Venirse arriba / Venirse abajo
To come up / To come down.
to get carried away; **to get carried away**; **to gain confidence**; **to get fired up**; **to get a boost**; **to lose heart**; **to become discouraged**; **to lose confidence**; **to feel deflated**
Venirse arriba means to become more confident, enthusiastic or encouraged.
Cuando marcó el primer gol, el equipo se vino arriba.
After scoring the first goal, the team's confidence soared.
No le hagas caso. En cuanto lo aplauden, se viene arriba.
Don't encourage him. As soon as people applaud him, he gets carried away.
Después del suspenso se vino abajo.
He lost heart after failing the exam.
Se vino abajo cuando supo la noticia.
She was completely devastated when she heard the news.
Someone who se viene arriba suddenly feels capable of doing more, often because of success, praise or support.
Venirse abajo means the opposite.
It describes someone who loses confidence, motivation or hope after a disappointment, criticism or unexpected setback.
Both expressions refer to emotional momentum rather than physical movement.
- gains or loses confidence
- becomes excited after good news
- feels discouraged after failure
- reacts emotionally to success or criticism
- changes attitude very quickly
The expressions are based on the universal metaphor that up represents strength, confidence and success, while down represents weakness, disappointment and defeat.
Spanish combines this metaphor with the reflexive verb venirse, creating two highly idiomatic expressions that describe emotional change rather than physical movement.
One particularly Spanish nuance is that venirse arriba does not always have a positive meaning.
It can praise renewed confidence:
El equipo se vino arriba.
But it can also suggest that someone has become overconfident or excessively excited:
No le digas eso, que se viene arriba.
The speaker often implies that the person now believes they are better than they really are.
Football commentators use these expressions constantly.
A single goal can make a team venirse arriba.
A red card can make the same team venirse abajo only a few minutes later.
Because they describe rapid emotional swings so naturally, these two idioms have become part of everyday Spanish far beyond the world of sport.
Do not translate these expressions literally.
English speakers would never say:
He came up.
or
She came down.
Instead, choose translations that describe the emotional change:
- He gained confidence.
- She got carried away.
- He lost heart.
- She became discouraged.
Context determines the best option.
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