Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Cuando el gato no está, los ratones bailan.»
Word for word
When the cat is not there, the mice dance.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: When the cat's away, the mice will play.
Used when people misbehave or relax rules because the person in charge is absent. Common in family, school, and workplace contexts.
Hear it in a sentence
Cuando el gato no está, los ratones bailan: en cuanto salió el jefe, todos se pusieron a charlar.
When the cat's away, the mice will play: as soon as the boss left, everyone started chatting.
Why learn dichos?
Proverbs like this one are everywhere in spoken Spanish — dropped mid-conversation, usually just the first half, with the rest left for you to complete. Recognizing them is one of the fastest ways to sound less like a textbook and follow real speech. Every Lingocito edition signs off with the dicho del día, so you meet one a day next to news written at your exact level.