40 Spanish Idioms Related to Animals
40 popular Spanish idioms and expressions featuring animals. Expand your vocabulary with colorful and native-like phrases.
Dogs and Cats
Hace un día de perros.
It's a miserable day.
Trabajar como un perro.
To work like a dog.
Llevarse como el perro y el gato.
To fight like cats and dogs.
Muerto el perro, se acabó la rabia.
End the cause, and the problem goes away.
Estar de mal humor o de perros.
To be in a foul mood.
Dar gato por liebre.
To deceive / to pull a fast one.
Haber gato encerrado.
There's something fishy going on.
Buscarle tres pies al gato.
To look for problems where there are none.
Defenderse como gato panza arriba.
To fight tooth and nail.
Ser un perro viejo.
To be an old hand / experienced.
Birds and Fish
Matar dos pájaros de un tiro.
To kill two birds with one stone.
Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Tener pájaros en la cabeza.
To be scatterbrained / to have one's head in the clouds.
Estar como pez en el agua.
To be in one's element.
Por la boca muere el pez.
Loose lips sink ships.
Ser un pez gordo.
To be a big shot.
Sentirse como sapo de otro pozo.
To feel like a fish out of water.
Comer como un pajarito.
To eat like a bird.
Ser un ave de paso.
To be passing through / a transient.
Cortar el bacalao.
To call the shots / to be the boss.
Farm Animals
Estar como una cabra.
To be crazy.
Ser la oveja negra.
To be the black sheep.
Poner los cuernos.
To cheat on someone.
Ser un burro.
To be a fool / ignorant.
Trabajar como una mula.
To work like a mule.
Dormir como un lirón.
To sleep like a log.
Ser un gallina.
To be a chicken / coward.
Sudar como un cerdo.
To sweat like a pig.
Agarrar el toro por los cuernos.
To take the bull by the horns.
Comer como un caballo.
To eat like a horse.
Wild Animals and Insects
Ser un lince.
To be very sharp / clever.
Tener vista de lince.
To have eagle eyes.
Lágrimas de cocodrilo.
Crocodile tears.
Tener una memoria de elefante.
To have a memory like an elephant.
Ser un rata.
To be stingy.
Sentir mariposas en el estómago.
To feel butterflies in one's stomach.
Ser una hormiguita.
To be a hard and steady worker / a saver.
Estar mosca.
To be suspicious.
¿Qué mosca te ha picado?
What's gotten into you?
Hacer el mono.
To monkey around.
These phrases will help you communicate confidently in real-life situations. Practice them with audio and add to your phrase trainer for better retention.
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