poner los ojos en blanco
/poneɾ los oxos en blanko/from spelling rules
To say "roll her eyes" in Spanish, use poner los ojos en blanco.
poner los ojos en blanco is an informal expression used to describe the action of rolling one's eyes.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "to put the eyes in white", which refers to the white part of the eye becoming visible during the movement.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because the phrase is an infinitive, it does not change its internal structure to specify whether the person rolling their eyes is a "her" or a "him". The subject of the sentence determines who is performing the action. To express that she rolled her eyes in the past, you must conjugate the verb poner into the past tense, such as in puso los ojos en blanco.
Did you know?
- While poner los ojos en blanco describes a gesture of annoyance, in some Spanish-speaking cultures, a dramatic eye-roll can be used as a non-verbal way to signal a shared secret or a 'can you believe this' moment between friends.
- In Spanish, the word blanco does not just mean 'white'. It is also the word used for the 'bullseye' or 'target' in archery and shooting.
- The verb poner is an ancestor of the English words 'post' and 'position'.
Examples in context
- María puso los ojos en blanco al escuchar su comentario.María rolled her eyes upon hearing his comment.
- Ella puso los ojos en blanco cuando él empezó a hablar.She rolled her eyes when he started talking.
- Ella suele poner los ojos en blanco cuando se aburre.She tends to roll her eyes when she is bored.
- Vi a la chica poner los ojos en blanco ante el comentario.I saw the girl roll her eyes at the comment.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Elena are talking about a difficult coworker.
- Alejandro¿Viste lo que hizo ella?Did you see what she did?
- ElenaSí, la vi poner los ojos en blanco otra vez.Yes, I saw her roll her eyes again.
- AlejandroEs muy impaciente.She is very impatient.
- ElenaLo sé, es muy molesto.I know, it is very annoying.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries blanco, en, los, poner, CC BY-SA 4.0.
