Which one should you use?
While emborracharse is the standard term, you might use pasarse de copas to specifically mean going overboard with drinks or having one too many. For describing a person who is currently drunk, the adjective borracho is used.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Emborracharse is a neutral, standard term suitable for both formal and informal settings. If you want to be more formal, you can use Embriagarse or the phrase Consumir alcohol en exceso. For informal situations, you can use Ponerse borracho/a. In many Latin American countries, particularly Mexico, the colloquial phrase ponerse pedo is commonly used to mean getting drunk or wasted.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Different regions have specific expressions: in Mexico, ponerse hasta atrás is an alternative to ponerse borracho/a. In Argentina, you can say tomar hasta caer. And in Spain, the colloquial expression pillar una cogorza is used.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb emborracharse is reflexive, where the suffix -se indicates the person is performing the action on themselves. Because it is reflexive, the pronoun must change to match the subject. For example, you would use me emborracho to say 'I get drunk'. To express that someone got drunk in the past, use the reflexive pronoun and the third-person singular preterite, such as se emborrachó for 'he/she got drunk'.
How do you pronounce it?
/emboraˈtʃaɾse/
Did you know?
- In Mexico, the slang phrase ponerse pedo is extremely common, but be careful using it in a professional setting. While it means 'to get drunk', its literal translation is 'to become a fart', which can sound quite vulgar to the uninitiated.
- The Spanish word for drunk, borracho, comes from borra, which refers to the sediment or dregs at the bottom of a wine barrel. It suggests that the drinker has consumed everything down to the very last remains.
- The verb embriagar is often used in literature to describe a state that is not just physical, but emotional. One can be embriagado de amor, meaning 'drunk with love', using the same linguistic structure as alcohol intoxication.
Examples in context
- María decidió no embriagarse durante la celebración de la boda.María decided not to get drunk during the wedding celebration.
- Juan y Pedro se pusieron borrachos en la fiesta de cumpleaños.Juan and Pedro got drunk at the birthday party.
- Carolina se pasó de copas en la reunión y terminó haciendo un espectáculo.Carolina got drunk at the gathering and ended up making a scene.
- Los amigos se emborracharon celebrando el final de año.The friends got drunk celebrating the end of the year.
- Él suele emborracharse cuando está nervioso.He tends to get drunk when he is nervous.
Example conversation
Javier and Elena are deciding what to do at a party.
- JavierVamos a beber mucho y emborracharse.Let's drink a lot and get drunk.
- ElenaNo, yo quiero estar sobria.No, I want to stay sober.
- JavierSolo un poco para divertirse.Just a little bit to have fun.
- ElenaPrefiero no emborracharse esta noche, Javier.I prefer not to get drunk tonight, Javier.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry emborracharse, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
