Phrases I Learned from Mexican Telenovelas

Telenovelas are Spanish soap operas. I’ve watched hundreds of hours of telenovelas (like Alborada, Contra Viento y Marea and Rubí) and learned a ton of Spanish in the process. On this post I’m going to share some of my favorite phrases and expressions I learned from these shows.

By the way, if you’ve never seen a telenovela they are usually highly melodramatic. The main difference between a telenovela and an American soap opera is that telenovelas run a fixed number of episodes (often about 120) then end with el último capítulo.

Many of the best telenovela phrases are said in the heat of the moment. For example:

  • cállate la boca (shut your mouth)
  • lárgate or que te largues (get out)
  • vete al diablo or vete al infierno (go to hell)
  • no me toques (don’t touch me)
  • te voy a matar (I’m going to kill you)

Other good expression deal with love and romance:

  • No quiero vivir sin ti (I don’t want to live without you)
  • Te amo tanto (I love you so much)
  • Le puso los cuernos a él (she cheated on him)

And here are a few more good telenovela expressions:

  • te lo juro (I swear it)
  • es un desgraciado (he’s a scumbag)
Of course these are just a few examples off the top of my head. Watch a telenovela and you’ll hear some really fun dialog and expressions in every episode.

Author: Cacho

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