Pasar la noche en blanco - what does it mean?

‘Yes, I understand, but… What do you mean?’

Have you ever had a problem understanding a Spanish native speaker even though you understood every single word they said? This may be because the Spanish language is extremely rich in idioms. Ok then, what are idioms? Let’s find the definition in a dictionary. The Cambridge Dictionary defines an idiom as:

a group of words used together with a meaning that you cannot guess from the meanings of the separate words.

Idioms are typical for the colloquial language, that’s why they are used in verbal communication so often. Their origin, in some cases, is not clear, but many of them are related to the historical events and culture. Those are often impossible to translate literally into another language. Each of the Spanish-speaking countries has countless sayings. Many of them are used throughout the Spanish-speaking world, while others are understood only in one country.

One of the most frequently used idioms with Spanish origin is the expression:

pasar la noche en blanco,

which in literal translation means ‘spend the night in white,’ but the actual meaning is ‘to have a sleepless night.’ The phrase has its roots in the territory of Spain, where the candidates for knights had to spend the whole night on guard before being sworn in as knights. They wore white tunics symbolizing purity. They could only go to sleep at dawn. Interesting, isn't it? Nowadays people in Spain use this expression when they have a sleepless night. There are two more similar expressions, such as: pasar la noche en vela, with the same origin; and no pegar ojo, which means'not sleep a wink.’ These two sayings are in use not only in Spain, but also in the countries of Latin America.

Ayer pasé la noche en blanco por el ruido de la calle.

More about Spanish expressions soon! Stay tuned!