el keh seh FWEH ah seh-VEE-yah per-DYOH soo SEE-yah
Literally, the phrase means 'He who went to Seville, lost his chair'.
It's a playful way of saying 'you snooze, you lose' when someone takes your spot.
Me levanté un momento a por agua y mi hermana se sentó en mi sitio. ¡El que se fue a Sevilla perdió su silla!
B1I got up for a moment to get water and my sister sat in my spot. Move your feet, lose your seat!
Si dejas tu puesto en la fila, lo perderás. Ya sabes lo que dicen: el que se fue a Sevilla...
B2If you leave your place in line, you'll lose it. You know what they say: you snooze, you lose...
This phrase has a fascinating true story! It dates back to the 15th century and a dispute between an archbishop of Seville, Alonso de Fonseca, and his nephew, who was also named Alonso de Fonseca. The uncle needed to travel to Santiago de Compostela to handle some trouble, so he asked his nephew to temporarily take his 'silla' (his seat, or position) in Seville. When the uncle returned, the nephew loved the power and wealth of Seville so much that he refused to give the position back! The uncle had to get the Pope and the King involved to reclaim his 'chair', and the story turned into the famous saying we use today.
This is a very lighthearted and common saying, especially among children, family, and friends. Use it with a smile when you snag a good seat someone has just left.
There's a popular and fun response for the person who lost their seat: '...y el que volvió, la encontró' (...and he who returned, found it). It turns the exchange into a playful game.
Mistake: “Using this phrase when someone has lost something significant, like their job or their home.”
Correction: This saying is strictly for trivial, low-stakes situations, almost always about a literal seat. Applying it to a serious loss would come across as incredibly insensitive and mocking.
Extremely common. It's a classic 'refrán' (proverb) that every Spaniard knows from childhood.
Widely understood in many countries, but its use is less frequent than in Spain. Other local expressions for 'you snooze, you lose', like 'camarón que se duerme...', are often more common.
Question 1 of 1
You get up from the sofa, and your friend immediately sits there and says with a grin, 'El que se fue a Sevilla perdió su silla'. What is the best response?
Want to sound more natural when using this idiom? Practice your Spanish pronunciation with our collection of tongue twisters.
Browse Spanish Tongue Twisters →Idioms make sense in context. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see idioms used naturally by characters — and build the ear native speakers have.
While the origin story refers to a 'silla' as a position of power (an archbishop's seat), in everyday modern use, it almost always refers to a literal, physical chair, sofa spot, or place in line. It's used in the moment for fun.
