How do you say “A pet peeve” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is algo que me molesta especialmente, which literally means “something that particularly bothers me”. English speakers use a pet peeve to mean a particular habit or small thing that repeatedly annoys you. A plain Spanish way to introduce your own pet peeve. Change “me” when talking about someone else’s irritation. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
algo que me molesta especialmente
/ˈalɣo ke me moˈlesta espeˈsjalmente/
- Literal meaning
- “something that particularly bothers me”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
94 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
“Algo que me molesta especialmente es …” leaves room for a small, personal complaint. It does not turn the annoyance into a serious grievance.
Use “le molesta” for him or her, and name the person if necessary. The examples show how the same wording adapts to each speaker.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
People playing loud videos on the train are a pet peeve of mine.
Spanish
Algo que me molesta especialmente es que la gente vea vídeos con el sonido alto en el tren.
English
Her pet peeve is finding empty cartons left in the fridge.
Spanish
Algo que le molesta especialmente es encontrar envases vacíos en la nevera.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-11-04