How do you say “Call it a day” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is Dejarlo por hoy, which literally means “To leave it for today”. English speakers use call it a day to mean to stop working on something, either for now or for good. A natural equivalent when stopping a work session. It does not cover permanent retirement or ending a relationship. Register: neutral, informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
Dejarlo por hoy
/deˈxaɾlo poɾ oi/
- Literal meaning
- “To leave it for today”
- Register
- neutral, informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Close equivalent
89 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
English declares that enough has been done to count as a day. Spanish simply leaves the task for today.
The Spanish is an easy, friendly way to suggest stopping. For the English sense of ending something permanently, remove “por hoy” and make the finality clear.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning4 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context4 out of 5
- Literal similarity2 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
What are other ways to say it in Spanish?
Dar por terminada la jornada
Literally: “To regard the working day as finished”
More formal and specifically about work.
Dejarlo definitivamente
Literally: “To leave it definitively”
Use for stopping altogether rather than just today.
Common translation traps
Llamarlo un día
Spanish does not use llamar this way to announce the end of a work session.
The notes above explain why these versions do not work in this context in Spanish.
In context
English
It is getting late, let us call it a day.
Spanish
Se está haciendo tarde, dejémoslo por hoy.
English
We called it a day after finishing the first room.
Spanish
Lo dejamos por hoy después de terminar la primera habitación.
Related expressions
- What “Call it a day” means in English
- Under the weather, Mildly unwell.
- Burn your bridges, To cut off any way back.
Last updated 2026-09-13