How do you say “Do someone’s head in” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is sacar a alguien de quicio, which literally means “to take someone out of the doorjamb”. English speakers use do someone’s head in to mean to make someone feel very annoyed, confused or mentally overwhelmed. A strong Spanish match for irritation. It fits confusing instructions when the speaker is frustrated, rather than simply puzzled. Register: informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
sacar a alguien de quicio
/saˈkaɾ a ˈalɣjen de ˈkisjo/
- Literal meaning
- “to take someone out of the doorjamb”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
91 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
“Me saca de quicio” says something gets on your nerves badly. The image is of being displaced from your usual position.
Use “me confunde” if you only mean it confuses you. That avoids adding anger to a calm question about meaning.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning4 out of 5
- Tone5 out of 5
- Context4 out of 5
- Literal similarity2 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
That dripping tap is doing my head in.
Spanish
Ese grifo que gotea me saca de quicio.
English
These instructions are doing my head in; every diagram seems to contradict the last one.
Spanish
Estas instrucciones me sacan de quicio; cada dibujo parece contradecir el anterior.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-11-13