Costar un ojo de la cara

to cost an arm and a leg; to be outrageously expensive;; to cost a fortune;; to be ridiculously expensive;; to cost a small fortune.

The Spanish idiom costar un ojo de la cara is used whenever something is considered extremely expensive or disproportionately costly. It expresses more than a simple observation about price; it also conveys surprise, frustration or even disbelief.

Importantly, the expression is subjective. An item does not have to be objectively expensive. It only needs to seem unreasonably expensive from the speaker's point of view. A student may complain that a textbook cuesta un ojo de la cara, while a millionaire may use exactly the same expression to describe a luxury yacht.

The idiom is extraordinarily common in everyday Spanish. It appears in conversations about housing, holidays, restaurants, university fees, mobile phones, repairs, fashion and almost any purchase involving money.

Because inflation and rising prices are frequent topics of conversation, this is one of the expressions foreign learners are likely to hear very early after arriving in Spain.

• expensive houses
• restaurant bills
• university tuition
• repairs
• electronics
• holidays
• clothing
• petrol
• everyday shopping

The metaphor belongs to a family of expressions that compare money with the loss of valuable body parts.

Eyes have traditionally symbolised something irreplaceable. Paying with one of them represents the ultimate sacrifice, making the image especially powerful.

Interestingly, English developed a remarkably similar idea with an arm and a leg. Although the body part changes, both languages express the same underlying concept: the price is so high that it feels as though one must sacrifice part of oneself to pay it.

Complaining about prices is almost a national pastime in Spain.

Whether discussing electricity bills, housing, groceries or holidays, Spaniards frequently exaggerate for humorous effect. Saying that something cuesta un ojo de la cara does not necessarily mean it is unaffordable. Often it simply means that the speaker considers the price excessive.

The idiom therefore combines information with emotion, making it far more expressive than simply saying es muy caro ("it's very expensive").

Many European languages compare excessive prices with losing part of the body.

Spanish sacrifices an eye.

English sacrifices an arm and a leg.

Different images, identical exaggeration.

Do not translate this expression literally.

Although English speakers would understand the image, no native speaker would normally say "It costs an eye from the face."

Instead, use to cost an arm and a leg or to cost a fortune, depending on the context.

Likewise, when speaking Spanish, using costar un ojo de la cara sounds much more natural than repeatedly saying muy caro.