Every week I try to give you some new Spanish idioms or Spanish expressions. Today the focus is on the verb ‘echar’. ‘Echar’ is a very versatile Spanish word and verb. Depending on the context, it can mean many different things. Here are my favorite echar expressions.

¡Échale ganas! | Give it all you’ve got!
¡Échale ganas! Así terminas tus deberes más temprano. | Give it all you’ve got! That way you’ll finish your duties earlier.
¡Échale ganas y un poquito más! | Give it all you’ve got and a little more!

echar de menos | to miss
Te vamos a echar de menos cuando te vayas. | We’re going to miss you when you go.
Te voy a echar de menos. | I’m going to miss you.

echar la culpa | to blame
Robaron el dinero y me echaron la culpa. | They stole the money and blamed me.
Su hermana mintió y le echó la culpa a él. | His sister lied and blamed him.

echar leña al fuego | to add fuel to the fire
Es mejor callarse y no echar más leña al fuego. | It’s better to keep quiet and not stir things up more than they already are.
Su esposo llegó y echó más leña al fuego. | Her husband arrived and made things even worse.

echar raíces | to settle down
¿Cuándo te vas a casar y echar raíces? | When are you going to get married and settle down?
En su corazón desea echar raíces. | He really wants to settle down.

Hopefully you have an opportunity to use some of these new Spanish idioms and expressions. When you use them for the first time be sure to ask if what you said makes sense. Good luck!

For those of you who are  not aware, there are only 4 more days of our 13 Days of Christmas. Click on that link so that you can download the audio lessons from the Visual Link Spanish Level 1 course for free. ¡Feliz Navidad!