Although the past participle of decir is dicho and can often be translated as "said," it also is used in a variety of phrases and idioms. Often the phrase refers in some way to something that has already been said.
Following are some of the most common phrases and idioms, with examples of their usage. Not all possible translations are given:
bien dicho (well said) ? ¡Bien dicho! Creo que expresas perfectamente el sentimiento de mucha gente.
Well said! I believe you express perfectly the feelings of many people.
como dice el dicho (as the saying goes, as they say) ? Como dice el dicho, es mejor prevenir que lamentar. As they say, it's better to prevent than to regret.
dicho de otro modo (in other words, to put it another way) ? Dicho de otro modo, si sus expectativas cambian, usted podrá cambiar sus inversiones. In other words, if your expectations change, you will be able to change your investments.
del dicho al hecho hay mucho trecho (there's a big difference between saying and doing)
dicho asà (said that way, said like that) ? Dicho asÃ, no parece difÃcil. Put that way, it doesn't seem difficult.
dicho sea de paso (by the way, incidentally) ? Dicho sea de paso, los dos paÃses con más peligro de suspensión de pagos son Venezuela y Grecia. Incidentally, the two countries at the most risk of suspending payments are Venezuela and Greece.
dicho y hecho (literally, "said and done," used to indicate something was readily done) ? Dicho y hecho, se cumplieron en tiempo récord.
Just like that, it was accomplished in record time.
lo dicho (used to affirm or refer what has already been said) ? El presidente no se arrepiente de lo dicho. The president doesn't regret what was said. Lo dicho, sencillamente excelente. Yes, simply excellent. Quiero hacer mención a lo dicho antes. I want to make mention of what was said before.
mantener lo dicho (to keep one's word) ? Si mi amigo mantiene lo dicho, yo deberÃa ser el próximo jefe. If my friend keeps his word, I should be the next boss.
mejor dicho (rather, better said) ? Toda la prensa mostraba la foto más esperada de la pareja, la del famoso beso en el balcón, o mejor dicho, la de los besos. All the press showed the couple's most anticipated photo, the one of the famous kiss on the balcony, or rather, the one of the kisses.
propiamente dicho (strictly speaking) ? Sirve para el diagnóstico de las metástasis, no del cáncer propiamente dicho. It diagnoses metastasis, not cancer, to be precise.
As a noun, el dicho typically refers to a saying.
Note: Most of the sample sentences are adapted from articles and Spanish-language resources written by native speakers. Among the sources of sentences in this lesson are the following: ElMundo.es, RadioAzul.es, ADNfutbol.com.
Following are some of the most common phrases and idioms, with examples of their usage. Not all possible translations are given:
bien dicho (well said) ? ¡Bien dicho! Creo que expresas perfectamente el sentimiento de mucha gente.
Well said! I believe you express perfectly the feelings of many people.
como dice el dicho (as the saying goes, as they say) ? Como dice el dicho, es mejor prevenir que lamentar. As they say, it's better to prevent than to regret.
dicho de otro modo (in other words, to put it another way) ? Dicho de otro modo, si sus expectativas cambian, usted podrá cambiar sus inversiones. In other words, if your expectations change, you will be able to change your investments.
del dicho al hecho hay mucho trecho (there's a big difference between saying and doing)
dicho asà (said that way, said like that) ? Dicho asÃ, no parece difÃcil. Put that way, it doesn't seem difficult.
dicho sea de paso (by the way, incidentally) ? Dicho sea de paso, los dos paÃses con más peligro de suspensión de pagos son Venezuela y Grecia. Incidentally, the two countries at the most risk of suspending payments are Venezuela and Greece.
dicho y hecho (literally, "said and done," used to indicate something was readily done) ? Dicho y hecho, se cumplieron en tiempo récord.
Just like that, it was accomplished in record time.
lo dicho (used to affirm or refer what has already been said) ? El presidente no se arrepiente de lo dicho. The president doesn't regret what was said. Lo dicho, sencillamente excelente. Yes, simply excellent. Quiero hacer mención a lo dicho antes. I want to make mention of what was said before.
mantener lo dicho (to keep one's word) ? Si mi amigo mantiene lo dicho, yo deberÃa ser el próximo jefe. If my friend keeps his word, I should be the next boss.
mejor dicho (rather, better said) ? Toda la prensa mostraba la foto más esperada de la pareja, la del famoso beso en el balcón, o mejor dicho, la de los besos. All the press showed the couple's most anticipated photo, the one of the famous kiss on the balcony, or rather, the one of the kisses.
propiamente dicho (strictly speaking) ? Sirve para el diagnóstico de las metástasis, no del cáncer propiamente dicho. It diagnoses metastasis, not cancer, to be precise.
As a noun, el dicho typically refers to a saying.
Note: Most of the sample sentences are adapted from articles and Spanish-language resources written by native speakers. Among the sources of sentences in this lesson are the following: ElMundo.es, RadioAzul.es, ADNfutbol.com.