Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| ponerse a pensar en las musarañas | /poneɾse a pensaɾ en las musaɾaɲas/ (from spelling rules) |
| parar de poner atención | /paɾaɾ de poneɾ atenθjon/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /paɾaɾ de poneɾ atensjon/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
| parar de prestar atención | /paɾaɾ de pɾestaɾ atenθjon/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /paɾaɾ de pɾestaɾ atensjon/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
| comenzar a pensar en las musarañas | /komenθaɾ a pensaɾ en las musaɾaɲas/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /komensaɾ a pensaɾ en las musaɾaɲas/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
| empezar a pensar en las musarañas | /empeθaɾ a pensaɾ en las musaɾaɲas/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /empesaɾ a pensaɾ en las musaɾaɲas/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
This phrase is used when someone stops paying attention.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase pensar en las musarañas literally means 'to think about the shrews'.
Which one should you use?
Ponerse a pensar en las musarañas emphasizes the transition into a daydreaming state, whereas parar de prestar atención simply means to stop paying attention.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Ponerse a pensar en las musarañas is a more idiomatic and colloquial way to describe zoning out compared to the more literal parar de prestar atención. For formal situations, you should use Perder la concentración, which literally means 'to lose concentration'.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express that someone 'zoned out' in the past, use the preterite form of ponerse followed by a pensar en las musarañas, such as se puso a pensar en las musarañas.
How do you pronounce it?
/poneɾse a pensaɾ en las musaɾaɲas/
Did you know?
- In a conversation, if someone notices you have pensado en las musarañas, they might snap their fingers in front of your face and say ¡Tierra!, which means 'Land!' as if you were returning from a voyage.
- While ponerse a pensar en las musarañas means zoning out, Spanish has a specific word ensimismado to describe the state of being deeply lost in one's own thoughts.
- The Spanish word pensar is a doublet of the word pesar because they both originate from the same Latin root related to weighing or considering.
Examples in context
- Me distraje durante la reuniónI zoned out during the meeting
- Perdí la concentración mientras estudiabaI zoned out while studying
- Me ausenté por un momento mientras me explicaban el problemaI zoned out for a moment while they were explaining the issue to me
- Me desconecté mientras hablabanI zoned out while they were speaking
- Siempre me desconecto cuando estoy escuchando músicaI always zone out when I'm listening to music
- Cuando estoy cansado, tiendo a distraerme fácilmente durante las reunionesWhen I'm tired, I tend to zone out easily during meetings
- No pude evitar perder la concentración durante la larga conferenciaI couldn't help but zone out during the long conference
Sources
- Wiktionary, “zone out” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, atención, de, en, las, parar, pensar, poner, CC BY-SA 4.0.
