Estar hasta las narices
/es-TAR AS-tah las nah-REE-thes/
To be completely fed up with something or someone; to be sick and tired of a situation.
💡 Understanding the Idiom
🎨 Literal vs. Figurative
Literally, this means 'to be up to the noses'.
In practice, it means you are completely fed up with a situation.
Key Words in This Idiom:
📝 In Action
Estoy hasta las narices de que siempre llegues tarde.
B2I'm fed up with you always being late.
Los vecinos ponen la música muy alta cada noche. ¡Estoy hasta las narices!
B2The neighbors play loud music every night. I've had it up to here!
Después de tres horas en el atasco, estaba hasta las narices del tráfico.
B2After three hours in the traffic jam, he was sick and tired of the traffic.
📜 Origin Story
The image this phrase creates is very powerful and easy to remember. Picture yourself standing in water that's rising higher and higher. When it reaches your nose, you're at the absolute limit—any higher and you can't breathe. This physical breaking point is a perfect metaphor for reaching the limit of your patience. You simply can't take any more of the annoying situation.
⭐ Usage Tips
Your Go-To for Frustration
This is the perfect phrase to show you're completely fed up. It's strong but very common and informal. Use it to talk about annoying situations, people, or tasks.
Add Extra Emphasis
To really drive the point home, especially in Spain, you can say 'Estoy hasta las mismísimas narices'. Adding 'mismísimas' (which is like saying 'very own') intensifies the feeling, like saying 'I've had it up to my very own eyeballs!'
❌ Common Pitfalls
Don't Confuse with 'Tener Narices'
Mistake: "Using 'estar hasta las narices' when you mean someone is brave or has nerve."
Correction: A different idiom, 'tener narices' (to have noses), means to have guts or courage. Remember: 'estar' (to be) describes your state of being fed up, while 'tener' (to have) describes the quality of being brave.
🌎 Where It's Used
Spain
Extremely common and used daily. You'll also hear variations that mean the same thing, like 'estar hasta el moño' (up to the hair bun) or 'estar hasta la coronilla' (up to the crown of the head).
Latin America
It's widely understood, but many countries have their own preferred local expressions. For example, in Argentina you might hear 'estar podrido de algo' (to be rotten from something), and in Mexico, 'estar hasta el gorro' (to be up to the cap).
🔗 Related Idioms
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: Estar hasta las narices
Question 1 of 1
If your friend says, 'Estoy hasta las narices del ruido,' what do they mean?
🏷️ Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I say 'estar hasta la nariz' in the singular?
While grammatically it makes sense, the fixed expression is almost always plural: 'hasta las narices'. Using the singular form would sound very unnatural to a native speaker.
Is 'estar hasta las narices' a rude thing to say?
It's informal and expresses strong frustration, so you wouldn't say it to your boss in a formal meeting. However, among friends, family, or in casual situations, it's perfectly normal and not considered rude.