Spanish word of the day: Hacer la vista gorda

What does hacer la vista gorda mean?

Hacer la vista gorda (idiomatic expression) – This popular Spanish idiom literally means "to make the fat/large sight," but it’s used to describe the act of deliberately ignoring something wrong or inconvenient. It’s when you see a problem, mistake, or rule being broken but choose to pretend you don’t notice it, often to avoid conflict or trouble.

Example sentences with hacer la vista gorda

• El profesor hizo la vista gorda cuando vio que algunos estudiantes copiaban en el examen.
  👀❌ The teacher turned a blind eye when he saw some students cheating on the exam.

• A veces hay que hacer la vista gorda para mantener la paz en la oficina.
  🤫🏢 Sometimes you have to turn a blind eye to keep the peace at the office.

• No podemos hacer la vista gorda ante la corrupción.
  🚫💼
  We can’t turn a blind eye to corruption.

This idiom uses the verb hacer. If you need to remember how to conjugate hacer, our conjugation tables can help with that!

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Hacer la vista gorda in context

You’ll hear hacer la vista gorda in many Spanish-speaking countries when someone chooses to ignore a fault, mistake, or rule-breaking, often for practical reasons or to avoid confrontation. It’s a phrase that captures the idea of selective blindness—knowing something is wrong but deciding not to act on it.

If you want to sound natural in Spanish, use hacer la vista gorda when talking about situations where people deliberately overlook problems, whether at work, school, or in everyday life. It’s a useful idiom for discussing diplomacy, tolerance, or even complicity.