perdió el control
/peɾdjo el kontɾol/from spelling rules
In Spanish, 'lost it' can be translated as perdió el control.
The phrase is used to describe someone who suddenly loses emotional control and becomes very angry or upset. While this is a direct way to express the loss of control, other phrases exist depending on the specific nuance you wish to convey, such as 'going crazy' or 'screwing up'.
Which one should you use?
perdió el control is a direct way to say someone lost control. If you want to specifically say that someone 'lost their temper' using an idiom, you should use perdió los estribos.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The phrase Volverse loco/a (going crazy) is heard in both Spain and Latin America. The colloquial term Cagarla is used in Latin America to mean 'screwing up' or 'messing up'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The infinitive form of this phrase is perder el control. Depending on who lost control, the verb changes in the past tense: perdí el control for 'I lost it', perdiste el control for 'you lost it' and perdió el control for 'he/she lost it'.
How do you pronounce it?
/peɾdjo el kontɾol/
Did you know?
- While perdió el control is neutral, the Latin American term cagarla is highly vulgar because it literally means 'to shit it'.
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, losing control in public is often described using the phrase perder los papeles, which literally means 'to lose one's papers'.
- If you use the idiom perder los estribos to say someone 'lost it', you are literally saying they 'lost the stirrups'.
Examples in context
- Lo perdí.I lost it.
- Ella lo extravió.She lost it.
- Ella enloqueció por completo.She completely lost it.
- Se volvió loco.He lost it.
- Ella perdió el control y empezó a gritar.She lost it and started screaming.
- Él perdió el control durante la reunión.He lost it during the meeting.
- El cliente perdió el control y gritó.The customer lost it and shouted.
Example conversation
María and Alejandro are discussing a difficult coworker.
- María¿Viste cómo se comportó Juan hoy?Did you see how Juan behaved today?
- AlejandroSí, Juan perdió el control de repente.Yes, Juan lost it suddenly.
- MaríaFue muy desagradable para todos nosotros.It was very unpleasant for all of us.
- AlejandroTienes razón, fue una situación difícil.You're right, it was a difficult situation.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
