no levantar cabeza: meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  All Spanish-speaking regionsneutral
  • Not to lift one's head; a literal description of being physically unable to raise the head.

  Examples

  Beta

  • El niño no levantaba cabeza después de estar enfermo una semana completa en cama.

    The child couldn’t lift his head after being sick in bed for a whole week.

  • Durante la operación, el paciente no levantó cabeza y los médicos estaban preocupados.

    During the operation, the patient couldn’t lift his head, and the doctors were worried.

  • No pude levantar cabeza por el dolor de cuello que me causó el accidente de tráfico.

    I couldn’t lift my head because of the neck pain caused by the traffic accident.

  • El gato no levantaba cabeza después de caer del árbol y tuve que llevarlo al veterinario.

    The cat couldn’t lift its head after falling from the tree, and I had to take it to the vet.

• 2.

  All Spanish-speaking regionscolloquialinformal
  • To be unable to recover from a sequence of misfortunes, problems, or fatigue; to remain overwhelmed, downcast, or persistently unsuccessful.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Después de perder su trabajo, no levantaba cabeza y estaba muy preocupado por el futuro.

    After losing his job, he couldn’t recover and was very worried about the future.

  • No he levantado cabeza desde que comenzó esta crisis financiera en la empresa.

    I haven’t been able to recover since this financial crisis started at the company.

  • María no levanta cabeza desde que tuvo ese accidente y ha estado muy deprimida.

    María hasn’t been able to recover since that accident and has been very depressed.