Ponerse morado

/poh-NER-seh moh-RAH-doh/

To eat a lot of something; to stuff oneself with food; to pig out.

Level:B2Register:InformalCommon:★★★★☆

💡 Understanding the Idiom

Literal Translation:

"To turn purple"

What It Really Means:

To eat a lot of something; to stuff oneself with food; to pig out.

English Equivalents:

To pig outTo stuff your faceTo eat like a horse

🎨 Literal vs. Figurative

💭 Literal

Literally, 'ponerse morado' means 'to turn purple'.

✨ Figurative

The actual meaning of 'ponerse morado', showing a person happily eating a huge amount of food at a table.

In practice, it means to eat a lot and enjoy it, like 'pigging out'.

Key Words in This Idiom:

ponersemorado

📝 In Action

En la boda de mi primo, me puse morado de tarta de chocolate.

At my cousin's wedding, I pigged out on chocolate cake.

Preparamos paella para diez personas, ¡así que hoy nos vamos a poner morados!

We made paella for ten people, so we're going to stuff ourselves today!

Cada vez que vamos a casa de la abuela, los niños se ponen morados a galletas.

Every time we go to grandma's house, the kids stuff their faces with cookies.

📜 Origin Story

This colorful phrase is a humorous exaggeration. The idea comes from cyanosis, a condition where a lack of oxygen can cause the skin to take on a bluish-purple hue. The idiom playfully suggests that someone is eating so much and so intensely that they're almost forgetting to breathe, causing them to 'turn purple' with the effort of their feast. It’s a funny mental image that perfectly captures the idea of extreme indulgence.

⭐ Usage Tips

Use it for Enjoyable Feasts

This phrase is perfect for when you're talking about eating a large quantity of food with great pleasure. It implies indulgence and enjoyment, not just eating a lot because you have to. Think holiday dinners, birthday parties, or an amazing buffet.

Specify the Food with 'de'

It's very common to follow 'ponerse morado' with the word 'de' to say exactly what you feasted on. For example: 'Me puse morado de pizza' (I pigged out on pizza) or 'Se puso morada de fresas' (She stuffed herself with strawberries).

❌ Common Pitfalls

Only for Eating

Mistake: "Using 'ponerse morado' to mean getting angry or getting a bruise, since 'morado' is the color of a bruise."

Correction: This idiom is almost exclusively about overeating. While a bruise is a 'moratón', you don't 'turn purple' when you get one. For getting angry, a much more common expression is 'ponerse rojo' (to turn red).

🌎 Where It's Used

🇪🇸

Spain

Extremely common and widely used by people of all ages. It's a staple idiom.

🌎

Latin America

It is understood in many countries, but it's far less common than in Spain. People are more likely to use other expressions like 'darse un atracón', 'darse una panzada' (in Mexico), or 'comer como un chancho'.

🔗 Related Idioms

↔️Similar Meanings

Ponerse las botas→

Literally 'to put on the boots', it also means to indulge, especially with food.

Darse un atracón

To binge-eat or stuff oneself.

⇆Opposite Meanings

Quedarse con hambre

To be left hungry; to not have enough to eat.

Comer como un pajarito

To eat like a little bird; to eat very little.

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: Ponerse morado

Question 1 of 1

If your friend says '¡En la fiesta me puse morado de paella!', what do they mean?

🏷️ Tags

Food & DrinkColorsCommonly UsedBody Parts

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use 'ponerse morado' for drinking too?

While it's overwhelmingly used for food, you might occasionally hear it used humorously for drinking a lot of a specific beverage, like 'se puso morado de vino tinto' (he drank a ton of red wine). However, its primary and most common meaning is definitely about eating.