Salud coloquial: estar hecho polvo, no levantar cabeza y mala pata

Quiz: empareja la expresión con su significado en contexto de salud.

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Dannis

2 min reading time

Colloquialisms and slang Health Idioms

Keywords:

estar hecho polvo no levantar cabeza mala pata

Elige el significado de “estar hecho polvo” cuando hablas de salud.

Correct: 0/6

Hints for this Quiz

Think of how you feel after the flu: no energy and everything hurts.

“Estar hecho polvo” = to be very tired/exhausted, often when you’re ill. In colloquial Spanish it’s used to talk about feeling completely worn out and in bad shape.

It’s a set phrase and it’s used without an article.

The fixed expression “no levantar cabeza” means “not to manage to recover / not to get out of a bad state.” The article is not used here, so “la” makes it incorrect.

Here “pata” is a bit of a wordplay with “leg/foot,” but the real meaning is about bad luck.

In colloquial speech, “mala pata” = bad luck, “unlucky.” It’s often said about injuries/illnesses: “qué mala pata, me rompí…”

You need a natural phrase about feeling really unwell.

The best answer is “estoy hecho polvo” (“I’m exhausted / I feel shattered”). The others are either ungrammatical or don’t work as a natural answer to “¿Cómo estás?”.

The idea is ongoing weakness and no improvement.

“No levantar cabeza” = not to manage to recover, still feeling bad. A good paraphrase is “I can’t seem to get over it.”

Look for the expression that describes strong discomfort or feeling really ill.

With that condition, the natural thing in Spanish is: “está hecho polvo.” The other options mean “feeling great / full of energy,” which doesn’t fit here.