Expressions with Echar | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

Echar originally means "to throw" or "to pour", but in idiomatic use it appears in some of the most common expressions in Spanish. You will hear it every day across Latin America.

The verb is so productive in fixed expressions that learning a handful of echar idioms is one of the highest-leverage moves you can make as an intermediate learner.

Echar de menos (to miss someone or something)

This is the classic idiom for missing a person, a place, or a time in your life. Many Latin American speakers also use extrañar, which is more frequent in most of the region, but echar de menos is universally understood and works in any country.

Te echo de menos.

I miss you.

Echo de menos mi ciudad.

I miss my hometown.

Van a echar de menos a sus amigos.

They're going to miss their friends.

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In Mexico, Central America, and much of South America, te extraño is more common in daily speech than te echo de menos. Both are correct and both are Latin American Spanish.

Echar un vistazo (to take a quick look)

This is the everyday way to say you're going to glance at something quickly.

Déjame echar un vistazo a tu tarea.

Let me take a look at your homework.

Eché un vistazo al menú antes de pedir.

I glanced at the menu before ordering.

Voy a echarle un vistazo a este artículo.

I'm going to have a look at this article.

Echar una mano (to lend a hand)

The Spanish expression for helping out, used with the verb echar rather than dar or prestar.

¿Me puedes echar una mano con estas cajas?

Can you give me a hand with these boxes?

Siempre me echa una mano cuando la necesito.

He always helps me out when I need it.

Vamos a echarles una mano con la mudanza.

Let's help them out with the move.

Echarse a + infinitive (to burst out)

Echarse a plus a verb marks the sudden start of an emotional reaction. The reflexive echarse turns the basic "to throw" sense into "to throw oneself into" an action — figuratively, of course.

Se echó a llorar cuando oyó la noticia.

She burst out crying when she heard the news.

Todos se echaron a reír.

Everyone burst out laughing.

El niño se echó a correr al ver al perro.

The child took off running when he saw the dog.

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Compare echarse a llorar (to burst into tears, sudden and emotional) with ponerse a llorar (to start crying, a bit more neutral). Both are correct; echarse a adds a dramatic edge. See ponerse.

Echar la culpa (to blame)

The literal sense — echar meaning to throw — is most visible here: you "throw the blame" at someone.

No me eches la culpa a mí.

Don't blame me.

Le echaron la culpa al portero.

They blamed the doorman.

Siempre le echa la culpa a los demás.

He always blames other people.

Other useful echar expressions

These are used often enough to memorize.

Vamos a echar gasolina antes de salir.

Let's get gas before leaving.

Echa sal a la sopa.

Put some salt in the soup.

Lo echaron del trabajo.

They fired him from his job.

Voy a echar una siesta.

I'm going to take a nap.

Echó a perder la comida.

He spoiled the food.

Quick Reference of Echar Expressions

Expression	Meaning
echar de menos	to miss
echar un vistazo	to take a look
echar una mano	to lend a hand
echarse a + inf.	to burst out doing
echar la culpa	to blame
echar gasolina	to get gas
echar una siesta	to take a nap
echar a perder	to spoil / ruin
echar de + place	to throw out / kick out of

A few more in context

No echemos a perder la sorpresa.

Let's not ruin the surprise.

Échame una mano con esto, por favor.

Give me a hand with this, please.

Echa un vistazo y dime qué piensas.

Take a look and tell me what you think.

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Most of these expressions don't translate literally — they're chunks. Memorize them as whole phrases rather than trying to decode each word.

For other useful verb-based expressions, see dar expressions, llevar expressions, and tener expressions.