How to Say "Inside and Out" in Spanish

por dentro y por fuera

/poɾ dentɾo i poɾ fweɾa/from spelling rules

The phrase por dentro y por fuera is how you say "inside and out" in Spanish.

This phrase is used to refer to both the interior and the exterior of something.

How does it change in a sentence?

The preposition por is repeated for both dentro and fuera to maintain the idiomatic structure of the phrase.

/poɾ dentɾo i poɾ fweɾa/

While fuera means 'outside' in this phrase, it is also a form of the verbs 'to be' and 'to go' in certain tenses.
While English speakers often use 'inside and out' to mean 'completely', a Spanish speaker might use por dentro y por fuera more literally to describe a physical object, like a house that has been painted.
In Spanish, using por dentro y por fuera can describe a physical object or a person's emotional state versus their public appearance.

El profesor conoce al dedillo la teoría económica.
The professor knows the economic theory inside and out.
El ingeniero domina completamente la tecnología innovadora.
The engineer knows the innovative technology inside and out.
Rosa conoce la ciudad como la palma de la mano.
Rosa knows the city inside and out.
Jorge se sabe de memoria todas las canciones de esa banda.
Jorge knows all the songs from that band inside and out.
Limpiamos la casa por dentro y por fuera.
We cleaned the house inside and out.
Limpié la casa por dentro y por fuera.
I cleaned the house inside and out.
El coche está impecable por dentro y por fuera.
The car is impeccable inside and out.
Debes pintar la caja por dentro y por fuera.
You must paint the box inside and out.

Javier and María are looking at a renovated house.

Sources

IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries dentro, fuera, por, y, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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