hacer todo lo posible / Darlo todo
156. To hang around - Andar por ahí
157. To hang up - Colgar (teléfono)
158. To have a blast - Pasarlo bien / divertirse / pasarlo pipa
159. To have a bone to pick (with someone) - Tener cuentas que ajustar (con alguien)
160. To have a finger in every pie - Estar en misa y repicando / Intentar estar en todo a la vez
161. To have a thing about [something] - Estar loco, obsesionado por algo
162. To have an argument - Tener una discusión
163. To have forty winks - Dar una cabezadita
164. To have the face… - Estar de morros
165. To keep at bay - Mantener a raya
166. To make a point - Querer dejar clara una cosa
167. To make do - Conformarse
168. To make out - Enrollarse (pareja)
169. To make something out - Entender
170. To murder something - Modo informal de decir que te apetece comer o beber algo
171. To run an errand - Hacer un recado
172. To see eye to eye with somebody - Tener el mismo punto de vista / Ver de la misma manera
173. To set the (whole) world on fire - Comerse el mundo
174. To shag - Follar – British
175. To snog - Morrearse
176. To sow your wild oats - Ir de flor en flor
177. To spoil [somebody] rotten - Malcriar/mimar/consentir a alguien
178. To sum up… - En resumen…
179. To take [something] with a pinch of salt - Coger algo con pinzas (sobre algo que te han dicho)
180. To tan somebody’s hide - Darle una paliza a alguien
181. Toff/Posh - Pijo
182. Train bound for - Tren con destino a..
183. Upside down - Boca abajo / patas arriba / del revés / invertido (dado la vuelta)
184. Watch out! - ¡Cuidado!
185. We’re even - Estamos en paz
186. What a drag! - Vaya coñazo
187. What a horse’s ass - ¡Vaya imbécil!
188. What a palaver! - ¡Menudo follón!
189. What a pity - Qué pena
190. What a rip off! - ¡Vaya/menuda estafa!
191. What a shame! - ¡Qué vergüenza!
192. What the fuck? - ¿Qué cojones…?
193. What does it have to do with… - Qué tiene que ver esto con…
194. What were you up to? - ¿Qué estabas haciendo?
195. Whatever - Lo que sea (resignado)
196. Who is this? - ¿Quién es? (al responder una llamada de teléfono)
197. Who on earth….? - ¿Quién coño…?
198. Without any doubt - Sin ninguna duda
199. You and whose army? - ¿Tú y cuantos más?
200. You are on your own - Estás solo en esto
201. You never know - Nunca se sabe
202. You rock! - ¡Tú molas!
203. You’ve got another thing coming - Lo tienes claro (connotación irónica)
204. You’re fit - Estás en forma / Estás bueno – British
205. You’re hot - Estás bueno/a
206. You’re on thin ice - Te la estás jugando
207. You run the show - Eres el jefe (sentido coloquial)

Teaching British people to speak standard English

English, as everyone knows is the International language of business. English is one of the official languages of the European Union despite the lack of enthusiastic participation of the UK and most international meetings, conferences or seminars are held in English.

One thing that I constantly hear mentioned by people here in Spain is that when they do business abroad or have an international event in English, they don't have such a problem communicating with people from other countries. However, what will make them very nervous is when people from the UK are present or the event is held in the UK. Dealing with native speakers puts the fear of god in them.

The fact that English is used in these meetings and for International business as a whole should not simply be looked at as an advantage for us. In this time of economic crisis with announcements this week of a dramatic fall in exports, it is essential for British businesses that they can maintain the channels of communication open to foreign businesses. Relying purely on the benefit of business being conducted in our language, without being conscious of the communication problems connected with it, is a surefire way of making the task more difficult for ourselves. There should not be problems of communication and Europeans should not hate dealing with people from the UK.

Why is that? Are people from the UK particularly fearsome or intimidating?
No! But the problem is British people's way of communicating and they are having trouble making themselves understood. It's not because Europeans have particular problems with speaking English, many people speak excellent English, it's just that the type of English that is spoken internationally and the type of English spoken by natives is not the same. People from Latin countries, of course, have a similar base of language and will usually choose English vocabulary of a Latin root as it is more similar to the vocabulary of their own languages, so can communicate in English between themselves more comfortably that way. In fact, even between people in general in Europe, a standardized English has developed, primarily for business purposes, which has been influenced by the direct Americanized way of speaking; perfect for business and perfect for communicating clearly between people who are using a second language to varying degrees of proficiency.

The problem with a lot of people in Britain is that we think English is our language, we are from England of course, but we don't have an absolute right over that language especially if we want to communicate abroad using that language. We need to start thinking of English in the international context as a means of communication, not as our language. We need to communicate in the best and clearest way, thereby using the standardized international form of our language which other people us.

