/esˌtaɾ ˌkomo ˌunas kastaˈɲwelas/ lit. ‘be like a pair of castanets’
Spanish idiom, colloquial. To be extremely happy and delighted.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Spanish speaker.
How do people use Estar como unas castañuelas
?
Friendly, colloquial Spanish, the kind of thing you say about a kid on their birthday or a friend who just got good news. It always takes “estar”, since it’s about how someone feels right now: “está como unas castañuelas”, “estaba como unas castañuelas”. English Wiktionary also lists the comparison “más contento que unas castañuelas”, and Tatoeba has “feliz como unas castañuelas”.
Also said más contento que unas castañuelas
Estar como unas castañuelas
in real sentences
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Tom está feliz como unas castañuelas.
Tom is happy as a clam.
Tatoeba, sentence by albrusgher, translation by teh, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Estar como unas castañuelas
come from?
Spanish Wiktionary defines the phrase as being very content and happy but gives no date or story for it. The likeliest picture is the sound itself: castanets click away nonstop when someone dances, the way a happy person can’t keep still. That reading is ours, so treat it as a guess. The word castañuela comes from castaña (chestnut), because the two wooden shells look a bit like one.
Mistakes learners make with Estar como unas castañuelas
Using “ser”. “Es como unas castañuelas” sounds like you’re describing what someone is made of; happiness here is a state, so it’s “estar”.
Other Spanish idioms like Estar como unas castañuelas
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