Tener mucho morro

/teh-NER MOO-choh MOR-roh/

To be shameless, cheeky, or to have a lot of nerve. It describes someone who acts in their own self-interest without embarrassment, often at the expense of others.

Level:B2Register:InformalCommon:★★★★☆

💡 Understanding the Idiom

Literal Translation:

"To have a lot of snout"

What It Really Means:

To be shameless, cheeky, or to have a lot of nerve. It describes someone who acts in their own self-interest without embarrassment, often at the expense of others.

English Equivalents:

To have a lot of nerveTo have some cheekTo have the gallTo be shameless

🎨 Literal vs. Figurative

💭 Literal

Literally, this means 'to have a lot of snout'.

✨ Figurative

In practice, it means to be shameless or have a lot of nerve.

Key Words in This Idiom:

morro

📝 In Action

Llegó tarde y encima se coló en la fila. ¡Qué morro tiene!

He arrived late and on top of that, he cut in line. He's got some nerve!

Me pidió que le prestara 100 euros y todavía no me ha devuelto los 50 del mes pasado. Hay que tener mucho morro.

He asked me to lend him 100 euros and he still hasn't paid me back the 50 from last month. You've got to have a lot of gall.

Mi compañero de piso se comió mi tarta y ni siquiera pidió perdón. Tiene mucho morro.

My roommate ate my cake and didn't even apologize. He's so shameless.

📜 Origin Story

The word 'morro' in Spanish refers to the snout of an animal. Imagine an animal pushing its way forward with its snout to get food, without any regard for others. The idiom transfers this idea to people. Someone with 'mucho morro' is seen as 'pushing forward' with their 'face' (their audacity) to get what they want, completely unembarrassed by their forwardness.

⭐ Usage Tips

Use it to Criticize

This phrase is almost always used to negatively judge someone's shameless or cheeky behavior. It’s a criticism, not a compliment.

As an Exclamation

A very common and natural way to use this is in short exclamations like '¡Qué morro!' or '¡Qué morro tienes!', which means 'What a nerve!' or 'You've got some cheek!'

❌ Common Pitfalls

Not a Physical Trait

Mistake: "Using this phrase to describe someone who actually has large lips."

Correction: This expression is purely figurative and refers to character. If you want to talk about someone's physical lips, you would use the word 'labios'.

🌎 Where It's Used

🇪🇸

Spain

Extremely common and a core part of informal, everyday vocabulary. It's instantly understood by everyone.

🌎

Latin America

Not commonly used. People may understand it from Spanish movies or TV shows, but they have their own popular equivalents like 'ser un caradura' (to be a hard-face) or 'ser conchudo'.

🔗 Related Idioms

↔️Similar Meanings

ser un caradura

Literally 'to be a hard-face', it means to be shameless.

echarle cara (a algo)

Literally 'to throw face at something', it means to do something with audacity and no shame.

⇆Opposite Meanings

no tener sangre en las venas

Literally 'to not have blood in your veins', it often describes someone too timid or shy to act.

ser un trozo de pan→

Literally 'to be a piece of bread', it means to be a very kind and good-natured person.

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: Tener mucho morro

Question 1 of 1

If your Spanish friend says someone 'tiene mucho morro', what do they mean?

🏷️ Tags

Body PartsCommonly UsedSpainBehavioral & Character

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'tener mucho morro' a strong insult?

It's a strong criticism but not typically a deep insult, especially when used between friends. It's very informal and is used to express annoyance at someone's audacity. However, using it in a formal or professional setting would be considered rude and inappropriate.