/ˈkomo saɾˈðinas en ˈlata/ lit. ‘like sardines in a can’
Spanish idiom, everyday. Packed tightly together in a crowded place.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Spanish speaker.
How do people use Como sardinas en lata
?
Everyday Spanish across Spain and Latin America, used for buses, trains, lifts and concerts. It usually follows “ir” or “estar” plus an adjective like “apretados”: “íbamos como sardinas en lata”. Often the “en lata” gets dropped.
Also said como sardinas, ir como sardinas en lata, apretados como sardinas
Como sardinas en lata
in real sentences
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Los pasajeros van amontonados como sardinas en los autobuses urbanos.
Passengers are packed in like sardines on city buses.
Tatoeba, sentence by albrusgher, translation by sacredceltic, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Los pasajeros van apretados como sardinas en las micros urbanas.
Passengers are packed in like sardines on city buses.
Tatoeba, sentence by marcelostockle, translation by sacredceltic, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Como sardinas en lata
come from?
The picture is a tin of sardines laid head to tail with no gap between them, the same image as English “packed like sardines”. Since it depends on tinned fish it can’t be older than the canning industry of the 19th century, but no dated first use in Spanish is recorded.
Mistakes learners make with Como sardinas en lata
Using it for one person in a small space. It’s about a crowd squashed together, so it needs a plural subject: “íbamos”, “estaban”.
Other Spanish idioms like Como sardinas en lata
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