One of the most awaited seasons of the year is approaching after the cold, the rain, and the snowfalls of winter: Spring. Ready to learn some typical Spanish sayings related to this season?
This year spring in Spain begins on Wednesday, March 20 and ends on Thursday, June 20. During this period the temperatures soften and there are more and more hours of daylight, which is also caused by the time change that occurs at the end of March. This year, the clocks will go forward in the early hours of March 31, and at 2:00 it will be 3:00.
With Spring coming, we are facing a perfect scenario to make a range of plans outside the house and socialise in the open air. What if we combine this with a bit of Spanish learning?
Do you know these Spanish sayings related to spring?
Sayings (or ‘refranes’ in Spanish) are phrases of popular origin that are passed on from one generation to another and remain invariably coined in the language. They are used to express a moral thought, a piece of advice or a teaching. This may also be the case in your mother tongue, but the main ideas alluded to in Spanish sayings related to spring, are love and the weather.
1. La primavera la sangre altera
This Spanish saying (literally translated as ‘Spring alters the blood’) alludes to the changes that are produced with the arrival of this season in people’s behaviour. These changes are more specifically about sensuality being awakened, and there are more possibilities for relationships and falling in love. Or, to put it another way, the blood is altered!
Example in context: “Los adolescentes están revoltosos estos días en el colegio, cómo se nota que es primavera. Es que… ¡la primavera la sangre altera!”
2. Marzo marceador, de noche frío y de día calor
This Spanish saying recommends us not to trust the temperatures of the day in March, as it can be warm in the morning and afternoon but cold in the evening. In this sense, in March we will also hear the natives talk about the “entretiempo”, a term that refers to the spring period characterised by a very warm temperature during the day in contrast to the severe cold that appears when the sun goes down.
Example in context: “Llévate una chaqueta esta tarde por si nos quedamos después tomando unas tapas. Ya sabes: marzo marceador, de noche frío y de día calor”.
3. En Abril, aguas mil
In Spain, especially in dry Spain, it usually rains in the month of April, which is the middle of spring. It’s a type of water that comes without turbulence and in an abundance (hence the use of the quantity determiner ‘mil’). Thus, it is a good type of rain that does not cause any damage.
Example in context: “Oye, no olvides traerte un buen chubasquero para tu viaje por España. Que ya lo dice el refrán: En abril aguas mil”.
4. Hasta el cuarenta de mayo no te quites el sayo.
The fortieth of May is a way of referring to the ninth of June, a date until which it is recommended to stay warm because until then we cannot be sure that the cold weather has disappeared. According to the DRAE (the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy), the ‘sayo’ is a simple and wide garment that, like a tunic, covers the body approximately up to the knee.
Example in context: “María, ¿no vienes muy fresca hoy? Ya sé que es junio pero… hasta el cuarenta de mayo no te quites el sayo”.
For a more in-depth look at the subject, we recommend the multilingual collection of Spanish sayings of the Centro Virtual Cervantes. This website contains a selection of the most popular Spanish paremias (sayings and idioms).
And you? What other Spanish sayings related to spring do you know? We will read them in the comments!
Grace Norris
Marketing Assistant | Student at the University of Lancaster, studying Spanish and Italian
Translated from original article in Spanish written by Teresa Palomera Ruiz
