se me taparon los oídos
/se me tapaɾon los oidos/from spelling rules
To say "my ears popped" in Spanish, you use se me taparon los oídos.
This phrase describes the sensation of pressure in the ears caused by a change in altitude or air pressure.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase translates to "the ears clogged themselves to me". It uses the reflexive se and the dative me to indicate that the sensation happened to the speaker.
Which one should you use?
If only one ear is affected, you change the verb and the noun to the singular: se me tapó un oído.
Did you know?
- While oído refers to the sense of hearing or the ear canal, Spanish uses the word oreja for the external, fleshy part of the ear. You would never say se me taparon las orejas because you cannot 'clog' the outside of the ear.
- The word oído is the past participle of the verb oír ('to hear'). In this phrase, the word has evolved from a verb form into a noun representing the auditory organ.
- In Spanish, if you want to describe the specific act of 'popping' your ears to relieve pressure, you use the verb destapar, which means 'to uncover' or 'to uncork'.
Examples in context
- Señor, cuando aterrizamos, se me destaparon los oídos. ¿Es normal?Sir, when we landed, my ears popped. Is it normal?
- ¿Viste? ¡Se me destaparon los oídos durante el vuelo! Fue raro.Did you see? My ears popped during the flight! It was weird.
- Gracias, espero que se me destapen los oídos pronto.Thank you, I hope my ears pop soon.
- Se me taparon los oídos en el avión.My ears popped on the plane.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Elena are descending in a mountain cable car.
- Alejandro¡Ay! Se me taparon los oídos.Oh! My ears popped.
- ElenaA mí también me pasó hace un momento.It happened to me a moment ago too.
- AlejandroEs una sensación muy extraña, ¿verdad?It's a very strange sensation, isn't it?
- ElenaSí, pero ya casi llegamos abajo.Yes, but we are almost at the bottom.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
