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Getting into trouble? Te la vas a cargar. Posted by on Dec 19, 2008 in Spanish Culture, Spanish Vocabulary

There are a number of verbal expressions in Spanish that involve a reflexive verb and the pronouns -la or -las. Check them out.

1. apañárselas, arreglárselas – to manage, to get by. No te preocupes, me las apañaré. (Don’t worry, I´ll manage.). Jorge vive solo y se las arregla bien en la cocina. (Jorge lives alone and gets by well in the kitchen.)

2. cargársela – to be punished. Luis se la cargó sin haber hecho nada. (Luis was punished without having done anything.)

3. dárselas de (adjective) – to brag about. Antonio se las da de listo, pero en realidad es muy lento. (Antonio brags about being smart, but he’s actually quite thick.)

4. echárselas de – to pretend to be, to make a show of being. Se las echa de héroe. (He’s playing the hero.)

5. habérselas con uno – to deal with, to face somebody. Se las tendrá que haber con el director. (He’ll have to face the principal.)

6. pegársela – to have an accident. En esta curva me la pegué hace un año con el coche. (I had a car accident in this curve a year ago.); to deceive someone. Somos tan ingenuos que nos la pegan cada dos por tres. (We are so naive that we’re often taken advantage of.)

7. pirárselas – to go away. Mañana, en cuanto salgamos de trabajar, agarramos el coche y nos (las) piramos  de vacaciones. (Tomorrow after work, we take the car and go away on vacation.)

8. sabérselas todas – to be a know-all. Él se las sabe todas. (He’s a know-it all.)

9. traérselas – to be very difficult. El examen se las trae. (The test is very difficult.)

10. vérselas con uno – to own up, to explain one’s actions to somebody else. El niño tendrá que vérselas con su papá. (The kid will have to explain himself to his dad.)

Nos vemos prontito!

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About the Author: Adir

English / Spanish teacher and translator for over 20 years. I have been blogging since 2007 and I am also a professional singer in my spare time.


Comments:

  1. victoria smith:

    Does anyone know what chileans are referring to when they use the word rajadiablos?

    thanks

  2. david carmona:

    It’s a combination between hell raiser and womanizer.