How do you say “Make a mountain out of a molehill” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is hacer una montaña de un grano de arena, which literally means “to make a mountain out of a grain of sand”. English speakers use make a mountain out of a molehill to mean to treat a small problem as if it were a much more serious one. A very close match; Spanish starts with a grain of sand instead of a molehill. Register: informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
hacer una montaña de un grano de arena
/aˈseɾ ˈuna monˈtaɲa ðe un ˈɡɾano ðe aˈɾena/
- Literal meaning
- “to make a mountain out of a grain of sand”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
98 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
Spanish keeps the mountain but starts with a grain of sand. The contrast fits worry or complaints that the speaker thinks are out of proportion.
“Hacer un mundo de algo” is a shorter alternative. Both can sound dismissive: the other person may not agree that their problem is small.
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 un mundo de algo
Literally: “to make a world out of something”
Another way to say someone is making a problem seem huge.
exagerar el problema
Literally: “to exaggerate the problem”
Direct and neutral in wording, though still potentially critical.
In context
English
Don't make a mountain out of a molehill; it's a small delay.
Spanish
No hagas una montaña de un grano de arena; es un pequeño retraso.
English
She made a mountain out of a molehill over one missing receipt.
Spanish
Hizo una montaña de un grano de arena por un solo recibo perdido.
Related expressions
- What “Make a mountain out of a molehill” means in English
- A storm in a teacup, Great anger or worry about something unimportant.
- Cry over spilt milk, To worry uselessly about past mistakes.
Last updated 2026-09-16