Expressions with leche in Spanish are plentiful in our vocabulary. Leche is an essential foodstuff for mammals and these kind of basic terms are a good source of idioms in all languages.

The etymology of leche is very curious. It comes from Latin lac, lactis, from the Indoeuropean root glak. This root evolved in Greek into gala, galaktos, that is also the origin of galaxia (galaxy) in Spanish. Does Via Láctea (Milky Way) sound familiar to you?

Today, we’ll learn some expressions with leche in Spanish.

Expressions with ‘leche’ in Spanish: ‘¡A toda leche!’

¡A toda leche! is the way that Spaniards speak in a daily conversation. That’s why we offer conversational lessons in order to pass the oral part of the DELE Exam.

This expression is an adverbial construction that means ‘at full speed’. It’s very used to describe the speed of a vehicle or a person but also to hurry somebody.

¡Venga! Vístete a toda leche, que el vuelo sale en menos de una hora.

El favorito en las apuestas va a toda leche; probablemente ganará la carrera.

 

‘¡La leche!’ What a polysemic word!

This exclamation is one of the commonest expressions with leche in Spanish. We use it everytime we are surprised. It can show a positive reaction (wow!), but also a negative one (damn it!).

¡La leche! Menudo coche te has comprado. ¡Que lo disfrutes!

Otra vez he suspendido el examen SIELE. ¡La leche! Voy a tener que reservar clases en Spanishviaskype para prepararlo bien.

‘¡Eres la leche!’: a compliment or a reproach?

In Spanish we have many ways to praise someone’s skills to the skies. ¡Eres un monstruo! (you’re a monster!) or ¡eres un crack! (you’re a champion!) are good examples of that. ¡Eres la leche! is another variation we often use.

¿Ya has terminado el proyecto? ¡Eres la leche!

However, it can be also used ironically, in order to reproach someone’s behaviour.

¿Has estado toda la noche jugando a los videojuegos y no has estudiado nada? ¡Eres la leche!

Expressions with ‘leche’ in Spanish: ‘Dar or darse una leche’

Expressions with leche in Spanish does not always show surprise. If you das una leche a alguien you are slapping somebody.

Si vuelves a faltarme al respeto, te doy una leche.

Nevertheless, if you use the reflexive form of this verb, the meaning changes too much, and you don’t want that. If you te das una leche you will get hit, or even crashed into somewhere.

Iba mirando el móvil y me di una leche contra la farola de la calle.

‘Cagarse en la leche’: don’t try at home

Expressions with leche in Spanish can be very scatological. The verb cagar means a very natural necessity (‘to shit or crap’). However, if you defecate in the milk, nothing good ever happens. Actually, this idiom is very far from its literal meaning. We use it to express anger or dissapointment.

¡Me cago en la leche! ¡Siempre me equivoco con el subjuntivo!

Finally, if you liked these expressions with leche in Spanish and you want to put them in practice, reserve a lesson with us; but, if you prefer to try a trial lesson first, don’t worry we’ll be pleased to help you.