Salir rana
To turn out to be a frog.
to turn out badly; **to turn out badly**; **to turn out to be a disappointment**; **to prove to be a dud**; **to turn out to be a bad choice**; **to be a letdown**; **to turn out to be a bad egg**; **to prove unreliable**
Salir rana means to turn out badly, to be a disappointment, to prove to be a bad choice, or, when referring to a person, to turn out to be unreliable or unsuitable.
Compré un coche de segunda mano y me salió rana.
I bought a second-hand car and it turned out to be a dud.
El nuevo empleado parecía estupendo, pero salió rana.
The new employee seemed great, but he turned out to be unreliable.
La inversión parecía segura y salió rana.
The investment looked safe, but it turned out badly.
El restaurante tenía muy buenas críticas, pero nos salió rana.
The restaurant had great reviews, but it was a real disappointment.
It is often used when something initially seemed promising but eventually proved disappointing.
- a purchase turns out to be defective
- a plan fails
- a person proves unreliable
- an employee turns out to be unsuitable
- an apparently good opportunity ends badly
Like many everyday expressions, it took shape in ordinary speech rather than from any single traceable source.
The expression is based on the contrast between expectation and reality.
Something that was expected to be useful, valuable or successful unexpectedly "turns into a frog."
The frog therefore represents an unpleasant transformation: what appeared promising turns out to be something disappointing.
The expression belongs to the broader Spanish tradition of using animals metaphorically to describe human qualities and unexpected outcomes.
The expression can refer both to things and to people.
This distinction is important:
El coche salió rana.
means that the car turned out to be a bad purchase.
But:
El chico salió rana.
means that the person turned out to be unreliable, disappointing or morally questionable.
It often implies that the problem was not obvious at first.
Spanish has several expressions for situations where reality fails to live up to expectations:
- Salir rana → to turn out to be a dud.
- Dar gato por liebre → to pass off something inferior as what was promised.
- Dársela con queso → to con someone.
- Salir el tiro por la culata → for something to backfire.
Among them, salir rana is especially useful because it does not necessarily imply that anyone deliberately deceived you: sometimes something simply looks good at first and then turns out to be a disappointment. ```
Do not translate:
El coche salió rana.
as:
The car turned into a frog.
Instead, say:
The car turned out to be a dud.
or:
The car turned out to be a bad buy.
For people:
He turned out to be a bad egg.
can sometimes reproduce the same combination of disappointment and criticism.
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