Phrase · 📜 Proverbs in conversation
Tranquila, el jefe grita mucho, pero perro que ladra no muerde.
Relax, the boss shouts a lot, but his bark is worse than his bite.
C2reassuringinformallearned as a wholeAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
Tranquilaadjectiverelaxtranquilo · fem. · sing.,eldeterminerthemasc. · sing. · definitejefenounbossmasc. · sing.gritaverbshoutsgritar · present · 3rd sing.muchoadverba lot,peroconjunctionbutperro2noundogmasc. · sing.que1pronounthatladra1verbbarksladrar · present · 3rd sing.no1adverbnotmuerde3verbbitesmorder · present · 3rd sing..
- perro → muerde: frozen proverb
- que → perro: que refers to perro
- jefe → grita: el jefe: subject of grita
Word for word: “Calm, the boss shouts a lot, but a dog that barks doesn't bite.”
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1Perro que ladra no muerde = his bark is worse than his bite (lit. a dog that barks doesn't bite).
- 2Natural and reassuring, common everywhere. No article before perro, as is typical of proverbs.
- 3morder changes o → ue: muerde. Present tense: stem-changing verbs (e → ie, o → ue, e → i, u → ue) →
Variations
- Tranquilo, el jefe grita mucho, pero perro que ladra no muerde.
- No te preocupes: el jefe es perro que ladra y no muerde.
- Tranquila, el jefe grita mucho, pero no hace nada.