What does “liarse con alguien” mean in Spain?

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B2 Spanish listening practice · Spanish from Spain · Picked for people who know more

💡 Did you know?
liarse con (alguien)
Castilian Spanish slang
to hook up / get romantically involved with someone.

Literally “liar” is to wrap or tangle, and “liarse” is to get tangled up — in a mess, or in a relationship. In Spain, “me lié con el novio de mi amiga” means “I hooked up with my friend’s boyfriend”: a fling or affair, usually casual or messy. It’s the everyday word young Spaniards use for getting together with someone, no commitment implied — exactly the drama the speaker is confessing here.

Don’t confuse it with “liarla” — to screw something up, cause a mess (“la has liado”). The noun “un lío” is both “a mess/tangle” and “a romantic entanglement,” and “tener un lío con alguien” means to be having a fling. More Peninsular flavor in the clip: “me puede” (it gets to me / overwhelms me) and “es heavy” (it’s intense), pronounced “jevi.”

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this B2 Spanish listening practice video?

90.9%
of words are in the top 2,000 most common Spanish words
Most of the words in this video are common Spanish words.

How common in written Spanish

85.3%
Top 1,000
90.9%
Top 2,000
95.8%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken Spanish

93.9%
Top 1,000
98.1%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000
👄 Words for talking
This video uses words people often say in Spanish.

Harder words in this video

These words are harder than B2. Here is what they mean.

enséñanos
2×
Not in top 5,000
escabeche
2×
Not in top 5,000
pickling
masterchef
2×
Not in top 5,000
cooking competition show
pistolón
2×
Not in top 5,000
big gun
torito
2×
Not in top 5,000
little bull
zona cero
1×
ground zero; starting point of something significant

Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-ESP 2011 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.

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