Fuego: Seven blazing expressions with the word 'fire' in Spanish

Fuego is the standard word for fire in Spanish. When it comes to describing a forest fire or a fire in a building however, the more appropriate word is incendio.

If you wanted to describe a bonfire more specifically, the better word to use is hoguera.

But you can still use fuego to describe a forest fire, or a campfire, and it’s the word you’d shout if a fire started nearby: ¡Fuego!

In Spanish, if you want to say light a fire, you say encender un fuego.

Then there are all the other uses of fuego, just like in English the word fire makes its way into all types of topics.

There’s using fuego to describe the hobs you cook on in your kitchen, and when cooking on a low heat you’d say a fuego lento, and on high heat a fuego vivo.

Fireworks in Spanish are called fuegos artificiales (literally ‘artificial fires’).

Then there are many references to firing a weapon which also use fuego in Spanish: abrir fuego (to open fire), arma de fuego (firearm), alto al fuego (ceasefire), línea de fuego (line of fire), fuego cruzado (crossfire).

Now let's move onto some of the expressions in Spanish with fuego which will make you sound more fluent if you use them.

¿Tienes fuego?: Do you have a light? If you get asked for a lighter or matches, which is highly likely in Spain, this is what Spaniards say.

Example: ¿Perdona? ¿Tienes fuego? Excuse me, do you have a light?

Echar leña al fuego: To add fuel to the fire. If you ‘add timber to the flames’ it means that you make matters worse. Spaniards also use the expression apagar un fuego con aceite (to put out a fire with oil) to get the same meaning across.

Example: Si le mandas ese mensaje sólo vas a echar más leña al fuego. If you send her that message you’re just going to add fuel to the fire.

Poner la mano en el fuego: To vouch for someone or something. If you ‘put your hand over the fire’ for someone, it means that you trust them enough to know that they won’t let you or someone else down.

Example: Yo por Sebastián pongo la mano en el fuego. Es un buen tipo. I can vouch for Sebatián, he’s a good guy.

Jugar con fuego: To play with fire, in the same way that it’s used in English to describe doing something risky that could have bad consequences.

Example: Estás jugando con fuego. Si te pillan, vas a acabar en la cárcel. You’re playing with fire. If they catch you, you’re going to end up behind bars.

Sacar las castañas del fuego: To get someone out of a tough spot. If you ‘get your chestnuts out of the fire’, it means you help someone overcome a challenging situation.

Example: Julia le sacó las castañas del fuego al ofrecerle ese trabajo. Julia got him out of a tight spot by offering him that job.

Echar fuego por los ojos: To see red. If you say you’re ‘spitting fire through your eyes’ it can easily be understood as being very angry.

Example: ¡Ernesto está que echa fuego por los ojos! Yo que tú, lo evitaría. ¡Ernesto is seeing red! If I were you, I’d avoid him.

Marcar a fuego: To scar for life. This evokes the idea of being brandished with fire, in other words being marked for life by something.

Example: Fue una de esas experiencias que te marca a fuego. Me quedé traumatizado. It was one of those experiences that scars you for life. It traumatised me.