How do you say “Straight from the horse's mouth” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is de primera mano, which literally means “from first hand”. English speakers use straight from the horse's mouth to mean directly from the person who knows the facts. A neutral way to say that information came directly from someone involved. It is less colourful than the English. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
de primera mano
/de pɾiˈmeɾa ˈmano/
- Literal meaning
- “from first hand”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
94 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
Spanish can use “de primera mano” for direct knowledge or experience. With news, say who told you if that helps establish the source.
“De buena tinta” stresses that the information is reliable. It does not make the direct source quite as explicit.
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
The owner told me the café is closing, so that's straight from the horse's mouth.
Spanish
El dueño me dijo que la cafetería va a cerrar, así que lo sé de primera mano.
English
Ask the coach and get the team news straight from the horse's mouth.
Spanish
Pregunta al entrenador y entérate de las novedades del equipo de primera mano.
Related expressions
- What “Straight from the horse's mouth” means in English
- Hear something through the grapevine, Hear news through informal contacts.
Last updated 2026-10-01