De acuerdo al Cambridge Dictionary, un modismo podría definirse como “un grupo de palabras con un orden fijo que tiene un significado particular y que es diferente del significado que cada una de las palabras tienen por separado”. En el caso del inglés y el español, hay algunos modismos que son similares, mientras que otros son muy diferentes. Por ello, es importante que conozcas los más comunes y que te los aprendas de memoria, ya que son frases que se usan todos los días. En este artículo vamos a enseñarte las más comunes, sus traducciones al español y sus definiciones.

• It’s raining cats and dogs: this is probably one of the most famous idioms in English, and it means that it is raining very heavily. The equivalent in Spanish would be “está lloviendo a cántaros”.

• Break the ice: this idiom is used in situations in which you don’t know the other person, so you have to say something to feel less tense. The equivalent in Spanish would literally be “romper el hielo”.

• Break a leg: it is used to wish someone good luck. In Spanish we would say “mucha mierda”.

• Beat around the bush: it is used to avoid a subject by talking about irrelevant things. In Spanish we would say “irse por las ramas”.

• Judge a book by its cover: this means that you cannot judge or tell how someone is like just by how they look on the outside. In Spanish we would say “nunca juzgues a un libro por su portada”.

• Get out of hand: this is used when a situation gets out of control. In Spanish we would say “irse de las manos”.

• Curiosity killed the cat: this is used to warn people of the dangers of investigating too much about a certain thing or topic. In Spanish we would say “la curiosidad mató al gato”.

• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush: this idiom is useful because it means that sometimes it is best to be thankful for what you have rather than risking it in the hope you will end up with something better. In Spanish we would say “más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando”.

• Better late than never: this is used to say that it is better to be late doing something than to not do it at all. In Spanish we would say “mejor tarde que nunca”.

• Birds of a feather flock together: it is used to mean that people who are similar often form social circles together. In Spanish we would say “dios los cría y ellos se juntan”.

• Kill two birds with one stone: it is used when you achieve two things at the same time, or with one action. In Spanish we would say “matar dos pájaros de un tiro”.

• The early bird gets / catches the worm: this idiom suggests that if you are the first one to do something before others, you will have a better chance of success. In Spanish we would say “al que madruga dios le ayuda”.

• Miss the boat: this idiom means that you have missed an opportunity of taking advantage of something. In Spanish we would say “perder el tren”.

Fuentes:

«IDIOM | English meaning – Cambridge Dictionary.» https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/idiom, Con acceso 12 mayo 2023.

«15 Common Idioms: English Phrases for Everyday Use | DK UK.» https://www.dk.com/uk/article/15-common-idioms-english-phrases-for-everyday-use/, Con acceso 12 mayo 2023.

«15 most common English idioms and phrases | EF English Live.» https://englishlive.ef.com/blog/language-lab/15-common-english-idioms-and-phrases/, Con acceso 12 mayo 2023.

«50 Most Common English Idioms and Phrases (With Examples) – Justlearn.» https://www.justlearn.com/blog/50-most-common-english-idioms-and-phrases-with-examples#:~:text=50%20Most%20Common%20English%20Idioms%20and%20Phrases%20%28With,8%208.%20Break%20the%20ice%20…%20M%C3%A1s%20elementos, Con acceso 12 mayo 2023.

Roell, Kelly. «40 Common English Idioms»   Thoughtco,  21 Nov. 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/common-english-idioms-3211646. Con acceso 12 mayo 2023.