How do you say “Like herding cats” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is cada uno va por su lado, which literally means “everyone goes their own way”. English speakers use like herding cats to mean to be very difficult because a group will not cooperate or stay organised. Describes a group whose members each do their own thing. Add the task to show why organising them is difficult. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
cada uno va por su lado
/ˈkaða uno βa poɾ su ˈlaðo/
- Literal meaning
- “everyone goes their own way”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Close equivalent
83 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
“Cada uno va por su lado” is useful when people cannot settle on a shared plan. Put it after the organising problem, as the two examples do.
On its own, it can simply mean that people go their separate ways. The surrounding sentence supplies the difficulty and frustration of herding cats.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning4 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context3 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
Getting all six cousins ready for the photo was like herding cats.
Spanish
Reunir a los seis primos para la foto era difícil: cada uno iba por su lado.
English
Agreeing on a rehearsal time with this band is like herding cats.
Spanish
Acordar una hora de ensayo con esta banda es difícil porque cada uno va por su lado.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-11-13