Pillarle por banda
To catch someone by the side.
to get hold of someone; **to get hold of someone**; **to catch someone**; **to catch someone at the right moment**; **to take someone aside**; **to corner someone**; **to get someone alone**
Pillarle por banda a alguien means to catch someone when you have the opportunity, to take someone aside, or to get hold of someone in order to talk to them, confront them or deal with an issue.
En cuanto le pille por banda, voy a hablar con él.
As soon as I get hold of him, I'm going to talk to him.
A ver si mañana puedo pillarle por banda al director.
Let's see if I can catch the director tomorrow.
Cuando le pillé por banda, le expliqué todo lo que había pasado.
When I caught him, I explained everything that had happened.
Llevo toda la mañana intentando pillarla por banda.
I've been trying to get hold of her all morning.
En la fiesta me pilló por banda y no paró de hablarme.
At the party, she cornered me and wouldn't stop talking to me.
It often implies that the person has been difficult to catch or speak to, and that the speaker finally finds the right moment.
A common construction is:
Pillarle por banda a alguien.
→ To get hold of someone / to catch someone at the right moment.
- finally gets a chance to talk to another person
- takes someone aside for a private conversation
- catches someone who has been difficult to reach
- confronts someone about an issue
- gets hold of someone in order to ask them for something
The expression is based on the idea of catching or taking hold of someone from the side, with banda understood as a side or direction.
Over time, the physical image became figurative: catching someone at a suitable moment, especially when that person is otherwise difficult to reach.
The expression often implies opportunity.
A ver si le pillo por banda.
literally evokes the idea of:
"Let's see if I can catch him when I get the chance."
The speaker may want to:
- ask for a favour;
- complain;
- give someone instructions;
- explain something;
- confront them about an issue.
The expression itself does not necessarily indicate hostility.
The expression is particularly useful in everyday Spanish when someone is constantly busy, surrounded by people or difficult to reach:
No consigo hablar con el jefe; a ver si mañana le pillo por banda.
→ I can't get to speak to the boss; let's see if I can catch him tomorrow.
It therefore often conveys not just "catching someone", but finally finding a suitable opportunity to speak to them.
The pronoun changes according to the person:
Pillarle por banda. → get hold of him/her.
Pillarte por banda. → catch/get hold of you.
Pillarles por banda. → catch/get hold of them.
Natural English usually avoids translating por banda literally.
For example:
En cuanto le pille por banda, se lo digo.
→ As soon as I get hold of him, I'll tell him.
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