me caes mal
/me kaes mal/from spelling rules
The English phrase "I dislike you" is expressed in Spanish as me caes mal.
This phrase is used to express that you do not like someone's personality or that you find them unpleasant. It is used for social or personal dislike rather than romantic preference.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "you fall badly on me", where the idiom caer mal means to be unpleasant or to be disliked.
Which one should you use?
To express a much stronger dislike, you can say me caes fatal, which replaces the adverb for badly with one meaning terribly. While no me gustas can also be translated as "I don't like you", it is used almost exclusively in the context of romantic or physical attraction, whereas me caes mal refers specifically to personality or social dislike.
Did you know?
- In some Latin American countries, the phrase me caes gordo is used as a slang synonym for me caes mal, literally meaning 'you fall fat on me'.
- While me caes mal is a direct statement of dislike, Spanish speakers often use the phrase no tenemos química to soften the blow by blaming a lack of 'chemistry' rather than the other person's character.
- The word mal in this phrase is an adverb describing how the person 'falls' on you. It shares the same linguistic roots as the English word 'malice', both stemming from the concept of being bad or wrong.
Examples in context
- Me caes mal.I dislike you.
- No quiero hablar contigo porque me caes mal.I don't want to talk to you because I dislike you.
- Desde el primer día me caes mal.I have disliked you since the first day.
Example conversation
Two colleagues are arguing in the office.
- MateoLucía, no soporto tu actitud.Lucía, I can't stand your attitude.
- LucíaPues tú también eres muy arrogante, Mateo.Well, you are also very arrogant, Mateo.
- MateoSinceramente, me caes mal.Honestly, I dislike you.
- LucíaEl sentimiento es mutuo.The feeling is mutual.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mal, me, CC BY-SA 4.0.
