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Quick Answer
Enchilarse means to get burned by chili in Mexican Spanish - me enchilé is my mouth is on fire. It also means to get worked up or take something badly, and no te enchiles is the affectionate version of calm down. Milk fixes the first one better than water does.
- Enchilarse means to get burned by chili - me enchilé is my mouth is on fire.
- It also means to get worked up. No te enchiles is don't take it that way.
- Milk works better than water - and skim works as well as whole, so it is the protein, not the fat.
What it means
The literal sense is having eaten something too spicy and being visibly in trouble about it. Me enchilé is a complete sentence and usually arrives with a hand fanning a mouth.
The figurative sense is getting worked up - taking a comment badly, going red about something small. It is lighter than enojarse and almost always said with warmth.
There is a transitive half as well, doing both jobs. Me enchilaste el arroz is you made the rice too hot for me; no me enchiles is do not wind me up.
Literal meaning
Chile plus the en- ... -arse frame that Spanish uses to mean becoming something. The same shape gives enfriarse, enfermarse and enlodarse, and the picture here is exact: to become chile-d.
The figurative sense is that picture applied to a face. Somebody who has taken a joke badly and gone red looks like somebody who has just eaten the green salsa, and the language noticed.
The forms you will hear at a table
- me enchilémy mouth is on fireA complete sentence, usually with a hand fanning a mouth.
- ¿te enchilaste?did it get you?Asked with visible enjoyment by whoever gave you the warning.
- no te enchilesdon't take it that wayThe figurative one. Softer than no te enojes and said to defuse.
- está picosoit's a hot oneThe everyday Mexican adjective, and the one you will hear most. Picante is the neutral standard word and is said just as freely.
- me enchilaste el arrozyou made it too hot for meThe transitive half. No me enchiles is the same verb aimed at somebody's mood.
- ¿pica?is it spicy?The question to ask first. Poquito is a matter of opinion.
How Mexicans use it
At a table it is constant and it is usually funny. Me enchilé is said by the person who was warned, and the warning was ¿sabes que pica, verdad?
No te enchiles is the peace-making one. It says take it easy without ever using the word angry, and the double meaning is what makes it land softly.
Picoso is the adjective you will hear most at a table - está bien picoso. Picante is the neutral standard word and it is said constantly too; enchiloso is the third one, and it leans hardest on the effect the food has on you rather than on the food itself.
The remedy is a small piece of practical knowledge and it is worth having. Capsaicin is only barely soluble in water, and the best-controlled test of the usual folk remedies found milk beat everything else and water came last of the drinks tested. Skim worked as well as whole, so the fat is not doing it - the protein appears to be. Bread, a plain tortilla or rice is what is already on the table, which is why that is what people reach for.
Examples
- Me enchilé, dame una tortilla.My mouth's on fire, pass me a tortilla.
- ¿Pica mucho? - Poquito. - Mentiras.Is it spicy? - A bit. - Liar.
- Ya, no te enchiles, era broma.Come on, don't take it that way, it was a joke.
- Esa salsa está bien picosa.That salsa will take your head off.
- Me enchilaste el arroz, no me lo voy a acabar.You made the rice too hot for me, I'm not going to finish it.
How enchilarse looks in a group chat
- no le pongas tanta a la verdedon't put so much of the green one on
- ya me enchilé 🥵too late, my mouth is on fire
- te dije. tómate un vaso de leche, es lo que más sirvetold you. drink some milk, that's what works best
- no manches, ¿en serio dijo eso?no way, he actually said that?
- ya, no te enchiles, era bromacome on, don't take it that way, it was a joke
- no me enchilé, nada más pregunté 😒i'm not worked up, i just asked
Mini dialogue
Common mistake
Reaching for water first. It does help a little, and it is the least effective thing on the table - milk, and to a lesser extent anything else with substance to it, does more. Nobody has shown that water makes it worse; it just barely dissolves what is burning you.
Missing the second sense. Somebody saying no te enchiles is not talking about food, and answering with something about the salsa is the joke going past you.
Don't sound gringo
two senses, and the second is the joke the first set up. me enchilé is my mouth is on fire. no te enchiles is do not get worked up.
Everybody hearing the second one knows both meanings are in play, which is what makes it land softly.
The practical part: milk beats water. Capsaicin is barely soluble in water, and the best-controlled test of this - a Penn State trial of water, soda, beer and milk against drinking nothing - found milk the most effective and water the least, with skim doing the job as well as whole. So it is not the fat; the protein appears to be what pulls the capsaicin off.
Water still helps a bit. It is just the worst of the options, and bread or a plain tortilla is right there on the table.
Where you'll hear it
- A green salsa in an unmarked bowl and one very quiet second afterwards
- Somebody being handed milk instead of the water they asked for
- A joke at a table landing badly, and two words defusing it
- A plain tortilla being eaten with nothing on it, for medical reasons
FAQ
What does enchilarse mean?
To get burned by chili - me enchilé means my mouth is on fire. It also means to get worked up about something.
What does no te enchiles mean?
Don't take it that way, don't get worked up. It is lighter than no te enojes and it is almost always said with warmth.
Does water help when you get enchilado?
A little, and it is the weakest option. Capsaicin barely dissolves in water; milk works best in controlled tests, and skim does as well as whole - so it is the protein rather than the fat.
What is the difference between picante, picoso and enchiloso?
Picante is the neutral standard word and is said constantly. Picoso is the everyday Mexican one and what you will hear most at a table. Enchiloso leans on what the food does to you.
What does enchilar mean?
The transitive half. Me enchilaste el arroz is you made the rice too hot; no me enchiles is do not wind me up. Same two senses, aimed outward.
Is enchilarse related to enchiladas?
Same root, different word. An enchilada is a tortilla dipped in chile sauce; enchilarse is what happens to you afterwards.
How do I ask whether something is spicy?
¿Pica? or ¿pica mucho? And be aware that poquito is a matter of opinion.
Is enchilarse rude?
Not at all. Both senses are affectionate, and the figurative one is usually said to defuse something rather than to escalate it.
enchilarse vs enchilada, picar and picoso
enchilarsevsenchilada
Same root and a different word - a tortilla dipped in chile sauce. Enchilarse is what happens to you, an enchilada is what you ordered.Page coming soonenchilarsevspicar
The chile's side of the transaction. Pica means it is spicy - ¿pica mucho? is the question you should be asking before you spoon it on. Enchilarse is the result when the answer was yes.Page coming soonenchilarsevspicoso
The word you will actually hear at the table. Está bien picoso is the standard verdict on a salsa in CDMX, and it dominates in the north. Learn this one before enchiloso.Page coming soonenchilarsevsenchilar
The transitive half, and it does both jobs too. Me enchilaste el arroz is you made the rice too hot; no me enchiles is do not wind me up.Page coming soonenchilarsevsenchiloso
Very Mexican, and worth having. Está enchiloso describes food that will do this to you, where the neutral word is picante.Page coming soonenchilarsevsenojarse
The plain verb for getting angry. Enchilarse is its lighter cousin and it is usually said with a smile - no te enojes is a real request, no te enchiles is a nudge.Page coming soon
Related words
Test yourself
Tap an answer.
You just ate something far too spicy. What should you reach for?
Someone says 'ya, no te enchiles.' What are they talking about?
The one thing
enchilarse is getting burned by chili - me enchilé - and also getting worked up: no te enchiles. milk beats water on the first one, and skim works as well as whole.
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