No dar crédito
Not to give credit.
not to believe one's eyes; **not to believe one's eyes**; **not to believe one's ears**; **to be unable to believe it**; **to be in disbelief**
No dar crédito means to find something so surprising, shocking or unexpected that it is almost impossible to believe.
No daba crédito a lo que estaba viendo.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Cuando me lo contaron, no daba crédito.
When they told me, I couldn't believe it.
Los vecinos no daban crédito tras el incendio.
The neighbours were in disbelief after the fire.
The expression is often used when reality exceeds expectations, whether positively or negatively.
Someone may no dar crédito after hearing unbelievable news.
A customer may no dar crédito when discovering an outrageous price.
A football fan may no dar crédito after witnessing an extraordinary comeback.
The idiom expresses astonishment mixed with disbelief.
- receive shocking news
- witness something unbelievable
- are deeply surprised
- cannot believe what they are hearing or seeing
- react with amazement or disbelief
The word crédito comes from the Latin creditum, meaning something believed or trusted.
For centuries, the word referred not only to financial credit but also to trust, reputation and belief.
The expression no dar crédito preserves this older meaning.
Rather than refusing a loan, the speaker is refusing to grant belief to what has happened because it seems unbelievable.
Spanish journalism uses no dar crédito constantly to describe extraordinary events.
It appears in reports about accidents, sporting achievements, political scandals and unexpected discoveries.
For native speakers, it sounds stronger and more expressive than simply saying no creer.
The original meaning of crédito was closely connected with trust and reputation.
That older sense survives in expressions such as dar crédito, even though today most people first associate the word with banks and finance.
This makes no dar crédito a fascinating example of how idioms preserve meanings that ordinary vocabulary has largely forgotten.
Do not associate crédito only with finance.
In this idiom it means belief or credence.
Avoid translating the expression as:
I don't give credit.
Instead, choose expressions such as:
- I couldn't believe it.
- I couldn't believe my eyes.
- I was in disbelief.
The best translation depends on whether the surprise comes from seeing, hearing or simply discovering something.
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