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Quick Answer
Se me antoja means I'm craving it in Mexican Spanish. It patterns like gustar, so the thing is the subject - se me antoja un taco, se me antojan unos tacos - and the construction frames the craving as something that happened to you. It works for actions too, not only food.
- Se me antoja means I'm craving it, or I feel like having some.
- It patterns like gustar - the thing does the antojar-ing, so se me antoja un taco and se me antojan unos tacos.
- It works for actions as well as food: se me antoja ir al cine means the idea just became appealing.
What it means
A want that arrived without being invited. Somebody mentions something, or you walk past it, and suddenly it is what you want - and this is the phrase for exactly that moment.
It is not a decision and it is not hunger. Tengo hambre is a state of the body; se me antoja is a specific thing becoming appealing, and you can have one without the other in either direction.
There is a second sense that is not about craving at all, and you will hear it constantly: caprice. Hace lo que se le antoja means he does whatever he feels like. Cuando se me antoja is whenever I feel like it. Haz lo que se te antoje is do as you please. Same verb, and the appetite has drained out of it entirely.
What se me antoja is actually doing
- The feeling · how much of the word it is
- Sudden appetite36%The default. Something became appealing a second ago and this is the report.
- Proposing something29%¿Se te antoja? Softer than asking whether somebody wants it, because it asks about the craving instead.
- Blaming a photo21%Se me antojó, sent back to whoever posted the plate. The past tense makes it their fault.
- Nothing appeals14%No se me antoja nada. A real condition, and slightly regretful.
Literal meaning
Un antojo is a craving, and antojarse is that craving happening. The grammar puts the taco in charge: it does the appealing and you just receive it, which is a fair description of how a craving actually works.
That is why the verb agrees with the thing. Se me antoja un taco, se me antojan unos tacos. Yo antojo is not a sentence, in the same way yo gusto is not.
How Mexicans use it
The question is as common as the statement. ¿Se te antoja? is how somebody proposes food, and it is softer than ¿quieres? because it asks about the craving rather than asking you to commit.
It works as a complete reaction to a photograph. Somebody posts a plate in a group chat and se me antojó is the whole reply, with the past tense doing the work - the craving already happened, and it is your fault.
It stretches past food without any strain. Se me antoja ir al cine, se me antoja una chela, se me antoja no hacer nada hoy. Anything that can become suddenly appealing fits.
The negative is useful and slightly regretful. No se me antoja nada is a real condition - nothing appeals - and it is what you say when somebody has read you four options and none of them landed.
How tone changes se me antoja
- plainSe me antoja un taco.I could go for a taco.
- asking¿Se te antoja algo?Anything sound good?
- blamingYa se me antojó, gracias.Well, now I want it, thanks.
- flat noNo se me antoja nada.Nothing appeals.
Examples
- Se me antoja un taco.I could really go for a taco.
- Se me antojan unas quesadillas.I'm craving quesadillas.
- ¿Se te antoja ir al cine?Do you feel like going to the movies?
- No se me antoja nada, la verdad.Honestly, nothing appeals right now.
What do you say back to se me antoja?
- A mí también.Me too.The most common reply, and usually the start of a plan
- Va, vamos.Alright, let's go.Turning the craving into an evening
- Ay no, ya me diste hambre.Oh no, now you've made me hungry.Blaming them, which is half the fun
- Ahorita no, pero luego.Not right now, but later.Declining without closing it
How people type se me antoja
se me antojó 😩The past tense as a reply to a food photo. The emoji is doing the complaining.se me antoja un chorroUn chorro is the Mexican intensifier. Mucho works and is flatter.¿se te antoja?As a full message it is an invitation. Nothing else needs to be in it.
The forms of se me antoja you'll hear
- se me antojaI'm craving itSingular thing. The commonest shape of all.
- se me antojanI'm craving themPlural thing, plural verb. The agreement is with the food, not with you.
- ¿se te antoja?do you feel like it?The invitation, and softer than ¿quieres? because it asks about the craving.
- se me antojónow I want itPast tense, usually aimed at whoever caused it.
- lo que se te antojewhatever you feel likeThe caprice sense. Haz lo que se te antoje, pide lo que se te antoje - nothing to do with craving.
- hace lo que se le antojahe does whatever he wantsThe same sense aimed at somebody else, and usually a complaint about them.
- no se me antoja nadanothing appealsA real state, and slightly regretful. Common when somebody has read you four options.
