Spanish Word of the Day Archive
Tuesday February 5, 2008

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ojo, noun:
eye

Tengo algo en el ojo.
I’ve got something in my eye.

When we’re talking about parts of the body in English we tend to use words like ‘my’, ‘your’, ‘his’. But in Spanish these words are used by the definite article, in this case el or los.
There are lots of colorful phrases associated with parts of the body in English, such as ‘to cost an arm and a leg’, and so forth. The same thing happens in Spanish.
Sometimes the image is very similar:

ser todo ojo
to be all eyes

Es conocido por su buen ojo para los negocios.
He’s well-known for having a good eye for a business opportunity.

Other times it’s similar to English, but with a different twist:

¡Ojo! Es muy mentiroso.
Be careful/Look out! He’s an awful liar.

Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente.
Out of sight, out of mind.

And often the image or idea is completely different.

Me costó un ojo de la cara.
It cost me an arm and a leg.

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