me arde la boca
/me aɾde la boka/from spelling rules
The English phrase "my mouth is on fire" is translated into Spanish as me arde la boca.
This phrase is the standard way to express that food is too spicy or that there is a physical burning sensation in the mouth. If you want to specify that the sensation is specifically on your tongue, you can substitute la boca with la lengua to say me arde la lengua (my tongue is burning). You may also add the word demasiado (too much) to emphasize the intensity.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, the phrase ¡Me está picando la boca! can be used to say "My mouth is stinging!" In Argentina, you can use ¡Me está quemando la boca! to express "It's burning my mouth!"
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase me arde la boca, the verb arder is used in the third-person singular to agree with la boca (the mouth) rather than using a first-person conjugation.
Did you know?
- The word boca for 'mouth' actually shares a common ancestor with the English word 'beak'. Both words trace back to the Latin 'bucca', which originally referred to the 'cheek'.
- The verb arder is also used in Spanish to describe a stinging sensation from a chemical burn or a sunburn, not just from heat or spice.
- The phrase me arde la boca uses a grammatical structure where the sensation is attributed to the mouth itself, rather than the person experiencing it.
Examples in context
- ¡Está demasiado picante! ¡Me está quemando la boca!It's too spicy! It's burning my mouth!
- ¡Ay, mamá! ¡Me estoy quemando la boca!Oh, mama! I'm burning my mouth!
- ¡Ay! Me arde la boca.Ow! My mouth is on fire.
- No puedo comer más, me arde la boca.I can't eat anymore, my mouth is on fire.
- Después de la salsa, me arde la boca.After the sauce, my mouth is on fire.
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are eating very spicy tacos at a restaurant.
- Lucía¡Dios mío, Alejandro, me arde la boca!My God, Alejandro, my mouth is on fire!
- AlejandroToma un poco de agua, Lucía.Have some water, Lucía.
- LucíaNo es suficiente, necesito leche.It is not enough, I need milk.
- AlejandroLa salsa estaba muy picante.The sauce was very spicy.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries boca, la, me, CC BY-SA 4.0.
