Directly translating common English figures of speech into Spanish usually doesn’t work. For example, a “Pain in the Neck” in English when translated literally into Spanish doesn’t make sense at all.

Instead they say a phrase “dolor de muelas” which translates directly to “Pain in the Molar”.

Key Takeaways:

• Figures of speech in English rarely translate directly to Spanish.
• In Latin America it’s common to say: “dolor de cabeza”, which translates directly to “pain of head”
• In English we say “pain in the ass” and in Spanish it’s a  “pimple on the ass”or “grano en el culo.”

Key Quote:

“Spanish speakers don’t say “pain in the neck” to mean pain in the neck, they say that something is a pain in the molars, they say: “dolor de muelas””