I was on a learning-Spanish forum earlier this week and someone posted the following question:
How do you say you have bad breath in Spanish?
No one had answered the question but I thought that I would share this with you in case you ever have the need to tell someone this:
Tienes mal aliento.
You have bad breath.
And if you ever need to tell someone “tienes mal aliento” (you have bad breath) the following phrase may also be helpful:
Necesitas enjuagarte la boca con bicarbonato y Listerine para desinfectarla.
You need to rinse your mouth out with baking soda and Listerine in order to disinfect it.
Yes, both Listerine and Colgate toothpaste are sold in Spanish speaking countries. But what I find so interesting is that in Spanish speaking countries they pronounce both Listerine and Colgate EXACTLY the same way you would pronounce the words if they were from the Spanish language.
Here’s another vocabulary word that may come in handy:
Enjuague bucal – mouth wash
While we are on this topic, here’s a related phrase:
How To Say Your Underarms Stink In Spanish
Tienes mal olor en las axilas.
Your underarms/armpits stink.
“Tienes mal olor en las axilas” is probably the most universal way to say in Spanish that someone has
smelly underarms or BO (body odor). But in Colombia, two other terms that I have also heard used
are “tener mal sudor” and “tener grajo” for “your underarms stink.” For example . . .
Cuando yo era pequeño yo tenía un maestro que tenía grajo.
When I was little, I had a teacher who had smelly underarms, stinking armpits, BO, etc.
I was wondering if “tener grajo” might be a phrase that is only used in Colombia. So I looked the phrase up in one of my Spanish dictionaries and it says that the phrase is used in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
There is one more phrase that I have heard used in Colombia, to say that one has BO. And that’s
is “tener chucha.” “Chucha” literally means “opossum” as in the animal opossum.
Telling someone “Tienes chucha” (you have opossum) to say that one has BO makes perfect sense —
since opossums, like “zorrillos” (skunks) or “mofetas” (skunks), also have the ability to release a foul-smelling fluid when threatened.
By the way, here’s how you say armpit or underarm in Spanish.
Axila (underarm, armpit)
Lávate bien la axila para que no huela mal.
Wash you underarms good so that they don’t stink.
Besides “axila” you may also hear Spanish speakers use the word “sobaco” for the English word underarm.
No te lavaste bien el sobaco. Por eso tienes mal sudor.
You didn’t wash your underarms well. That’s why you have BO (body odor).