Mini dialogue
Common mistake
Conjugating it toward yourself. Yo antojo and me antojo are the two ways learners break it. The thing being craved is the subject, so a plural thing takes antojan.
Using it only for food. It covers plans, movies, naps and doing nothing, and a learner who restricts it to eating misses half of where Mexicans put it.
Aiming it at a person. Se me antoja ese wey is sexual and objectifying, and a learner who has been told it works for anything appealing can produce it about a colleague by accident. For a person, me gusta.
Don't sound gringo
it patterns like gustar and like me late - the thing does the antojar-ing, not you.
So it is se me antoja un taco and se me antojan unos tacos, never yo antojo.
The grammar is doing something real: the construction says the craving happened to you rather than that you decided anything, which is exactly the flavor of the word.
And it is not only food. Se me antoja ir al cine is completely normal, and it means the idea just became appealing.
Where you'll hear it
- Somebody sending a photo of a dessert to a group chat with no caption at all
- Walking past a stand at eleven with no intention of stopping, and stopping
- The first cold evening of the year, and the whole city thinking about the same soup
- A Sunday where nobody planned anything and one person says a movie out loud
FAQ
What does se me antoja mean?
I'm craving it, or I feel like having some. It describes a want that arrived on its own rather than a decision you made.
How does se me antoja work grammatically?
Like gustar. The thing being craved is the subject, so it is se me antoja un taco and se me antojan unos tacos. Yo antojo is not a sentence.
What does ¿se te antoja? mean?
Do you feel like it, are you up for it. It is softer than ¿quieres? because it asks about the craving rather than asking you to commit.
What does hace lo que se le antoja mean?
He does whatever he feels like. This is the caprice sense of the verb - no craving in it at all - and it is usually a complaint. Haz lo que se te antoje is the same thing said generously.
Can se me antoja be used for things other than food?
Yes, constantly. Se me antoja ir al cine, se me antoja no hacer nada. Anything that can suddenly become appealing fits.
What is the difference between se me antoja and quiero?
Quiero is a decision. Se me antoja is something that happened to you - the craving arrived and you are reporting it.
What is an antojo?
A craving - the noun. Tengo antojo de algo dulce is a standing state, and it is the word used for pregnancy cravings specifically.
Are antojitos related?
Yes, directly - they are the small things you eat because a craving arrived. Antojitos is the standard word and what menus print; garnacha is the colloquial one.
se me antoja vs quiero, me late and antojitos
se me antojavsquiero
Quiero is a decision - I want this. Se me antoja is something that happened to you: the craving arrived, and you are reporting it rather than choosing it. That difference is the whole reason the construction exists.Page coming soonse me antojavsme late
Both agree with the thing rather than with you, and both close plans. Me late is about liking an idea; se me antoja is about wanting to consume or do it right now. ¿Te late? asks if you are in; ¿se te antoja? asks whether the idea appeals to you.se me antojavsantojitos
The same root, and the connection is not accidental - antojitos are the small things you eat because a craving arrived. Antojitos is the standard word and it is what a menu prints; garnacha is the colloquial one, warmer and a little greasier.se me antojavsantojado
Ando antojado de algo dulce - a standing state of wanting something, and extremely common. Un antojadizo is somebody who craves everything, which is closer to a character note.Page coming soonse me antojavstener antojo
The noun version, and the one used about pregnancy cravings specifically. Tengo antojo de algo dulce is a standing state; se me antoja is the moment it hits.Page coming soon
Related words
Test yourself
Tap an answer.
Which is correct for craving several tacos?
Your friend says '¿se te antoja ir al cine?' What are they asking?
The one thing
se me antoja means i'm craving it - and it patterns like gustar, so the food is the subject. se me antojan unos tacos, never yo antojo. works for movies and naps too.
Sources
- DictionaryantojarseDiccionario de americanismos, Asociación de Academias de la Lengua EspañolaThe verb is pronominal and intransitive, and the sense is a sudden desire rather than a decision.
- DictionaryantojitosDiccionario de americanismos, Asociación de Academias de la Lengua EspañolaConfirms antojitos as small portions of typical food, and that the word is not Mexico-only.
- ContextAntojitosLarousse CocinaThe food-side link the page draws - antojitos are eaten in informal settings and before or instead of a main meal, not only as snacks.
- InstitutionLos antojos en el embarazoISSSTE, Gobierno de MéxicoSupports the pregnancy sense of antojo, and the range of foods Mexicans name when they talk about one.
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