What Does “Estar en las Nubes” Mean? (Head in the Clouds)

Hola! I’m Mónica, a Spanish teacher from Madrid, and I’ve seen this face in class a thousand times: the student is physically there, but their mind is on holiday in Ibiza. In Spanish, that student está en las nubes. Here’s how to use it, and its cousin that has nothing to do with daydreaming.

Real examples

Spanish	English
Perdona, ¿qué has dicho? Estaba en las nubes.	Sorry, what did you say? I was miles away.
Desde que se ha enamorado, está en las nubes.	Since he fell in love, he’s had his head in the clouds.
No te enteras de nada, siempre estás en las nubes.	You never notice anything, your head is always in the clouds.

Careful: “por las nubes” is about prices

Change one little word and the meaning changes completely:

• Estar en las nubes = to be daydreaming.
• Estar por las nubes = to be sky-high (prices). Los alquileres en Madrid están por las nubes. = Rents in Madrid are sky-high.
• Poner a alguien por las nubes = to praise someone to the skies. Su jefe la pone por las nubes.

And if you’re talking about prices, you can also say they cost an eye from your face.

Other ways to say someone is miles away

Expression	Meaning
Estar en Babia	To be miles away (very Spanish)
Estar en la luna	To be on the moon, distracted
Estar empanado	To be dazed, slow (Spain, informal)
Estar despistado	To be absent-minded
Estar a por uvas	To be totally distracted (Spain)
No enterarse de nada	To not have a clue what’s going on

Estar en Babia is my favourite. Babia is a real place in the mountains of León, and the story goes that medieval kings went there to rest and forget about their problems.

FAQ

Is “estar en las nubes” negative?

Not really. It’s a gentle way to say someone isn’t paying attention. Spaniards say it to friends, kids and partners all the time.

What does “por las nubes” mean?

Sky-high, usually about prices: la gasolina está por las nubes.

How do you say “daydreaming” in Spanish?

Soñar despierto (literally “to dream awake”), or simply estar en las nubes.

More Spanish expressions from Spain

Part of my series on real Spanish expressions, the ones Spaniards use every day and textbooks never teach:

• Estar como una cabra
• Ponerse las pilas
• Costar un ojo de la cara
• No pasa nada
• ¡Qué fuerte!
• Estar hecho polvo
• Me importa un pepino
• Ser pan comido
• Tomar el pelo
• Meter la pata
• Dar la lata
• Echar una mano
• En el quinto pino
• Ojalá
• Venga
• Eres la leche
• Toma tomate, tómalo

👉 See all Spanish expressions from Spain

Expressions are the shortcut to sounding real

If you’re en las nubes every time someone speaks Spanish fast, it’s not a concentration problem. It’s a listening problem, and it can be fixed. Download my free guide with 100 real Spanish phrases above, and if you want to know exactly what’s stopping you from speaking, book your Spanish Speaking Roadmap call below.

— Monica Bernabe Perez

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