Who doesn't love a little flirt every now and again? After all, there are so many creative, punny, and NOT gross ways to get the message across to someone that you're interested in them!
Now, English isn't considered a ~romantic~ language, shall we say, but Spanish definitely IS! Piropos, or "pick up lines", in Mexico are 1000% better than whatever you'll hear in British bars or see on UK dating apps!
To celebrate Book of Love releasing worldwide, we thought it would be fun to have our friends in the BuzzFeed UK office try and guess what these Mexican piropos translate to. The whole thing was equal parts hilarious and ~steamy~. Here's what they thought these 12 classic chat up lines meant...
1. "Me gusta el café, pero prefiero tener-té."
Sam's guess: "Your body is hotter than my coffee."
Ewura-Ama's guess: "I like coffee but I prefer tea."
Lavínia's guess: "I like coffee, but I'd prefer to have you."
Real meaning: OMG! Lavínia got it right... but in a way so did Ewura-Ama, but definitely not Sam – sorry Sam! Most piropos use this kind of wordplay; so "tenerte" is the verb "have you", but we make it tener-té because of "té" which is tea! So it would be like, "I like coffee, but I prefer to have-tea (you)."
2. "Cuando te multen por exceso de belleza, yo pagaré tu fianza."
Imara's guess: "You're beautiful, I'll pay your bail."
Ben's guess: "Are you a wooly jumper? Because you’re getting me hot and sweaty."
Ewura-Ama's: "When you move with so much beauty, I will pay for your fire."
Real meaning: Imara's guess was almost right! It basically means, "when they fine you for excess beauty, I'll pay your bail." Pretty charming, eh?
3. "Ni en el mejor libro de recetas se encuentra semejante bombón."
Sam's guess: "If you were a book, I'd read you cover to cover."
Lavínia's guess: "Not even in the best recipe books will I find something this sweet"
Ben's guess: "No one sucks a hard-boiled sweet like you do."
Real meaning: Lavínia got it! This translates to "Not even in the best recipe books you'd find such a marshmallow." Ermmmm, Ben and Sam, points for creativity, I guess!
4. "Me encanta la soltería, pero por ti me la pensaría."
Ewura-Ama's guess: "I love sunlight, but I think you’re better."
Ben's guess: "Your beauty is as enchanting as the sun."
Imara's guess: "I'd love to eat pasta with you."
Real meaning: Hahaha, love these guesses, but this actually translates to "I love being single, but for you I'd reconsider it."
5. "Me tengo que comprar un diccionario, porque desde que te vi, me quedé sin palabras."
Sam's guess: "If I looked up sexy in the dictionary, I'd definitely find your picture."
Imara's guess: "I love a dictionary because it's useful"
Lavínia's guess: "I need to buy a dictionary, because since I saw you, I have no words."
Real meaning: Lavínia is absolutely crushing this! The meaning is, "I need to buy a dictionary, because ever since I saw you, I'm at a loss of words!"
6. "¿Dolió? ¿Qué? Cuando te caíste del cielo, ángel."
Sam's guess: "Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it's an angel!"
Ben's guess: "Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"
Ewura-Ama's guess: "Did it hurt? 'What?' When you fell from the sky, angel"
Real meaning: Ben and Ewura-Ama got this right, but Sam, I think your suggestion could still work as a piropo!
7. "¿Vas a la Luna seguido? Porque yo voy a amarte todos los días."
Ewura-Ama's guess: "Are you following the moon? Because I’m going to love you every day."
Lavínia's guess: "Are you going next Monday? Because I'm going to love you every day."
Imara's guess: "Do you like seeing the moon?"
Real meaning: This means, "do you go to the moon often? Cos I'll love you every day". It might not sound super sexy in English, but like the first piropo, this one also uses wordplay. If you divide the word "amarte" (which means "to love you") into "a marte" it translates into "to Mars", as in the planet. That's how it relates to "the Moon" part of the pick up line!
8. "Eres el caramelo que endulza todos los días de mi vida."
Lavínia's guess: "You're the caramel that sweetens every day of my life."
Imara's guess: "I need sweet candy every day."
Sam's guess: "If caramel is sweet, you're even sweeter, love of my life."
Real meaning: Lavínia's guess is correct! This means, "you're the caramel that sweetens every day of my life."
9. "Eres la Nutella para mi pan tostado."
Ben's guess: "You are the Nutella to my toast."
Ewura-Ama's guess: "You're the Nutella on my toast"
Imara's guess: "I need your Nutella for my bread."
Real meaning: LOL Imara!!!! Ben's guess is correct.
10. "Te voy a empezar a cobrar renta, porque vives en mi corazón."
Lavínia's guess: "I'm going to start charging you rent, because you live in my heart."
Ben's guess: "If you were a cobra, I’d let you bite me."
Sam's guess: "Your love strikes me like a cobra in the heart."
Real meaning: Lol, I definitely love that -cobra/cobra- wordplay, but this actually means "rent", so Lavínia got the real meaning right!
11. "¿Qué hace una estrella volando tan bajito?"
Imara's guess: "Do you think looking at flying stars are cool?"
Ben's guess: "Let’s go get some beers and play the banjo."
Ewura-Ama's guess: "What is such a star doing so low down?"
Real meaning: Ewura-Ama's guess is the closest!
12. "¿Seguro no eres astronauta? Porque me tienes entre la Luna y las estrellas."
Sam's guess: "Are you an astronaut? Because your love sends me to the moon!"
Ewura-Ama's guess: "Are you sure you’re not an astronaut? Because to me you are between the moon and the stars."
Lavínia's guess: "I'm guessing you're an astronaut? Because you have me over the moon and stars"
Real meaning: Everyone almost got it! This beautiful piropo means, "are you sure you're not an astronaut? Because you have me between the moon and the stars."
So, BuzzFeed UK team, what do you have to say for yourselves?
Sam: "Wow, I really failed on this one! No Mexican boyfriend for me."
Imara: "I did horrendously, but it won't stop me from going to Mexico and asking a guy for his Nutella!"
Ewura-Ama: "My Spanish is still in the learner stages, but I think I did pretty well. Thanks language apps!"
Ben: "It turns out I know the word for "Nutella" in Spanish – I'm counting this as a big win!"
Lavínia: "Oh wow, at this point I'm ready to move to Mexico!"
I think we've learned that flirting is truly an art form no matter what language you're speaking! Would you try out any of these pick up lines on your next date? Let us know in the comments below.
Don’t miss Sam Claflin in the new rom com Book of Love from BuzzFeed Studios, now available on Sky Cinema.
