/ˌpjel de ɡaˈʝina/ lit. ‘hen skin’
Spanish idiom, everyday. Small bumps on the skin caused by cold, fear or a strong emotion.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Spanish speaker.
How do people use Piel de gallina
?
Everyday Spanish for cold, fear or a song that hits you hard. You rarely say just “piel de gallina”; it comes with a verb: “tengo la piel de gallina”, “se me pone la piel de gallina”, “esa canción me pone la piel de gallina”. “Carne de gallina” (hen flesh) means the same thing.
Also said carne de gallina
Piel de gallina
in real sentences
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Tengo piel de gallina.
I’ve got goose bumps.
Tatoeba, sentence by albrusgher, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Se me pone la piel de gallina.
I’ve got goosebumps.
Tatoeba, sentence by ecorralest101, translation by xvictoria, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Piel de gallina
come from?
The picture is a plucked chicken, its skin all bumps where the feathers were. Spanish Wiktionary describes “carne de gallina” exactly that way, and English Wiktionary quotes “se me pone la piel de gallina” from María Celeste Arrarás’s book El secreto de Selena (1997). Spanish Wikipedia notes the bumps come from tiny muscles at the base of each hair, which Darwin already described in 1872.
Mistakes learners make with Piel de gallina
Translating the English bird: “piel de ganso” isn’t Spanish. Spanish picked the hen, so it’s “gallina”.
Other Spanish idioms like Piel de gallina
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