Feeling Mad? 26 Spanish Expressions of Anger for Your Bad Mood (2024)

Finding the correct Spanish expressions of anger doesn’t have to be complex. In your quest to speak fluent Spanish, you’ll need to equip yourself with common words that allow you to express your feelings in Spanish. If you want to share your emotions, you want to understand the precise meaning of the words you use and avoid saying something inappropriate or untrue to how you’re feeling.

Spanish is Ideal for Expressing your Feelings

Emotions are essential to how you interact with others. They influence the choices you make and actions you take. All emotions exist on a spectrum of intensity—from “not so intense” to “super intense.” The intensity, or strength, of the emotion is provoked by the situation you’re facing and your ability to cope with it.

As you build your Spanish vocabulary, you’ll notice that it’s a magnificently expressive language. Its romance nature simplifies communicating your emotions, especially anger, with precision and clarity, according to the situation and intensity of what you’re experiencing.

Being Angry is Perfectly Normal

Anger is a strong emotion that comes with feelings of fear, frustration, sarcasm, antipathy, and hostility. You display anger through body language, facial gestures, tone of voice, and behavior. It’s an emotion that you need to control, as it can turn harmful, unhealthy, and transform to aggression, abuse, or violence. Uncontrolled anger leads to stress and other health risks.

Although anger is mostly considered a negative emotion, it’s healthy and incredibly clarifying for your state of mind. It allows you to recognize something harmful and motivates you to take action and resolve it.

As humans, it’s important not to bottle our anger—instead, let it out! There are different ways to deal with this feeling and to express it in a healthy manner.

Spanish Expressions of Anger

Do you ever have one of those days when you’re in such a bad mood you need to get creative to express your anger? I sure do! Luckily, Spanish expressions of anger are so diverse, there’s multiple ways for you to communicate what you’re feeling in different scenarios.

Let’s take a look at 28 Spanish expressions of anger for your bad mood.

1. Estoy molesto / molesta

A simple way for you to express you’re mildly annoyed. The expression estoy molesto (I’m upset) is understood in all Spanish-speaking countries and is considered one of the most common Spanish expressions of anger.

2. Lo que sea

This commonly used phrase fits perfectly to a mix of disappointment and mild anger. Lo que sea (whatever) is used when you don’t want to dive more into a situation and you just want to get it over with in the fastest and easiest possible way.

3. Estoy de un humor

The phrase estoy de un humor (I’m in a mood) is used to express irritation that can escalate to anger in any moment. Understood in most Spanish-speaking countries, this expression is usually accompanied by another action. For example:

¡Estoy de un humor que mejor ni te cuento!
I’m in a mood that I can’t even tell you.

4. Estoy enfadado / enfadada (or) Estoy enojado/ enojada

These are the most known Spanish expressions of anger you can use for any intensity. Feeling enfadado / enojado means feeling angry. You can use it in pretty much any scenario as it’s associated with anger, irritation, or annoyance.

5. Estoy que exploto

Frequently used when you’re literally about to explode with anger. Estoy que exploto (I’m exploding) means you’re done—you’re so mad you’re about to pop!

6.Tiene mecha corta

The expression tener mecha corta (Having short wick) describes a person who has very little patience or who loses their cool fast. The metaphor is you’re a candle whose wick is short and burns out really fast. It’s common in Guatemala as the ideal phrase for when you’re just starting to get angry and impatient. For example:

No aguanto a los niños malcriados, tengo mecha corta.
I can’t stand spoiled kids, I have little patience.

7. Me revienta

Me revienta (it annoys me) is perfect for scenarios when you’re so over being annoyed, you’re headed to the next level of irritation! For example:

Me revienta que vengas tarde
It annoys me when you’re late.

8. Me saca de mis casillas

You’re incredibly irritated and you’ve lost your patience. This expression originated in Spain from playing chess or backgammon and it’s used in scenarios when the situation is so upsetting, it’s seemingly pushing you outside of your boxes.

¡Te han sacado de tus casillas!
They’ve pushed you out of your boxes!

9. Me da rabia

This expression describes next level feelings of anger. Me da rabia (it enrages me) means something is triggering emotions of rage and intense fury. This feeling accompanies physiological manifestations like uncontrollable tears or turning red.

10. Me da cólera

An ideal expression you can use when your anger is driving you towards disgust. Me da cólera (literally, “it gives me cholera”) references a situation that’s so upsetting, it compares to the horrid symptoms a bacteria like cholera produces in your body.

11. Me saca de onda

Me saca de onda (it throws me off) is a slang phrase common in Mexico for situations that ruin a moment, kill the vibe, or are simply annoying. These situations usually are easy to resolve, for example:

Me saca de onda que me interrumpan.
It throws me off when someone interrupts me.

12. Me tiene harto / harta

If you’re feeling hands down annoyed, you’re over it, or simply sick and tired, then you’re feeling hartazgo (fed up). Me tiene harto / harta (I’m fed up) is one of many Spanish anger expressions of Central America. Use it in any scenario when you’re done dealing with a situation and don’t want to know anything else about it.

