In this intermediate Spanish lesson we will look at a selection of useful Spanish expressions related to eating, such as Ponerse morado (To eat a lot) and Comer como un pajarito (To eat very little).

Food is a great stimulator of conversation and very often one of the first times you get to practice Spanish is in a café or restaurant. We have already looked in detail at how to manage in a bar, café or restaurant when ordering and paying for food in Spanish.

Now we will look at a few interesting Spanish expressions that you can use at the dinner table or when discussing your own eating habits and the eating habits of others.

Comer como una lima: To eat a lot
• Mi hermano come como una lima: My brother eats a lot

Ponerse como el quico: To eat a lot
• Ayer nos pusimos como el quico en el restaurante: Yesterday we ate a lot in the restaurant

Ponerse morado: To eat a lot
• Me ha encantado la comida, me he puesto morada: I loved the food, I ate a lot

Tener un estómago sin fondo: To be a big eater
• Mi amiga Silvia tiene un estómago sin fondo, siempre está comiendo: My friend Silvia is a big eater, she is always eating

Ser un/a glotón/a: To be a glutton
• María es una glotona: María is a glutton

Comer como un pajarito: To eat very little
• Yo de pequeño/a comía como un pajarito: When I was a child I ate very little

Hacer ascos: To dislike certain food
• Mi hijo come muy bien, no le hace ascos a nada: My son eats very well, he doesn´t dislike anything

Tener o hacer remilgos: To have qualms about something/to turn your nose up at something
• Mi hijo come fatal, hace muchos remilgos a la comida: My son eats very badly, he turns his nose up at food

(A food) no me dice/n nada: (A food) is/are nothing special to me
• A mí los espaguetis no me dicen nada: Spaghetti is nothing special to me

A mí, (a food) ni fu ni fa: (A food) is/are nothing special to me
• A mí, los espaguetis ni fu ni fa: Spaghetti is nothing special to me

Comer a la fuerza: To force to eat/Force-feed
• A mí hijo tengo que darle de comer a la fuerza: I have to force my son to eat

Ponerse las botas: To eat a lot
• Hoy me he puesto las botas a jamón: Today I have eaten a lot of ham

These types of Spanish expressions sound great if you can remember them and use them at an appropriate moment in conversation. They will show your in-depth knowledge of the Spanish language and will, for sure, put a smile on the face of a native speaker.

Spanish people use these types of expressions, phrases, idioms and proverbs a lot in everyday conversation and it is a good idea to start building up your repertoire as soon as possible. Try learning five to ten useful sentences every day and look out for them in the books, internet articles and magazines that you read.

I hope very much that you are enjoying your Spanish studies and this course of intermediate Spanish lessons is helping you along the way.

Have a great day and see you next time.

¡Que tengais un buen dia y hasta la proxima clase!

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