A veces tengo ganas de llorar de cansancio, pero escucho música y se me pasa.

Sometimes I feel like crying from tiredness, but I listen to music and it goes away.

Breakdown of A veces tengo ganas de llorar de cansancio, pero escucho música y se me pasa.

• yo: I
• la música: the music
• me: me
• a veces: sometimes
• pero: but
• escuchar: to listen
• y: and
• de: from
• tener ganas de: to feel like
• llorar: to cry
• el cansancio: the tiredness
• pasarse: to go away

Questions & Answers about A veces tengo ganas de llorar de cansancio, pero escucho música y se me pasa.

In tengo ganas de llorar, why do you use tengo ganas de instead of just quiero?

Tener ganas de + infinitive is a very common Spanish expression that means to feel like doing something / to be in the mood to do something.

• Tengo ganas de llorar ≈ I feel like crying
• Quiero llorar ≈ I want to cry

The nuance:

• Tener ganas de talks about a spontaneous urge or feeling, often emotional or physical.
• Querer is a stronger, more deliberate kind of wanting or intention.

So in this sentence, tengo ganas de llorar sounds natural because crying is presented as an emotional impulse, not a clear decision or goal.

What exactly does ganas mean here, and why is it plural?

Ganas is a noun meaning something like desire, urge, or inclination.

In everyday Spanish, this noun is almost always used in the plural in this expression:

• tener ganas de + infinitive / noun

Examples:

• Tengo ganas de dormir. – I feel like sleeping.
• No tengo ganas de salir. – I don’t feel like going out.

Singular la gana does exist, but in this sense it is rare and mostly appears in set expressions like hacer algo de mala gana (to do something unwillingly). For the everyday I feel like…, you nearly always hear ganas (plural).

Why is it ganas de llorar and not just ganas llorar or ganas a llorar?

The noun ganas always links to what you want with de:

• tener ganas de + infinitive
• tener ganas de + noun

So the structure is:

• Tengo ganas de llorar. – I feel like crying.
• Tengo ganas de un café. – I feel like a coffee.

Using a here (ganas a llorar) would be incorrect, and leaving out the preposition (ganas llorar) is also incorrect. Think of de as part of the fixed pattern tener ganas de.

Why doesn’t the sentence say Yo tengo ganas…? Where did yo go?

In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, nosotros, etc.) are usually omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Tengo ganas de llorar. – I feel like crying.
  (tengo already tells you it is yo.)
• Tienes ganas de llorar. – You feel like crying.
• Tenemos ganas de llorar. – We feel like crying.

You only add yo for emphasis or contrast:

• Yo tengo ganas de llorar, pero tú estás contento.
  I feel like crying, but you are happy.

In this sentence, there’s no special emphasis, so yo is naturally omitted.

What does llorar de cansancio literally mean, and why use de here?

Literally, llorar de cansancio is to cry from tiredness / out of tiredness.

Here, de introduces the cause or reason:

• llorar de cansancio – cry from exhaustion
• morirse de risa – die of laughter
• temblar de frío – shiver from cold

So de in this type of structure often means from / out of / because of and links an emotion or reaction to its cause.

What is the difference between cansado and cansancio?

• Cansado is an adjective: tired.

  • Estoy cansado. – I am tired.

• Cansancio is a noun: tiredness, fatigue, exhaustion.

  • Siento mucho cansancio. – I feel a lot of tiredness.

In llorar de cansancio, we use the noun (tiredness) as the cause of the crying. You could also say:

• Llorar porque estoy cansado. – Cry because I’m tired.

Both are correct; the original just uses the noun cansancio instead of the adjective cansado.

Could you also say llorar por cansancio or llorar por el cansancio? Is that different from llorar de cansancio?

Yes, llorar por cansancio and llorar por el cansancio are possible and understandable.

However, in everyday speech:

• Llorar de cansancio sounds more natural and idiomatic.
• Por here is more neutral: because of tiredness, due to the tiredness.
• De in this type of expression often feels more immediate or emotional: cry from exhaustion.

