How do you say “Up in the air” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is Estar en el aire, which literally means “To be in the air”. English speakers use up in the air to mean a plan or decision is not yet settled or confirmed. A close equivalent for plans or decisions that remain unsettled. “Estar” is the natural verb here. Register: informal, neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
Estar en el aire
/esˈtaɾ en el ˈaiɾe/
- Literal meaning
- “To be in the air”
- Register
- informal, neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
98 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
Both languages leave an unsettled plan floating in the air. It has not yet reached a firm position.
The Spanish wording is just as flexible. It can explain uncertainty about a date, a decision or whether something will happen at all.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone5 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity5 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
What are other ways to say it in Spanish?
Estar pendiente de confirmar
Literally: “To be pending confirmation”
Useful when a specific confirmation is missing.
No estar decidido
Literally: “Not to be decided”
Plain wording for an open decision.
Common translation traps
Ser en el aire
Use estar for an unsettled plan’s current state; ser does not work in this construction.
The notes above explain why these versions do not work in this context in Spanish.
In context
English
Our holiday plans are still up in the air.
Spanish
Nuestros planes de vacaciones siguen en el aire.
English
The date of the meeting is up in the air.
Spanish
La fecha de la reunión está en el aire.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-09-13