13. Estoy a nada

In most Spanish-speaking countries, this expression is part of everyday slang and casual vocabulary. Estoy a nada (I’m this close or I’m nowhere near) means you’ve had it up to here with whatever you’re dealing with and you don’t want to hear it anymore, if someone brings it up again, you will reach extreme anger. An example would be:

Si seguís insistiendo así, estaré a nada de no ir.
If you keep insisting like this, I will be nowhere near attending.

14. Estoy como la gran

Estoy como la gran is Guatemalan slang that perfectly expresses extreme anger without any swearing or foul language. Si tu estás como la gran, it means you’re very close to losing your cool and snapping.

15. Vete a freír espárragos

No, I’m not talking about cooking! Vete a freír espárragos (literally, “go fry asparagus”) is a nicer and more polite way to tell someone to get lost. This expression comes from Spain and is used and understood in Mexico and Central America.

16. No me busques porque me encuentras

Have you ever had your buttons pushed to a boiling point? Well, that’s exactly what this expression stands for. No me busques porque me encuentras (meaning, “don’t look for me because you’ll find me”) works as a warning to someone when they start to negatively affect your mood. If a person contributes to your anger and won’t back off, this phrase is straight-up advice for them to stop before you lose it!

17. Me hierve la sangre

Me hierve la sangre (“It boils my blood”) emphasizes strong feelings of anger or even hate towards something. It applies to situations that are usually beyond your control.

18. Me carga la fregada

Another common slang phrase in Guatemala, me carga la fregada refers to having bad luck and is a reclamation of being in an upsetting situation. It’s also perfect for when things don’t go as expected and end up triggering feelings of anger.

19. Te pasas

This sarcastic expression speaks about a person who has done something—or they just made it worse. A person that doesn’t know limits, oversteps them, or maybe doesn’t even care, and needs to be told off deserves to hear a classic te pasas. It’s the perfect expression for when someone goes overboard.

20. Me está cargando el payaso

The phrase me está cargando el payaso (“The clown is carrying me”) is Mexican slang.This expression lets someone know you’re not doing well and that you’re angry about it. When you’re in a situation that’s challenging and tough to navigate, it often leads to frustration and anger. For example, if you have a new job where you’re not doing well, you could say: ¡Me está cargando el payaso en el nuevo trabajo!
I’m really frustrated with this new job!

21. Ponerse como fiera

Common to Spanish speakers from Spain, Chile, Uruguay, and El Salvador. Ponerse como fiera (“Go wild”) describes someone who’s getting out of control, appearing to become a wild animal or beast. For example:

Estaba tan molesto que le mentiste que se puso como fiera.
He was so upset that you lied that he went wild.

22. Bájale dos rayitas

You know those moments when someone just goes too far and needs to tone it down? That’s exactly what the Mexican slang bájale dos rayitas (literally meaning, “take it down two lines” or “calm down”) means. It’s one of those highly unique but very accurate Spanish anger expressions you can use when a person offends you, or if you want them to back off and apologize because they’ve upset you.

23. Me lleva la gran diabla

If you’ve been to Guatemala, you’ve definitely heard this. Me lleva la gran diabla (meaning, “the great she-devil takes me”) describes intense upsetting situations. La gran diabla doesn’t exist, but if she did, Guatemalans believe she’s the one who will personally carry you to the dark underworld and back.

24. Me caigo al mar y no me mojo

Me caigo al mar y no me mojo (meaning “I fall into the ocean and don’t get wet”) describes feeling heavily angry and frustrated. It means you’re in a hopeless situation and if you’re actually able to do something it’ll only get worse. For example, you take a shortcut during rush hour and this new route has more heavy traffic than usual, in response to this upsetting irony and being stuck for a few extra hours in the car, you can angrily exclaim:

Con este trafico, estoy que me caigo al mar y no me mojo.
With this traffic, I fall into the ocean and don’t get wet.

25. Caldo de jetas

This expression is common in Mexico and Guatemala. A caldo de jetas (literally meaning “a broth of nerves”) refers to a person who cannot hide how angry he or she feels and the facial expressions are clearly upsetting. For example:

Tuve que regañar a mi hija y ahora es un caldo de jetas.
I had to scold my daughter and she won’t stop making angry faces.

26. Subírsele la mostaza

A frequent idiom from Perú and Argentina, subírsele la mostaza (meaning, “turn up the mustard”) describes when a person starts getting irritated and angry. For example:

A Andrea se le subió la mostaza después de perder el examen.
Andrea got irritated after she failed her exam.

Now you Can Get Angry in Spanish!

I hope after reading this blog post, you’ll let out those upsetting feelings in a healthy way using all sorts of different Spanish expressions of anger. Whether you’re just a little irritated or things are about to hit the fan, all of these come in handy.

If you want to take Spanish expressions of anger to the next level, sign up for a free trial class with our native Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala. Before you know it, you’ll be expressing all of your emotions in Spanish!

Ready to learn more Spanish vocabulary? Check these out!

• How to Talk About the Temperature in Spanish: Fahrenheit, Celcius, and Descriptions
• Car Parts Spanish Vocabulary List: Learn Using Pictures
• Top 15 New Year’s Resolutions in Spanish
• Talk About Hurricanes And The Weather in Spanish
• Spanish Words with Multiple Meanings in Latin America
• World Mental Health Day: A Vocabulary Guide for Mental Health Workers
• Expressing Appreciation in Spanish on World Teachers’ Day
• Art and Painting Vocabulary in Spanish