How do you say “Have your cake and eat it too” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is quererlo todo sin renunciar a nada, which literally means “to want everything without giving anything up”. English speakers use have your cake and eat it too to mean to enjoy two benefits that normally cannot be had together. A plain explanation, not a fixed idiom; name the conflicting benefits. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
quererlo todo sin renunciar a nada
/keˈɾeɾlo ˈtoðo sin renunˈsjaɾ a ˈnaða/
- Literal meaning
- “to want everything without giving anything up”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
90 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
The plain wording makes the refusal to give anything up clear. It is useful when the two benefits cannot reasonably go together.
“Querer nadar y guardar la ropa” is an idiomatic alternative for wanting a benefit without the risk. It can also describe playing safe, so it does not fit every cake-and-eating sentence.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning4 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
What are other ways to say it in Spanish?
querer nadar y guardar la ropa
Literally: “to want to swim and keep watch over the clothes”
An idiomatic option when someone wants the benefit without the risk or cost.
In context
English
You can't have your cake and eat it too: a bigger flat will cost more.
Spanish
No puedes quererlo todo sin renunciar a nada: un piso más grande costará más.
English
He wants to have his cake and eat it too: all the credit and none of the responsibility.
Spanish
Quiere nadar y guardar la ropa: llevarse todo el mérito sin asumir ninguna responsabilidad.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-09-19