So all three are grammatically correct, but llorar de cansancio is the most typical, especially in informal speech.

Why is there a comma before pero in Spanish? Is it always required?

In Spanish, when pero introduces a contrast between two clauses, it is normally preceded by a comma, just like in English:

• A veces tengo ganas de llorar de cansancio, pero escucho música y se me pasa.

You normally write:

• comma + pero
  • contrasting statement

So yes, in sentences like this, the comma before pero is standard and expected.

What does se me pasa mean exactly, and how does this structure work?

Se me pasa here means it goes away / it passes / it passes for me, referring to the feeling (the urge to cry, the bad mood, etc.).

Grammatically:

• pasa – it passes / it goes away
• se pasa – it passes (reflexive/impersonal, often used for states and symptoms)
• se me pasa – it passes for me, i.e., I stop feeling it

The parts:

• se: a general/reflexive marker used in many expressions of change or passing states.
• me: an indirect object pronoun, meaning to/for me.

So literally, se me pasa is something like it passes itself to me, but the real meaning is simply:

• Se me pasa. – It goes away; I get over it.

Very common with symptoms or feelings:

• Tengo dolor de cabeza, pero con una pastilla se me pasa.
  I have a headache, but with a pill it goes away.
• Al rato se me pasó el enfado.
  After a while my anger went away / I stopped being angry.

Why do we need both se and me in se me pasa? Could I just say me pasa or se pasa?

All three exist, but they do not mean the same:

• Me pasa – It happens to me (more like this (thing) happens to me).

  • Siempre me pasa lo mismo. – The same thing always happens to me.

• Se pasa – It passes (in general).

  • No te preocupes, se pasa. – Don’t worry, it passes.

• Se me pasa – It passes for me / I stop feeling it.
  Focuses on the feeling going away in me. Very common for moods, pain, sadness, etc.

In your sentence, we are talking about the bad feeling passing from the speaker, so se me pasa is the natural choice.

Why is it escucho música and not oigo música? What is the difference between escuchar and oír?

Basic distinction:

• Oír = to hear (perceive sound, sometimes unintentionally).
• Escuchar = to listen (to) (pay attention intentionally).

So:

• Oigo música. – I hear music. (It’s there in the background.)
• Escucho música. – I listen to music. (I choose to, I pay attention.)

In the sentence, the person is using music on purpose to feel better, so escuchar música is the right verb: they listen to music to help the feeling pass.

Why do you say escucho música without an article? Could you say escucho la música or escucho una música?

With música, the article often depends on how specific you are:

• Escucho música. – I listen to music. (general, nonspecific)
• Escucho la música. – I listen to the music. (some specific music already known from context)
• Escucho una música muy relajante. – I listen to some very relaxing music. (a type of music, more specific)

In your sentence, the idea is general: I listen to music (in general) and that makes the feeling go away, so escucho música without article is the most natural form.

Where can I place a veces in this sentence? Are other word orders possible?

Yes, a veces (sometimes) is flexible in position. All of these are possible and natural, with slight changes in emphasis:

• A veces tengo ganas de llorar de cansancio, pero escucho música y se me pasa.
  (Neutral; very common: sets the time/frequency at the beginning.)

• Tengo ganas de llorar de cansancio a veces, pero escucho música y se me pasa.
  (Puts a veces closer to the feeling itself.)

• Tengo a veces ganas de llorar de cansancio, pero escucho música y se me pasa.
  (Also correct, a bit more marked; emphasizes ganas.)

All mean essentially the same: sometimes I feel like crying from exhaustion, but I listen to music and it goes away.

Why are the verbs all in the present tense (tengo, escucho, se me pasa) if we are talking about something that happens from time to time?

Spanish uses the present simple (presente de indicativo) for:

• general truths
• habits
• things that happen repeatedly over time

So:

• A veces tengo ganas de llorar de cansancio, pero escucho música y se me pasa.

means:

• Sometimes I feel like crying from exhaustion, but I listen to music and it goes away.

This is a description of a habitual pattern, not one specific occasion, and the simple present is exactly the right tense for that in Spanish (just like in English).