How do you say “Kill two birds with one stone” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is Matar dos pájaros de un tiro, which literally means “To kill two birds with one shot”. English speakers use kill two birds with one stone to mean to achieve two aims with a single action. A very close equivalent for achieving two aims with one action. Spanish uses a shot where English uses a stone. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
Matar dos pájaros de un tiro
/maˈtaɾ dos ˈpaxaɾos de un ˈtiɾo/
- Literal meaning
- “To kill two birds with one shot”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
99 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
The birds remain, but Spanish changes the weapon from a stone to a shot. Both praise getting two useful results from one action.
The violent wording is normally figurative and casual. Use a plain alternative if the hunting image distracts from what you want to say.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone5 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity4 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
What are other ways to say it in Spanish?
Hacer dos cosas a la vez
Literally: “To do two things at the same time”
Plain wording; can describe simultaneous tasks rather than one action serving two aims.
Resolver dos problemas de una vez
Literally: “To solve two problems at one time”
A clear option without the hunting image.
Common translation traps
Matar dos pájaros con una piedra
Understandable, but the established Spanish expression uses “de un tiro”.
The notes above explain why these versions do not work in this context in Spanish.
In context
English
I’ll collect the parcel on my way to work and kill two birds with one stone.
Spanish
Recogeré el paquete de camino al trabajo y mataré dos pájaros de un tiro.
English
With that visit, we killed two birds with one stone.
Spanish
Con esa visita matamos dos pájaros de un tiro.
Related expressions
- What “Kill two birds with one stone” means in English
- Go the extra mile, To make an extra effort.
- Cut corners, To skimp on quality to save time or money.
Last updated 2026-09-13