Spanish Word of the Day: Flipar
Here’s a word that you’ll hear a lot in casual conversation with Spaniards and which can have negative and positive connotations. Learn it and you'll be one step closer to sounding like a local. ¡Vas a flipar! (You're going to love it!).
Flipar is a fantastic Spanish verb which has several meanings.
It can be used to describe something that you’re crazy about or very fond of, similar to ‘me encanta’ (I love) but not in a romantic sense.
Example:
Me flipa la música reggae.
I’m mad about reggae music.
It can also be used to describe a situation in which you’re in awe of something, in shock or disbelief, for both negative and positive surprises.
Example:
¡Estoy flipando! No me creo que hayan roto.
I’m speechless! I can’t believe they broke up.
Or
Hemos flipado con lo buena que es jugando al baloncesto.
We can’t believe how good she is at playing basketball.
Similarly, if someone is getting ahead of themselves, you can use flipar to tell them to calm down and stop daydreaming.
Example:
¿Acabas de empezar a aprender a hablar castellano y quieres ser profe de español? ¡No te flipes!
You’ve just started learning Spanish and you want to be a Spanish teacher? Don’t get carried away!
On the same note, you might hear Spaniards just say ‘¡Flipa!’ which is somewhat like saying ‘Can you believe it?’ or ‘Crazy!’ as an interjection in English.
Flipar can also be used to describe someone who is under the influence of drugs, in which case Spanish speakers often say 'flipar en colores' (literally meaning 'tripping out in colours'), presumably alluding to some colourful acid trip.
But this expression is used more often than not to describe behaviours or comments which would indicate that someone is not thinking straight, behaving almost as if they were drugged.
Example:
¡Estás flipando en colores! ¿Cómo te vas a ir a vivir a la Patagonia?
You must be mad! How are you going to live in Patagonia?
And to round things off, there are a couple of other Spanish words with the flip- root you should learn as well.
There’s the word flipado or flipada, which describes someone who is overly confident in their abilities, or who is extremely passionate about something, so again it depends on the context to understand whether it’s good or bad.
Example:
Ese tío es un flipado, se cree Bruce Lee.
That guy is full of himself, he thinks he’s Bruce Lee.
Or
Carlos es un flipado de los videojuegos, hasta compite en torneos.
Carlos is video game-crazy, he even competes in tournaments.
And finally there’s flipante, an adjective which describes something that’s astonishing or amazing, usually in a good sense.
Example:
Es flipante que Nadal haya ganado el Australian Open después de perder los dos primeros sets.
It’s unbelievable that Nadal won the Australian Open after losing the first two sets.
Comments
See Also
Flipar is a fantastic Spanish verb which has several meanings.
It can be used to describe something that you’re crazy about or very fond of, similar to ‘me encanta’ (I love) but not in a romantic sense.
Example:
Me flipa la música reggae.
I’m mad about reggae music.
It can also be used to describe a situation in which you’re in awe of something, in shock or disbelief, for both negative and positive surprises.
Example:
¡Estoy flipando! No me creo que hayan roto.
I’m speechless! I can’t believe they broke up.
Or
Hemos flipado con lo buena que es jugando al baloncesto.
We can’t believe how good she is at playing basketball.
Similarly, if someone is getting ahead of themselves, you can use flipar to tell them to calm down and stop daydreaming.
Example:
¿Acabas de empezar a aprender a hablar castellano y quieres ser profe de español? ¡No te flipes!
You’ve just started learning Spanish and you want to be a Spanish teacher? Don’t get carried away!
On the same note, you might hear Spaniards just say ‘¡Flipa!’ which is somewhat like saying ‘Can you believe it?’ or ‘Crazy!’ as an interjection in English.
Flipar can also be used to describe someone who is under the influence of drugs, in which case Spanish speakers often say 'flipar en colores' (literally meaning 'tripping out in colours'), presumably alluding to some colourful acid trip.
But this expression is used more often than not to describe behaviours or comments which would indicate that someone is not thinking straight, behaving almost as if they were drugged.
Example:
¡Estás flipando en colores! ¿Cómo te vas a ir a vivir a la Patagonia?
You must be mad! How are you going to live in Patagonia?
And to round things off, there are a couple of other Spanish words with the flip- root you should learn as well.
There’s the word flipado or flipada, which describes someone who is overly confident in their abilities, or who is extremely passionate about something, so again it depends on the context to understand whether it’s good or bad.
Example:
Ese tío es un flipado, se cree Bruce Lee.
That guy is full of himself, he thinks he’s Bruce Lee.
Or
Carlos es un flipado de los videojuegos, hasta compite en torneos.
Carlos is video game-crazy, he even competes in tournaments.
And finally there’s flipante, an adjective which describes something that’s astonishing or amazing, usually in a good sense.
Example:
Es flipante que Nadal haya ganado el Australian Open después de perder los dos primeros sets.
It’s unbelievable that Nadal won the Australian Open after losing the first two sets.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.