Part of the problem is how we learn our language: we start as young children learning phrases such as 'sit down', 'stand up' or even 'shut up', those who know your grammar will recognise these as phrasal verbs (the bane of any English-learner's life). We then progress to a more colloquial or standard English, mixing it freely with phrasal verbs and then if we continue up to higher education we are introduced to the more formal Latin-based vocabulary. However, nowadays, the more formal, educated way of speaking is becoming less and less common due to it either being considered posh or because of our more rapid and casual way of communicating via technology. On the other hand, non-native speakers of English, particularly those from Latin countries will first learn and use the more formal English, as mentioned before, as it is more similar to their own vocabulary. To a native English speaker, this will be perceived as if the person has a high level of education and therefore a good command of English, not realising that they could well not understand any other, more natural (to the British) form of English. This is where the problem lies, non-natives will understand formal English but often little else, especially if the native speaker has a complicated accent or does not speak clearly.

So, what can British people do to help communication?
Well, without over-complicating the argument and talking about how English is taught in schools, the general attitude of acceptance of 'bad' English and the necessity of learning another language, one way we can do that in International situations is by being aware of the type of English that is spoken by non-natives abroad, being aware of our colloquial use of our language and by trying to start using the standardized International form of English. Instead of littering our speech with phrasal verbs we should choose standard, easily understood vocabulary.
Notice the difference between these questions: 'What time shall we kick off the meeting?' and 'What time does the meeting start?' or 'Shall we call it a day?' and 'Shall we finish now?'
The latter of each of these would be easily understood whilst the former ones would only be understood by someone with a very high level of English.

So, why do we insist on using the the former style? Exactly because we are unaware of how difficult it is for non-native speakers. In our defence, there are a lot of non-native people living in the UK, these people have gotten used to the way we speak English, understand it and use it themselves. Most British people come in connect with these people and are used to the fact that non-natives speak 'natural' British English very well. The thing we forget is that not all non-native English speakers live in the UK and not all of them have had the type of first-hand intensive contact with our language that residents have. People learn English at school and from books, which is not always the best way to get a handling on our form of English. So, if we want to communicate abroad we need to adapt to how English is used there.

Simplify your English use, standardize your language and do not use phrasal verbs, specific UK cultural references or jokes. Awareness of the problems works wonders.
A manager from Ernst & Young was making a presentation at an International Conference in Madrid and had come over with a presentation which he had used often in the UK. During a conversation he mentioned that he did not enjoy giving presentations abroad as the reaction or lack of reaction to what he is saying was unsettling. So, I suggested that he ran through the presentation with me to see if I could give him any ideas about why this might be.
Well, where shall I start?
Not only was the presentation full of phrasal verbs and colloquial language, but there were also many cultural references and jokes - the excuse was that these would make the presentation more enjoyable and more light-hearted, especially with such a heavy subject-matter. This would be probably true in the UK where people understand the references and get the jokes, but not for non-British non-native speakers. The problem was obvious, he was used to the reactions of people back in the UK; they relaxed and laughed at his jokes, tension was released and a heavy meeting became far more laid-back. However, he was not expecting the complete lack of any reaction abroad due to the fact that they just did not understand what he was saying. We went through the presentation, changed the phrasal verbs to more standard verbs, cut the British cultural references and UK-specific jokes, worked a bit on ensuring that his delivery and pronunciation was clear and the improvement was astonishing. Never before had he received such a positive reaction to a presentation that he had given abroad. People responded to his ideas, participated, asked questions and gave very positive feedback. It was an outright success and not only was he pleased with the result but also his boss back home when he won a new contract with a Madrid-based company.

The point of this is to highlight that the essential message of his presentation was the same in both occasions, the difference was in the way he delivered the message and his way of communicating. One received blank stares and no feedback, the other received an enthusiastic response. One was successful and the other not.

Which one would you like to receive the next time you do business abroad?

Effective Communication

Why is this important?

A long time ago I had a Japanese boyfriend and many people used to ask me if communication was a problem. I didn't speak Japanese when we first met, so all communication was done in English. What people meant when they asked me this was not so much the problem of language as such, but whether the cultural barriers caused a problem for communication between us. They did, and the language difference was not always easy.
However, the thing I learned most from this experience was that all this can be overcome when you have two people who really want to communicate and understand each other. We really listened to each other and actually deeply thought about what the other had said and what they wanted to say, which is not always the same thing with any language combination.

I realized that I had taken a lot for granted, language-wise, in previous relationships. I'm talking about same language and culture relationships. A lot of assumption happens; we presume to know what the other person is saying and we do not listen so carefully when they speak. We will sit and watch TV or think about something else entirely when people talk to us and just guess at their meaning, such as, 'I would react like this in a certain situation so they must mean that they have reacted in the same way' without really listening to know that in fact the person has reacted in a subtle, yet different way.
So, with my Japanese boyfriend, I appreciated the listening and understanding, being listened to and being understood experience. Therefore, I was never bothered by what other people saw as a problem. This type of open, sincere and non-judgmental communication that we had was a very valuable and welcome lesson. Of course, this is a lesson that can be extended to all relationships in life, not just romantic ones. The pitfalls, problems and necessities are the same.

Communication is, basically, the process of sharing information, thoughts and ideas between people through speaking, writing or body-language. To communicate effectively, the 'content' that has to be transmitted to others is required to be received and understood in the same way as it was intended to be. The important goals of, for example, creating a common perception, changing behaviour or acquiring information, all really need to be done effectively to avoid misunderstanding and possible conflict. Of course, this is greatly aided if there is desire on the part of both parties to communicate well and effectively. I am sure that everyone reading this has been in the situation of talking to an unreceptive party, in which there was a need to communicate an idea, thought or concept and it was like talking to a brick wall; emotional barriers were up or simply the idea was too much for the other person to comprehend and it just didn't go in or the other person didn't want to let the idea in. It is an incredibly frustrating experience but there are many methods and tricks for dealing with situations like these to open up the possibility of effective communication which I will talk about in later blogs.

Today, I want to focus on situations in which both parties are open to communication and the only need is to do it effectively.

There are various parts to the communication process which need to be considered; the components, the context, body language, interference and active listening. I will talk about them one at a time.
It is a good idea to consider the components of communication, which is, what is involved in the process of communicating. Someone explained these to me by way of a loop analogy; The act of communication begins with an internal processing about the information or feelings that you want to share with someone: this is the 'encoding'. After this, the message is sent to the other person through either spoken or written words. Then, at the other side of the communication is the receiving and interpreting of what has been sent: this is the 'decoding'. The recipient can and should confirm receipt of the message to the sender by some form of feedback or summary, thereby closing the communication loop. It is important always to remember that communication is always two-sided - the speaker and the listener both of whom have an important part to play.

The importance of considering the context, in which the communication will occur, is that it greatly improves the effectiveness of communication. By considering who your listener is enables the speaker to choose appropriate vocabulary to suit the situation and recipient. To give an exaggerated example to illustrate my point, it would be silly to go into kindergarten to teach a group of toddlers using the same vocabulary and mannerisms that you would use with University students. However, there are situations where more sublety is needed, for example, it is necessary to think about regional or cultural differences, sex, language, intellectual level, experience and so on of the recipients and formulate your language accordingly. I mentioned in a previous blog about doing business presentations abroad and illustrated the problems of not adjusting the language to a foreign audience where English was a second language.

Body Language is, especially in the English-speaking world, very under-rated. However, this non-verbal form of communication which includes posture, position of hands and arms, eye contact and facial expression is even more important than the spoken word. Our minds, subconsciously, put more importance on the interpretation of this than a lot of us realize. Look at these statistics to prove it :- Communication is 7% Words, 38% Tonality; which is how you say these words, for instance emphasis but 55% Body Language; which is what your body is expressing whilst you are saying these words. Simply, body language that is in tune with the verbal content improves understanding. Conversely, inconsistent body language confuses the listener about the real intent of the message. It could, in fact, be transmitting an entirely different and contradictory message. For example, a boss to a subordinate, "I really want to hear your opinion on this." said with arms folded tightly across the chest, or whilst texting a message on his mobile or whilst looking out the window. The body language is entirely incongruous to the spoken message and so the message received would probably be more influenced by the body language than by the words used. To communicate effectively, the content of the message and the body language need to be giving the same message.

Emotions play an important role in communication as emotions interfere with the effectiveness of our communication. Anger, for example, negatively affects both sides' ability to send and receive effective messages. Strong emotions act as walls or filters and facilitate the misinterpretation of what was intended. Therefore it is essential to consider possible emotions and barriers; both language and conceptual before embarking on communication.

Effective communication is a reciprocal process that includes the listener. This is very often forgotten in many cultures. In the Western world the emphasis of communication is usually on the speaker to make himself understood, and so it is necessary to elicit questions from the listeners to check if they have, in fact, understood. In Japan, however, the listener has responsibility to understand the speaker, but there is no culture of question-asking as this would infer that the speaker was not doing a good job. Neither way encourages the idea of active-listening. Successful listening requires eye contact, objective-processing and feedback to the speaker. Active-listening involves asking questions to clarify points, restating what you have heard to assure that the intent of the message sent has been correctly received. This is particularly important when the communication involves emotional content.

We can only really begin to communicate effectively when we consider all these different elements. It would be wonderful if we always used effective communication in all circumstances, but unfortunately a lot of people in a lot of situations just don't have the time to sit down and consider all of these factors before they speak. Having said that, once you start to consider these points, it becomes easier to get into the habit.  It will not happen all at once, but little by little it is possible to notice a change in tone of the conversations. Mainly, people consider effective communication in a business-setting to start with. Especially with issues such as how can I get my message across in the best way, how can I get the best from my subordinates, how can I negotiate with the team visiting from abroad with whom I need to renew the important contract.
In general, how can I make the most of myself and get the best from every situation, not just for myself but for all members of the conversation. It is the realization that communication is a mutually beneficial experience and once this realization occurs the effectiveness of communication improves immensely.